Introduction to Cultural Studies

Spring, 2008

Wednesdays: 12:30 P.M. – 3:20 P.M.

Room 1407, 620 S. Michigan

(624 S Michigan building)

Department of Liberal Education

Columbia College Chicago

Instructor: Kristin Scott

Office Hours: By Appointment

E-Mail: or

Class Blog: http://culturalstudies08.wordpress.com/

See Course Description

Reading and Assignment Schedule:

Legend: the following legend indicates acronyms for the books from which we will be reading.

TT: Theory Toolbox

SOL: Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers

* indicates other readings to be handed out in class or made available on the class Web site.

Unit One: What is Culture and Cultural Studies?

Wednesday, January 30th

• Introduction and overview of the course.
• Discussion of culture, cultural studies, artifacts, and some basic terminology.

Response Assignment #1 (due next week); see and respond to assignment online at class blog.

Wednesday, February 6th

Response Assignment #1 DUE online at class blog.

Readings/Viewings:

• “Why Theory?” p. 1-9, TT
• “Popular Signs: Or, Everything You Always Knew About American Culture (but Nobody Asked)”, p. 1- 15, SOL
• View: Encode This Decode That

Response Assignment #2 (due next week); see and respond to assignment online at class blog.

Unit Two: Reading, Interpreting, and Producing Culture

Wednesday, February 13th

Response Assignment #2 DUE online at class blog.

Readings/Viewings:

• "Reading,” p. 21-34, TT
• “Culture,” p. 51-69, TT / “Posts” p. 131-140, TT
• David W. Boles (blog entry) “Is the Confederate Flag a Racist Semiotic?”

Response Assignment #3 (due next week); see and respond to assignment online at class blog.

Wednesday, February 20th

Response Assignment #3 DUE online at class blog.

Readings/Viewings:

• “Subjectivity,” p. 35-50, TT
• View: Race: The Floating Signifier and International Signs and Misinterpretations
• “Child of the Americas” by Aurora Levins Morales (handout) and “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora.

Response Assignment #4 (due next week); see and respond to assignment online at class blog.

Unit Three: Ideologies and Icons

Wednesday, February 27th

Response Assignment #4 DUE online at class blog.

Readings/Viewings:

• “Ideology,” p. 83-94, TT
• View: Hitler Speech (English Subtitles) and Martin Luther King “I have a dream” speech

Response Assignment #5 (due next week); see and respond to assignment online at class blog.

Wednesday, March 5th

Response Assignment #5 DUE online at class blog.

Readings/Viewings:

• Engle, Gary. “What Makes Superman So Darned American?” (744-752) Signs of Life
• Watch: “Superman Tribute,” “Wonder Woman Spin Transformation,” and “Catwoman Attacks”
• Brennan, Jake. “Celebrities Who Aren’t Really Celebrities,” (729-733) SOL
• Watch: “I Got a Crush . . . on Obama”

Response Assignment #6 (due next week); see and respond to assignment online at class blog.

Unit Four: Cultural Commodifications

Wednesday, March 12th

Response Assignment #6 DUE online at class blog.

Readings/Viewings:

• “Consuming Passions: The Culture of American Consumption,” p. 65-75, SOL
• “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals” (73-91). Common Culture (handout)
• Watch: “Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood & Corporate Power”

Response Assignment #7 - see and respond to assignment online at class blog.

Wednesday, March 19th

Response Assignment # 7 DUE online at class blog.

Readings/Viewings:

• “Brought to you B(U)Y: The Signs of Advertising,” p. 141-150.
• “Media Culture,” p. 70-81, TT
• Jean Kilbourne, “Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women”

CASE STUDY PROPOSALS ASSIGNED - DUE April 2nd!

Wednesday, March 24th

SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS!

Unit Five: Politics of Identity and Power

Wednesday, April 2nd

CASE STUDY PROPOSALS DUE online at class blog.

• “Differences,” p. 157-191, TT
• “There is No Unmarked Woman,” p. 499-504, SOL
• View: Ben Sharpa’s “Hegemony”

Response Assignment #8 - see and respond to assignment online at class blog.

Wednesday, April 9th

Response Assignment #8 DUE online at class blog.

Readings/Viewings:

• Brignall III, Tom. (2002) The New Panopticon: The Internet Viewed as a Structure of Social Control. Theory & Science, Vol. 3, Issue 1.
• “Agency,” p. 193-206, TT.

CASE STUDY ESSAYS DUE NEXT WEEK

Unit Six: Multiculturalism

Wednesday, April 16th

CASE STUDY ESSAYS DUE in class!!

Readings/Viewings: be prepared to discuss in class, but there is no blog response.

• Ang, Ien. (2005) Multiculturalism.
• Minh-Ha Pham, “The Asian Invasion (of Multiculturalism) in Hollywood (543-564) Common Culture (handout).Guillermo, Emil. “William Hung: Racism, or Magic?” SF Gate, 2004.
• Watch: William Hung’s “She Bang – on American Idol”

Response Assignment # 9 (due next week); see and respond to assignment online at class blog.

Wednesday, April 23rd

Response Assignment #9 DUE online at class blog

.

Group Case Study Presentations (see schedule on blog).

Readings/Viewings:

• Hari, Johann. (2007) How Multiculturalism is Betraying Women, The Independent, 30 April, 2007.
• Maconachy, A. (2007) “The Failures of Multiculturalism” (blog)

Final Take-Home Examination Assigned (due December 13th)

Response Assignment #10 (due next week); see and respond to assignment online at class blog.

Unit Seven: Postmodernism & Utopic Visions

Wednesday, April 30th

Response Assignment #10 DUE online at class blog.

Readings/Viewings:

• “Space/Time,” p. 109-124
• “Posts,” p. 125-155, TT
• Haker, E. & Lange, M. (n.d) Cyberspace, the Creation of a New World

Wednesday, May 7th

Final Take-Home Exam Due!

Review of Semester