Spring 2008 Cultural Studies Course Offerings

CLST 201.001  Introduction to Cultural Studies         TR 12:30-1:45 PM                 Miers

CLST 201.002  Introduction to Cultural Studies         MW 11-12:15                          Hax

Introduction to Cultural Studies analyzes culture’s effect on science, identity and behavior, and on what we hear, see, value and ignore.  The course fulfills GenEd II.B.3.

CLST 301.001  Perspectives in Global Culture           M 5:30-8:10 PM                       Herman

(double-listed with GEOG 357.001)

Cultural Geography aims to survey and explore a range of perspectives on the nature of human integration with the environment and the manifestation of human creativity on the landscape.  The course will engage philosophical and metaphysical questions in addition to those of landscapes and place.   Through taking this course, students will acquire basic skills in the interpretation of space and place in a variety of textual materials; develop analytical skills for interpreting everyday landscapes; and understand the landscape as an expression of cultural forces.

CLST 305.001  Textuality and Culture                            TR 2-3:15 PM                           Bell

(double-listed with ENGL 376.001)

Gay Themes in American Literature:  While much attention has been devoted to the secondary status that most queer individuals occupy in mainstream cultures, lesser attention has been directed to issues of marginality within queer communities.  This course examines power dynamics -- with specific emphasis on privileges and exclusions -- in US queer communities.   

CLST 307.001  Visual Culture                                             MW 2-3:15 PM                       Fu

(double listed with CHIN 492.001)

This course will approach theories and methodologies of visual culture through the study of Chinese Cinema.  The course will be taught in English; film screening attendance required.

CLST 309.001  Performance Culture                              MW 2-3:15 PM                         Newman

This course will explore the complex cultures of performance.  Students will examine and rethink a vast range of performative acts that are a part of our everyday lives, such as: the rehearsed greetings of a Starbucks barista; the bedroom escapades of a sexual partner; the media bravado of our political leaders; or the voyeur-pleasing exploits of Hollywood celebrities…

CLST 311.001  Science, Technology, and Culture         TR 3:30-4:45 PM                       Panos

Cultural Studies 311, Science, Technology, and Culture, examines how science and technology interact with culture.  This section of the course approaches the topic via literature, psychology, cognitive theory and cultural theory.  The course fulfills GenEd II.A.2.

CLST 311.002  Science, Technology, and Culture         TR 11:00-12:15                          Wright

This section of Science, Technology, and Culture will focus on climate change and energy, looking at these issues from scientific, technological, political, and cultural perspectives. We will examine the causes of climate change: from understanding the scientific process of attributing observed climate changes to human activities, to exploring the social, economic, and political forces that keep our society producing ever-increasing quantities of greenhouse gas emissions. In the second half of the course, we'll inquire how our society might need to change to stabilize the climate and whether these are changes we will be willing to make. The course fulfills GenEd II.A.2.

CLST 370.001       Special Topics:  The Name of the Rose   W  5:30-8:10 PM                  Phillips

Art and Knowledge: The Past as Mirror of the Present.  Medieval Monastery Murder Mystery Makes “Meaning” More Meaningful!! Mystery, Mystics, Metaphysics, Manifest Mighty-fine Meta-“cogitation,” Meta-ethics, and Mischief!!!!! Everything you wanted to know about what “aboutness” means, using Umberto Eco’s THE NAME OF THE ROSE, one of the greatest novels of the late 20th Century!

CLST 370.002       Special Topics:  Sociology of Popular Culture   (double-listed with SOCI 370.001)  TR 9:30-10:45 AM               Tsitsos

In this course, we will look at broader views in the sociology of culture, including theories of "high" culture and "popular" culture, in order to better understand art, music, TV, film, the internet, video games, and other cultural objects.  We will consider the ways in which these objects reflect the social context (time & place) in which they are/were created, and we will also consider the ways in which the conditions of their production and consumption influence the objects themselves.