American Culture: concepts and methodologies 4219-AW231
The course offers an introduction to the key concepts, theories, and research methodologies employed in contemporary cultural studies, with particular emphasis on American Studies. It focuses on critical perspectives used to analyze American culture as a site where meanings, identities, and power relations are negotiated. Throughout the course, students are introduced to central categories of contemporary humanities, including, among others, ideology, discourse, culture, structuralism and post-structuralism, identity, race/ethnicity, gender, (post)coloniality, disability, queerness, and mediatization. Particular attention is given to the historical emergence of these concepts, their transformations, and their interpretive applications. Another important component of the course is the overview of research methods developed within cultural studies and anthropology, including discourse analysis, representation analysis, and media studies, including audience and reception studies. The course develops students’ ability to critically engage with theoretical texts and to independently apply analytical tools in the interpretation of diverse texts and phenomena of American culture. It also highlights the historical and political dimensions of various theories, drawing attention to the relationships between culture, power/knowledge, and social inequalities.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
Upon completing the course, the student,
in terms of knowledge:
- demonstrates knowledge and understanding of the key concepts used in contemporary cultural studies, including but not limited to culture, ideology, discourse, identity, race, gender, postcoloniality, disability, queerness, and mediatization;
- understands the cultural, intellectual, and social conditions underlying the emergence of selected contemporary theories, as well as their historical contexts;
- understands the international trajectories of cultural studies and the significance of American Studies for their development;
- recognizes both the affordances and limitations of particular theoretical approaches, as well as their political implications.
In terms of skills:
- is able to select and apply the theories, concepts, and research strategies introduced in the course to the analysis and interpretation of selected cultural texts, including works of popular culture;
- is able to read and critically comprehend theoretical texts in the field of contemporary humanities;
- is able to identify the interrelations between different axes of social inequality.
In terms of social competences
- is prepared to engage critically with American popular culture;
- is prepared to discuss interpretations of cultural texts, articulate their own perspective, and contrast it with other approaches;
- interprets the world in various ways, while recognizing that the point is, however, to change it.
Assessment criteria
Final exam
Practical placement
This course does not involve practical training
Bibliography
Martin Middeke, Timo Müller, Christina Wald, Hubert Zapf, eds. 2012. English and American Studies. Theory and Practice. Verlag J. B. Metzler Stuttgart.
Chris Barker, Emma Jane. 2016. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. Sage.
Simon During. 2005. Cultural Studies: A Critical Introduction. Routledge.
and others.