CST 200B  - K. Fallon - Theories of Cultural Studies

Definitions of "critical" scholarship and examination of various contexts in which cultural studies theory has emerged worldwide. Both mainstream and alternative theoretical traditions, such as those developed by people of color and by other minoritized groups.

Mon: 1:10pm - 4:00pm

CST 210 - M. Lazzara - Memory, Culture & Human Rights: Chile, 50 Years after the Coup: Politics, Aesthetics, Memories

Fifty years after General Pinochet’s military coup (1973) that violently overthrew President Salvador Allende’s democratically elected, socialist government (1970-1973), Chile stands as an international symbol of the horrors of dictatorship (1973-1990), the power of grassroots mobilization, and the struggle to forge democracy in the aftermath of political violence and state- sponsored repression. In October 2019, Chile again figured prominently in world news when massive protests broke out in which citizens questioned the very fabric of Chile’s social and economic system; since then, through two failed constitutional referendums, Chileans have been demanding deep change, an end to discrimination and socioeconomic inequality, and an end to “Pinochet’s constitution.” This course will start with Chile’s present (50 years after the coup) and work backwards in time to understand the past that led to it. It will introduce students to the fierce battles that have been waged in Chile over history and memory, the struggles of human rights activists, the tireless quest for truth and justice, and the emergence of powerful social movements. From an interdisciplinary perspective, students will analyze topics such as the revolutionary experience of the 1970s; political violence under dictatorship; censorship; the role of film and literature in the battle for truth; forms of social resistance; the idea of justice; and the consolidation of democracy after periods of political upheaval. Readings and film viewings will include works by Diamela Eltit, Roberto Bolaño, Patricio Guzmán, Nona Fernández, and others.

Wed: 4:10pm - 7:00pm

CST 250  - C. Whithaus -  Research Seminar: 

This seminar focuses on the preparation and writing of a draft dissertation prospectus in the qualitative interdisciplinary field of cultural studies. A dissertation prospectus is a distinct genre that can vary somewhat in its characteristics depending on specific field(s). During the quarter you will write components of the prospectus and critique each other’s work. By the end of the quarter you will have a workable initial draft of a dissertation prospectus.

While our work will focus on developing a working draft for your dissertation prospectus, we will also attend to other important writing opportunities such as academic journal articles, grant proposals, and public-facing, activist-oriented scholarship. This seminar should provide you space to think about how all these writing activities might fit within the developing trajectory of your research, scholarship, and public engagement.

Wed: 12:10pm - 3:00pm  

CST 290 - Colloquium: CST Speaker Series.  

Designed to provide cohort identity and faculty student exchange. Opportunity to present papers, hear guest lecturers, and see faculty presentations, gather for organizational and administrative news, exchange information, and make announcements.

Thurs: 4:10pm - 6:00pm

AFFILIATE COURSES

AAS 204 - B. Ng’weno - Methodologies in African American and African Studies 

Relationship between theory and methodology, with emphasis on identifying relevant methodological approaches and constructing theoretically informed research projects for studying the experience of people of African descent whether on the African continent or in the rest of the world.

Thurs: 1:10pm - 4:00pm 

AHI 290 - H. Watenpaugh - Cultures of Collecting 

The seminar this Winter will focus on Collecting the Arts from the Middle East in historical and theoretical perspective. We will consider all aspects of the history of collecting – such as the manifold processes that result in objects traveling across vast distances and acquiring new functions and contexts. We will also do deep dives on the “cast of characters” that often play multiple roles in this process– art dealers, art collectors, museum officials, looters, fixers, middle men, attorneys, scholars, and curators. Finally we will critically consider manifold resistance movements focused on defending cultural heritage in war and peacetime and pressing restitution claims, as well as movements that advocate the selective erasure of cultural heritage and battles over memory and history.

Mon: 1:10 pm- 4:00pm

ANT 210 - C. Giordano - Practices of Writing 

This seminar explores different forms and practices of writing, and the reasons why, at times, we get stuck in the process of putting words on the page. Through playful prompts, collaborative exchanges, and rigorous reflection on why and how we write, this seminar provides a space to practice writing academically while drawing from different forms such as poetry, fiction, plays, and the arts in general. Some of this evocative power may teach us a more playful and productive posture towards research material, and a more performative understanding of narrative that can translate into either new forms of text (essays, plays, short stories, etc.), or into a revitalized existing practice of academic writing. The seminar is appropriate for graduate students who are writing dissertations, starting anew in grad school, preparing to do fieldwork, making performances, and engaging in the task of textual and non-textual representation and creation. It is also intended for those who have ambitions to publish successfully. The seminar requires a commitment to one’s development and training as a writer, with activities including discussion of short readings of masterful examples, writing in class, sharing work, and creating a supportive writing community. It includes short and frequent online writing exercises in which you advance your writing craft by engaging actual readers, as both an invitation to write and a way to sense how your work lands in the reading experience of others.

Wed: 12:10pm - 3:00pm

ANT 210 - F. Mojaddedi - Aspects of Culture Structure 

Analysis of various phases of culture, such as religion, economics, law, and folklore.

Thurs: 2:10pm - 5:00pm 

GER 297 - C. Zhang - Modernism, Spirituality, and Transcendence

In the graduate seminar, participants will explore the spiritual dimension in modernist literary texts and the discussion of transcendence in critical theory. While historical materialism has been a dominant approach to interpret literary modernism and its sociocultural contexts, this course focuses on the prominent yet less discussed spirituality and psychologism in modernism in conjunction with the transcendental in critical theory such as writings by Georg Lukács, Walter Benjamin, and C. G. Jung. Literary texts include Hermann Hesse, Bertolt Brecht, Alfred Döblin, and Franz Kafka.

Wed: 2:10pm - 5:00pm 

GSW 200A - C. Hanssmann - Current Issues in Feminist Theory 

This seminar examines current issues in feminist theory, techniques employed to build feminist theory in various fields.  

Tues: 3:10pm - 6:00pm

REL 200B - F. Miller - Foundational Theories of Religion 

This course is an analytical survey of some of the prominent theories and approaches scholars use in the study of religion. Recurring themes in this course include race, gender, reduction versus interpretation, normative versus descriptive approaches, insider versus outsider explanations, and idealism versus materialism.

Among assigned books, we will read are the following: 

• Stephen S. Bush, Visions of Religion: Experience, Meaning, and Power. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
• David Sloan Wilson, Darwin’s Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.
• Webb Keane, Christian Moderns: Freedom and Fetish in the Mission Encounter. Oakland, CA: University of California, Press, 2007.
• Ismail Fajrie Alatas, What is Religious Authority? Cultivating Islamic Communities in Indonesia. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2021.

Tues 2:10pm - 5:00pm