Contemporary trends in research on culture 3224-D3WKB
The classes are based on the discussion of assigned readings, preceded by an introduction by the instructor. Each class familiarizes students with the history, research context, and developmental paths of a given approach or orientation. An integral part of the course is the discussion of how elements or entire frameworks of the concepts studied can be applied and used in research. Whenever possible, the classes also include discussions with students on the issues addressed.
I. References, continuations, and new research paths
1. Post-structuralism
a) the problem of rejecting and transforming structuralist certainties (Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault); the significance of this approach for cultural studies (including its role as an inspiration for diverse reflections and new perspectives)
b) key concepts: “unstable meaning” and the “death of the author”
c) Suggested reading: Roland Barthes, “The Death of the Author”, trans. Michał Paweł Markowski, Teksty Drugie, 1999, no. 1/2.
2. Postcolonialism
a) basic frameworks of postcolonial thought; key concepts: “colonialism,” “hybridity”
b) Suggested reading: Ania Loomba, Colonialism/Postcolonialism, Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, Poznań 2011 (excerpts)
3. Postmodernism
a) faces of postmodernism (philosophical positions, architecture and art, e.g. film, cultural formation, etc.)
b) postmodernism versus postmodernity and late modernity – definitional problems in contemporary cultural formations
c) Suggested reading: Zygmunt Bauman, Liquid Modernity, Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków 2006 (excerpts) / Arkadiusz Lewicki, Artificial Worlds: Postmodernism in Feature Film, Wydawnictwo UWr, Wrocław 2007 (excerpts)
4. The “Toronto School”
a) representatives of the school (McLuhan, Ong, de Kerckhove)
b) areas of reflection; introduction to the thesis that “the medium is the message”
c) Reading: M. McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, Wydawnictwa Naukowo-Techniczne, Warsaw 2004 (excerpts)
5. Feminism
a) introduction to the field of research (waves and types of feminism, issues of contemporary feminism)
b) key concepts and problems: “discrimination” and “stereotyping”
c) Suggested reading: “One Is Not Born, but Rather Becomes, a Woman”, selection, introduction and translation by Teresa Hołówka, Warsaw 1982 (selected excerpts)
6. Historicism
a) new ways of thinking about history in the 20th century; the use of various research traditions and interpretations (moving beyond historiography); New Historicism and its representatives (introduction)
b) the historian’s work and strategies; history as a story; historical narrative as interpretation
c) Suggested reading: Jerzy Topolski, How History Is Written and Understood: The Secrets of Historical Narrative, Warsaw 1996 (excerpts)
7. Popular culture studies (introduction)
a) research traditions in popular culture studies (the culture industry, Americanization of culture) and the “problem” of defining popular culture
b) research areas of contemporary popular culture (music, film, etc.)
c) Suggested reading: John Fiske, Understanding Popular Culture, trans. Katarzyna Sawicka, Jagiellonian University Press, Kraków 2010 (first edition 1989). An attempt at a critical reading of the assigned text
8. Popular culture studies – film studies
a) introduction to research traditions in film studies
b) film – selected approaches to film theory from the perspective of psychoanalysis
c) the relationship between film and dreams (the viewer dreams, daydreams, etc.)
Suggested reading: Wiesław Godzic, Film and Psychoanalysis, Jagiellonian University, Kraków 1991 (selected excerpts)
II. Cultural turns in the humanities
9. The performative turn
a) what is the “performative turn”?
b) theatrical metaphors in cultural research (introduction)
c) Suggested reading: Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, trans. Paweł Śpiewak, Helena Datner-Śpiewak, Warsaw 2011 (selected excerpts)
10. The memory turn – memory studies
a) introduction to studies of the remembered past (between history, sociology, and psychology)
b) key concepts: individual and collective memory, cultural memory, lieux de mémoire in Pierre Nora’s sense
c) Polish memory studies (Barbara Szacka, Krzysztof Pomian)
d) Suggested reading: Andrzej Szpociński, “Sites of Memory: Lieux de Mémoire”, Teksty Drugie, no. 4 (112), 2008, pp. 11–20
III. New trends in cultural research (selected)
11. Surveillance studies
a) introduction to research on control and discipline – social mechanisms of control, institutional control, internal mechanisms of self-control, social norms
b) the “panopticon” as a constitutive concept in surveillance studies (Jeremy Bentham, Michel Foucault) – the history of the concept and its contemporary significance; panoptic vision, biopolitics, disciplinary institutions, surveillance tools (drones)
c) Suggested material: selected film excerpts
12. Animal studies
a) cultural studies in search of a non-anthropocentric perspective – introduction
b) key questions in human–animal relations
c) Polish research on the status of animals in culture (e.g. Animals and Their People: The Decline of the Anthropocentric Paradigm, ed. Dorota Łagodzka, Anna Barcz, IBL PAN, Warsaw 2018)
13. Studies of objects and materiality (material culture studies)
a) the issue of the status and identity of non-human entities; the question of the agency of matter at the intersection of sociology, archaeology, and ethnology
b) key questions in human–object relations
c) studies of everyday life and materiality
d) Suggested reading: Marek Krajewski, There Are Things in Life… Sketches from the Sociology of Objects, Fundacja Bęc_Zmiana, Warsaw 2013 (excerpts) / Bożena Shallcross, Things and the Holocaust, Universitas, Kraków 2010 (selected excerpts)
14. Science and technology studies (STS, science studies)
a) science as an object of study; intellectual labor as a specific type of activity; reflection on knowledge – introduction
b) the laboratory and science as social practice
c) a specific focus: the figure of the scientist in popular culture (fear of science)
d) Suggested reading: Urszula Jarecka, “Conceptualizing Biotechnological Threats in Audiovisual Culture”, in: Not Only the Internet: New Media, Nature…, ed. Janusz Mucha, Nomos, Kraków 2010, pp. 290–299
15. Concluding classes – joint discussion of the issues addressed, identification of common points and differences, and reference to students’ existing knowledge (discussion and work in small groups, exercises).
Type of course
Mode
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge: the graduate knows and understands:
- at a basic level, the theoretical and methodological approaches of the humanities, in particular cultural studies and the study of religion (with special emphasis on their interdisciplinary character); understands their mutual relationships and inspirations; possesses elementary knowledge of contemporary schools and research trends, with reference to cultural heritage as well as the historical and contemporary socio-political conditions of Central and Eastern Europe (K1_W01)
- at a basic level, the terminology of cultural studies, taking into account the research perspective of Central and Eastern Europe (research trends, texts, and scholars in contemporary cultural studies) and the specific development of these disciplines in the countries of the region; has basic knowledge of the terminology of related disciplines necessary for learning about and understanding cultural phenomena in the region (K1_W02)
- at a basic level, the broadly understood intercultural context; has knowledge of the human being as a subject who constructs social structures and cultural products, is aware of the principles of their functioning, and understands the resulting differences in the perception of social life among representatives of different nationalities, ideological groups, religious denominations, and variously defined minorities (K1_W07)
Skills: the graduate is able to:
- formulate and analyze research problems, select research methods and tools, and, under the supervision of an academic advisor, conduct simple research in the field of cultural studies and the study of religion and related disciplines concerning the region of Central and Eastern Europe (K1_U02)
- use theoretical approaches, research paradigms, and concepts specific to cultural studies and the study of religion in typical professional situations (K1_U04)
Social competences: the graduate is ready to:
- critically evaluate their own knowledge, engage in continuous learning, and supplement the knowledge they have acquired (K1_K01)
- communicate effectively and function in society, including in societies culturally different from their own; work in groups, cope with typical professional situations, verify their views through substantive discussion, and assess their own knowledge (K1_K02)
Student workload:
- Participation in in-class sessions – 30 hours (1 ECTS)
- Preparation of readings and preparation for course assessment – 60 hours (2 ECTS)
Assessment criteria
1. Course organization
A prerequisite for being admitted to the course assessment is mandatory attendance. In the case of courses consisting of 30 hours per semester, students are allowed to miss up to two classes per semester without justification. Missed classes must be made up in accordance with the instructor’s requirements, which are communicated during the first class.
2. Assessment methods
The course concludes with a graded assessment verifying knowledge of the material discussed during the semester, including familiarity with the assigned readings and the content presented in class.
The assessment takes the form of oral responses to questions formulated by the instructor, checking students’ knowledge of the readings and the issues discussed during the course.
3. Grading criteria
The final grade consists of: an oral exam (70%) and substantive in-class participation (30). Substantive student participation influences the final grade. Active participation in discussion is understood as substantive involvement in discussions during at least 50% of the classes.
4. Grading scale:
0%–49% – 2
50%–60% – 3
61%–70% – 3+
71%–80% – 4
81%–90% – 4+
91%–100% – 5
Additional knowledge – 5+
5. Teaching methods
Lecturing, discussion, guided discussion, brainstorming, instructor-led multimedia presentations and audiovisual materials, and work in small groups (depending on the topic of the class). The instructor delivers the course according to an original teaching concept, presenting key problem areas through the use of multimedia and visual materials.
Bibliography
Literatura podstawowa (wykaz lektur do zajęć):
Roland Barthes, „Śmierć autora”, przeł. Michał Paweł Markowski, „Teksty Drugie”, 1999, nr ½.
Urszula Jarecka, "Konceptualizacja zagrożeń biotechnologicznych w kulturze audiowizualnej", w: "Nie tylko Internet. Nowe media, przyroda…", red. Janusz Mucha, Nomos, Kraków 2010, s. 290-299.
Ania Lomba, „Kolonializm/Postkolonializm”, Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, Poznań 2011 (fragmenty)
Zygmunt Bauman, „Płynna nowoczesność”, Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków 2006 (fragmenty)
M. McLuhan, „Zrozumieć media. Przedłużenie człowieka”, Wydawnictwa Naukowo-Techniczne, Warszawa 2004 (fragmenty)
„Nikt nie rodzi się kobietą”, wybór, wstęp i tłum. Teresa Hołówka, Warszawa 1982 (wybór, fragmenty)
Jerzy Topolski, „Jak się pisze i rozumie historię. Tajemnice narracji historycznej”, Warszawa 1996 (fragmenty)
John Fiske, „Zrozumieć kulturę popularną”, tłum. Katarzyna Sawicka, Wydawnictwo UJ, Kraków 2010 (pierwsze wydanie książki – 1989r.)
Wiesław Godzic, „Film i psychoanaliza”, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Kraków 1991 (wybór fragmentów).
Maurice Halbwachs, „Społeczne ramy pamięci”, w: „Antropologia pamięci”, red. Marcin Napiórkowski, Paweł Majewski, Wydawnictwa UW, Warszawa 2018.
Michael Foucault, „Nadzorować i karać”, Wydawnictwo Fundacji Aletheia, Warszawa 1993 (i inne wydania) - wybrane fragmenty
„Kultura Popularna” – “Mięso”, t. 4 (2015), nr 42 (wybór)
Marek Krajewski, „Są w życiu rzeczy... Szkice z socjologii przedmiotów”, FundacjaBęcZmiana,Warszawa2013 (fragmenty)
Literatura uzupełniająca (wybrane pozycje, nawiązujące do tematyki zajęć - dla chętnych):
Barbara Szacka, „Czas przeszły, pamięć, mit”, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar, Warszawa 2006
Maciej Ożóg, „Transgresje panoptykonu. Nadzór w dobie technologii cyfrowych,” „Kultura Współczesna” nr 2 (60) 2009
Marta Brzezińska-Pająk, "Filmowe wyobrażenia dronów i technologii inwigilacji na przykładzie >Good Kill< Andrew Niccola", w: "Czego pragną drony? Od atrakcji wizualnej do spojrzenia władzy", red. Rafał Nahirny, Aleksandra Kil, Magdalena Zamorska, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Katedra, Gdańsk 2017, s. 215-233.
„W stronę socjologii przedmiotów”, red. Marek Krajewski, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznań 2005
„Studia nad nauką i technologią. Wybór tekstów”, red. Ewa Bińczyk, Aleksandra Derra, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UMK, Toruń 2014
Łukasz Afeltowicz, „Modele, artefakty, kolektywy. Praktyka badawcza w perspektywie współczesnych studiów nad nauką”, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UMK, Toruń 2012
Anna Burzyńska, Michał Paweł Markowski, "Teorie literatury XX wieku. Podręcznik", Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2006.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: