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Humanities and Cultural Studies Course Descriptions

110 TEXTS AND POWER: FOUNDATIONS OF CULTURAL STUDIES

This course introduces students to the intellectual roots and contemporary applications of cultural studies, including critical media studies, focusing on the theoretical bases for analyses of power and meaning in production, texts, and reception. It includes primary readings in anti-racist, feminist, modern, postmodern, and queer cultural and social theory, and compares them to traditional approaches to the humanities. Designed as preparation for intermediate and advanced work in cultural studies, the course is writing intensive, with special emphasis on developing skills in critical thinking and scholarly argumentation and documentation. Completion of or enrollment in HMCS 110 is the prerequisite for majoring in humanities and media and cultural studies. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

114 NEWS REPORTING AND WRITING

This class offers an introduction to writing, reporting, and news-gathering techniques associated with newspaper journalism. Readings, lectures, and discussions are applied to the coverage of events on the Macalester campus as well as to major events in the outside community—the 2002 elections, for example. The class typically meets with World Press Institute fellows and Twin Cities journalists and may serve as a springboard to internship opportunities in the media. It is taught by a Macalester graduate with more than 20 years of experience as a reporter and editor at the Star Tribune. Every year. (4 credits)

 

121 THE GREEK WORLD (Same as Classics 121 and History 121)

This course surveys the political, economic, and cultural development of the peoples of the ancient Greek world from the late Bronze Age through the Hellenistic era. Students will hone their critical thinking skills while working with translations of ancient literature, archaeological remains and works of art. The basic structure of the course is chronological, but we will examine major themes across time and space, which may include the interaction between physical landscape and historical change; rule by the one, the few and the many; the nature and development of literary and artistic genres; the economic, military, and/or cultural dimensions of empire; or the intersections of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, slave/free status and civic identity in the Greek world. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

122 THE ROMAN WORLD (Same as Classics 122 and History 122)

This course introduces students to the Roman world, which at its height stretched from Britain to Iran, from Germany to Africa, and lasted well over a thousand years. Students will develop critical thinking skills while working with Roman literature in translation, art, architecture and other archaeological remains. The structure of the course is chronological, but we will examine major themes across time and space, which may include the development of Roman literature out of and in response to Greek culture; the effects of the civil wars and the resulting political change from a republic to a monarchy; the cultural, religious and/or military aspects of the Roman empire and its immediate aftermath; Roman conceptions of gender, sexuality, slave and free status, citizenship and/or ethnicity, and how these social categories were used to legitimize or exercise power. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

126 MEDIA INSTITUTIONS

An analysis of the major forces that determine media production and distribution. Topics include the political economy of media, ownership and government regulation, systems of power within media organizations, and the influence of advertisers on news and programming practices as well as on media access and diversity. Students will examine contemporary commercial media practices and structures in light of comparative, historical, and potential alternatives. Every year. (4 credits)

 

128 FILM ANALYSIS AND VISUAL CULTURE

This course explores the nature of visual representation, building from a focus on the formal analysis of cinema (the basic features of film form and style) and developing tools of visual textual analysis applicable to all visual media (photography, television, digital and graphic representations of all kinds). We start by concentrating on the basic features of cinematic form: narrative and non-narrative structure, the shot, editing, sound, and the construction of film style. Students will gain a familiarity with cinematic elements and vocabulary, and practice in formalist critical analysis. Students will also make an abstract video. Following an introduction to cultural studies, we will apply the tools and insights of film analysis to various studies of visual representation, in film and other forms of visual culture, including: television, photography, journalism, advertising, and art. The primary goal of the course is to develop a set of analytical tools that can be used to illuminate all forms of visual representation and their aesthetic, cultural, and social implications. Every semester.(4 credits)

 

145 PAGANS, CHRISTIANS AND JEWS IN CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY: CULTURES IN CONFLICT (Same as Classics 145 and Religious Studies 145).

This course studies the interaction of Jewish, Christian, and pagan cultures, and the protracted struggle for self-definition and multi-cultural exchange this encounter provoked. The course draws attention to how the other and cultural and religious difference are construed, resisted, and apprehended. Readings include Acts, Philo, Revelation, I Clement, pagan charges against Christianity, Adversus Ioudaios writers, the Goyim in the Mishna, and apologetic literature. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

202 GLOBAL MEDIA INDUSTRIES (Same as International Studies 202)

Global media is the world's most influential "consciousness industry." As such, the way it is organized vitally impacts global views. How is global media organized, who owns it, and how has it transformed? When did a "global media system" emerge, and where is it heading? In this course, we will investigate the historical and contemporary struggles by various groups to determine the course of globalization, particularly through media, and consider contesting paradigms that have been offered. Next offered 2007–2008. (4 credits)

 

215 FEMINISM/REPRESENTATION/FILM (Same as Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies 215)

Feminist film theory and criticism has been one of the most vital areas of film studies since the 1970s, even as concepts from feminist film studies (e.g., the gaze and psychoanalytic theories of spectatorship) have informed feminist scholarship in other fields. This course explores the history of the contributions of feminist film theory and criticism to studies in representation, from critiques of images of women through psychoanalytic poststructural approaches, cultural studies, and work in antiracist, postcolonial, and queer studies. It analyzes women's alternative film- and video-making as well as mainstream commercial films directed by women and men. Papers emphasizing close analysis of film texts will be required, with possibilities for work in video-making, along with one test covering basic film terms. Prerequisite: sophomore standing and one of the following: Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies 100, 105, 110, 200, or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

247 DOCUMENTARY VIDEO: HISTORY/PRACTICE/THEORY

What is a documentary? During the 2004 presidential campaign Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 provoked controversy about its status as a documentary film. Controversy has dogged documentary since Robert Flaherty's 1922 Nanook of the North. Can the camera contribute to our knowledge of the social reality around us? Or is it inevitably compromised by the context of its use? Can film- and videomakers document the world? Or do documentaries inevitably shape even as they show? Is documentary inevitably political? This course explores the history and theory of documentary practices in film and video: whether and under what conditions documentary might claim knowledge of the world, the implications of cinematic technique and style for documentary representation, and the place of documentary film and video in social and political discourse. The course integrates critical readings and screenings in documentary history and theory with the making of student documentary videos within and against the documentary tradition. In class discussion, in writing, and in shooting and editing video, students reflect on the potential for visual media to offer the world to be seen, culminating in an exhibition of completed documentary videos by the class. Every year. (4 credits)

 

248 HISTORY OF FILM, 1893–1941

This course provides an overview of the history of film up through the release of Citizen Kane, examining aesthetic, industrial, social, and theoretical topics in a variety of national and cultural contexts. Discussions, lectures, and screenings emphasize commercial and avant-garde styles and their determinants. What is the style now referred to as the "classical Hollywood cinema"? Why did it materialize? What alternatives were there? The course explores issues of racism and gender as well as connections between the history of film and the modernization of European and U.S. culture. Several papers are required. Prerequisite: sophomore status or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

249 HISTORY OF FILM SINCE 1941

This course provides an overview of the history of film from the early 1940s, examining aesthetic, industrial, social, and theoretical topics in a variety of national and cultural contexts. Discussions, lectures, and screenings emphasize international commercial and alternative styles and their determinants. Why and how did alternative styles develop against and within the Hollywood system? The course explores issues of racism and gender as well as connections between the history of film and postwar transformations, with particular attention to the effects on filmmaking of the Cold War in the United States and of post colonial struggles in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Several papers are required. Prerequisite: sophomore status or permission of instructor. Humanities and Media and Cultural Studies 248, Film History, 1894–1941, is not a prerequisite, but students who have completed that course will be encouraged to engage in independent research. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

256 MASS CULTURE UNDER COMMUNISM (Same as Russian Studies 256)

The politics and sociology of Soviet Russian culture from the October Revolution to the fall of communism. For each period in Soviet history, changes in the production and consumption of culture will be considered with specific examples to be discussed. Topics dealt with in the course include the role of mass media in society, popular participation in "totalitarian" societies, and culture as a political tool. Popular films, newspapers and magazines, songs, radio and TV programs, etc., will serve to analyze the policies that inspired them and the popular reactions (both loyal and dissenting) they evoked. No prerequisites. Taught in English. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

263 ORIENTALISM AND EMPIRE: RUSSIA'S LITERARY SOUTH (Same as Russian Studies 363)

Since the 18th century to the 1990s war with Chechnia, contradictory views of Russian empire building have been reflected in Russian literature. Students first explore recurring Russian ideas of empire, such as "Moscow the Third Rome," and "Eurasianism," as well as the constructs of East-West as factors in Russian identity thinking. The course focuses on the Caucasus region, Russia's "Oriental" south, starting with a brief history of imperial expansion into the area and concentrating on its literary expression in travelogues, Classicist and Romantic poetry, Oriental tales, short stories, and novels. We will ponder general "orientalist" imagery and stereotyping (the noble savage, the brave tribesman, the free-spirited Cossack, the sensual woman, the imperial nobleman/peasant, the government functionary, and "virgin" territory) together with ideas of nation and identity based on this specific region. We will read classics of Russian literature (Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Tsvetaeva), but also lesser known authors, some justly and others unjustly forgotten by the canon (Osnobishin, Elena Gan, Iakubovich, Rostopchina). We will supplement our literary readings with a variety of critical and historical texts, as well as films. In English. Alternate years; next offered Fall 2007. (4 credits)

 

272 SOCIAL THEORIES (Same as Sociology 272)

This course provides an overview of the key concepts and theories that have informed sociological perspectives on the complex and varied dimensions of human sociability. Class readings, discussions, and assignments explore the contributions of classical and contemporary sociologists to ongoing debates over the origins and nature of the great transformation: the transition from feudal, agrarian societies to modern, industrialized ones governed by emergent nation-states. The course also examines contemporary revisions and extensions of classical theories accompanying the reconstruction of the political, economic, and cultural landscapes of modern societies in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Further, the course surveys recent trends in theoretical scholarship devoted to understanding important social issues of contemporary relevance. Prerequisite: one 100-level course in sociology, Humanities, Media and Cultural Studies 110 (Text and Power), or permission of the instructor. Every year. (4 credits)

 

281 COMPARATIVE GLOBAL NEWS: FROM CNN TO AL JAZEERA (Same as International Studies 281)

We know the world watches a different war—but just how different and why? In this highly methodological and analytical course, we will follow two news networks (ideally CNN and Al-Jazeera) for a semester and analyze them using course concepts for analyzing news (frames, sources, languages) and contrast different theories for explaining the shape of news (from elite domination, political ideologies, cultural difference, and media ownership to journalistic routines). Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

331 RACIAL FORMATION, CULTURE AND U.S. HISTORY (Same as American Studies 331 and History 331)

This interdisciplinary course will employ the methodologies of cultural and media studies within an historical framework to ask: What roles did "race" (the presence of diverse races; the relationships among those groups of people; the construction and representation of racial identities; the linking of material privileges and power to racial locations) play in the development of the United States? How have relationships of class, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality been linked to "race"? How has "race" been a site of struggle between groups? How is the present a product of historical experiences? Our coursework will rely on reading historical studies, theory, cultural analysis, and memoirs, and on viewing and analyzing cultural performances and films. This course is designed for students with experience in history, cultural studies, African American studies and/or American studies. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

332 THE VICTORIAN PERIOD (Same as English 332)

British literature from the 1830s to about 1900, emphasizing poetry and non-fiction prose by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the Brownings, Matthew Arnold, the Rossettis, William Morris, Algernon Swinburne, Thomas Carlyle, John Stuart Mill, John Ruskin, Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde, and others. Attention is paid to social, economic, political and scientific developments of the age; Victorian music, painting and architecture are briefly examined. This course is usually taught in conjunction with History 353, and when it is, students will be required to register for both courses. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

334 CULTURAL STUDIES AND THE MEDIA (Same as American Studies 334)

An overview of contemporary approaches to media as culture, a determining as well as determined sphere in which people make sense of the world, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, identity, and social inequality. Students develop tools for analyzing media texts and accounts of audience responses derived from the international field of cultural studies and from the social theory on which it draws. Analysis emphasizes specificity of media texts, including advertisements, films, news reports, and television shows. Experience in cooperative discussion, research, and publication. Prerequisite: Humanities, Media and Cultural Studies 110, or permission of instructor. Every year. (4 credits)

 

354 BLACKNESS IN THE MEDIA (Same as American Studies 354)

This course examines mainstream and alternative systems of African American representation in the media from the 1820s to the 1960s, including race records, race movies, the Black press, Black video, and Black appeal radio. It also examines the way Blackness is constructed in the media today, including the role of new media (such as cable and the Internet); new corporate formations (such as FOX, UPN, and BET), and new forms of representation (such as representations that reject the Black-White binary). Prerequisite: one of the following: an introduction to African American studies course, or Texts and Power: Foundations of Cultural Studies (Humanities and Media and Cultural Studies 110), or permission of instructor. Every year. (4 credits)

 

355 ADVANCED JOURNALISM: ELECTRONIC

Writing and production of news, feature, and documentary stories for radio, television, and news media. The course stresses effective script writing and the development of a strong sense of journalistic ethics in an electronic environment. Emphasis is placed on frequent visits with practicing journalists and policy makers, on-site visits to electronic newsrooms, and field news assignments on campus and throughout the Twin Cities. Students will produce video, audio, and Internet stories. The course also examines the changing role of the media and the impact of electronic media and broadcast journalists on politics, government, education, and the legal system. Taught by a 20-year veteran print and broadcast journalist and former U.S. Senate press secretary. Prerequisite: News Reporting and Writing (114) or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

356 FROM ORDER TO OCCUPATION: WORK, STATUS, AND THE FATE OF CHRISTIAN SOCIETY IN MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE EUROPE (Same as History 356)

Were Renaissance Europeans the "first born sons of the modern world"? How and why did Europe modernize in a process that transformed first Europe then the world between 1300 and 1800 B.C.E.? What cultural myths and metaphors were used by Europeans to explain this process, what is implied by them, and which best explains their seeming triumph: Renaissance? Reformation? Reconnaissance? Revolution? We address these questions narratively, surveying the social and cultural history of Europe from the middle ages to the beginnings of the modern era focusing on the transformation from the notion of work as an aspect of a divinely instituted social order into a vision of secular occupation. Not offered 2007-2008 (4 credits)

 

357 ADVANCED JOURNALISM: PRINT

In-depth reporting and writing of news, feature, and opinion pieces for newspapers and magazines. This course stresses effective writing and editing and the development of a strong sense of journalistic ethics. Emphasis is placed on field reporting on campus and throughout the community, on-site visits to newspaper newsrooms, and frequent discussions with practicing journalists, writers, and policy makers. Students will examine the changing role of print media and the impact of media and journalists on culture, politics, government, education, the legal system, and the community. Taught by a 20-year veteran print and broadcast journalist and former U.S. Senate press secretary. Prerequisite: News Reporting and Writing (114) or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

358 POP CULTURE, MEDIA, AND NATIONAL IDENTITY (Same as International Studies 358)

What is a nation, as opposed to a state or other ethnic communities? Why does the "nation" command so much of our identity? The nation, unlike the state, is an entity that exists in the hearts and minds of its members and is a bond that must be sustained on a daily basis through imagining community—a project that the media are especially tasked with. Thinking of the "nation" as a media product, the course will examine its production (political economy), textual construction and its consumption/reproduction. Alternate years; next offered 2008–2009. (4 credits)

 

367 POSTCOLONIAL THEORY (Same as English 367 and International Studies 367)

Traces the development of theoretical accounts of culture, politics and identity in Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean and related lands since the 1947–1991 decolonizations. Readings include Fanon, Said, Walcott, Ngugi and many others, and extend to gender, literature, the U.S., and the post-Soviet sphere. The course bridges cultural, representational, and political theory. Prior internationalist and/or theoretical coursework strongly recommended. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

376 CRITICAL SOCIAL THEORY AND THE MEDIA

Study of traditional and contemporary media theory, grounded in the humanities as well as in the social sciences. Class discussion evaluates the social uses of theories and probes assumptions and values embedded within them. A research paper allows each student to examine one theory or theoretical issue in detail. Prerequisite: Texts and Power: Foundations of Cultural Studies (Humanities and Media and Cultural Studies 110), or permission of instructor. Alternate years; next offered Spring 2008. (4 credits)

 

410 ART AND IDEAS IN FRENCH CULTURE (Same as French 410)

The course studies the arts of France (art, architecture, music and literature) in their historical and intellectual settings. Topics and historical periods studied vary by semester. Prerequisite: a 300 level course or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

411 CHALLENGES OF MODERNITY AND LITERATURE (Same as French 411)

Introduction to the study and the context of French literary and artistic masterpieces from the 12th to the 21st century, with special focus on their ties with contemporary "mentalités" and events. The significance of specific works for audiences of their time will be extended to the study of their influence in subsequent centuries, including the 20th/21st. Particular attention will be paid also to our own representation and use of these past centuries in diverse contemporary media, such as films and advertisements. The thematic emphasis of the class, as well as the historical period, may vary by semester. Prerequisite: French 306 or permission of instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

444 THE FAMILY AS HISTORY: THE STORIES OF U.S. LATINOS (Same as American Studies 444 and Hispanic Studies 444)

The course will examine and compare the stories of Latinas/os in the U.S. as told by themselves. Students will read authors of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, and Mexican-American origin. We will place a special emphasis on practices and values held both here and in the cultures of origin. The course will cover such subjects as family, social and economic struggles, individual aspirations and spiritual needs. The course will highlight language issues and use film to complement the readings. Prerequisite: HISP 307 or consent of the instructor. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

488 SENIOR SEMINAR

In the capstone seminar, students working on an independent project in line with the theme of the seminar share their scholarship, integrating what they have learned in the major, emphasizing knowledge gained in their focus area. The capstone experience involves close analysis of cultural artifacts that examine at a higher level issues first raised in the introductory course. The department plans to offer two seminars every year, at least one in media studies, enabling students to select the seminar most relevant to their intellectual development. In exceptional cases, students with sufficient preparation may take the seminar prior to their senior year. Recent seminar topics have included: Image/Text: Metaphor, Myth and Power; Advanced Film Analysis; Advanced Studies in War and Media; Postmodernism, Identity and the Media; Whiteness and the Media; Advanced Queer Media. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

604 TUTORIAL

Closely supervised individual or small group study for advanced students on a subject not available through regular catalog offerings. Every semester. (1–4 credits)

 

614 INDEPENDENT PROJECT

For the advanced student capable of independent study and the production of original work. Prerequisite: normally junior or senior standing and permission of the instructor. Every semester. (1–4 credits)

 

624 INTERNSHIP

The department offers a variety of internships in educational, business, and governmental institutions. Internships sponsored by department faculty are available only to juniors and seniors who have made substantial progress toward the major or have completed a media studies minor or the equivalent and must be grounded in previous coursework. Normally, internships are graded pass/fail. Exceptions to this policy permitting a letter grade may be made at the discretion of the individual faculty member sponsoring the internship. Internships may be of variable credit as determined by the instructor, and up to four credits may be applied to the department major. Every semester. (1–4 credits)

 

634 PRECEPTORSHIP

Work in assisting a faculty member on a varied range of activities involved in the planning and teaching of a course. Duties usually include course attendance, library research, test correction, conducting group study sessions, and tutoring individual students. Normally available only to juniors and seniors who have taken the course they will precept. Every semester. (1–4 credits)

 

644 HONORS INDEPENDENT

Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Every semester. (1–4 credits)

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