BA Seminar: American Cultural Studies 4219-ZS038
How does social history impact cultural production? Specifically, how have the social movements and transformations in the realm of race, gender and sexuality been reflected, supported and/or resisted in US cinema?
In the course of the semester each participant will present their work, receive feedback from classmates. We will examine students’ writing in progress, as well as texts they assign for discussion.
Depending on needs, we will hold 2-3 class meetings on various aspects of the writing process: key features of the academic style, citation rules and format, structure of the thesis, how to write a good introduction and conclusion, etc.
Each participant will also have at least three individual meetings with the supervisor to discuss progress.
Type of course
obligatory courses
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
KNOWLEDGE:
- Understands the place and significance of cultural and religious studies within the system of sciences, their subject and methodological specificity, their relations to other disciplines and fields, and their development directions.
- Knows key theoretical concepts of contemporary cultural studies, methods, and techniques for data collection in research on socially constructed identity.
- Is familiar with several prominent texts of American culture and documentary films dedicated to transformations concerning race and gender issues in the 20th and 21st centuries.
- Understands the cultural and historical context of these works.
- Knows the basic principles and concepts of intellectual property protection and copyright law, particularly regarding plagiarism and academic ethics.
SKILLS:
- Can formulate and solve complex research problems, recognize, understand, interpret, and analyze the causes and course of cultural phenomena in the United States using sources and standard research methods and tools in the humanities.
- Can plan and then execute a research project in cultural studies under the guidance of a supervisor.
- Is capable of analyzing cultural texts in terms of genre, style, and structure.
- Can apply key categories of contemporary cultural studies in interpretive practice.
- Is able to communicate on American studies topics related to the United States using specialized terminology in English and advanced information and communication techniques.
COMPETENCES:
- Uses the acquired interdisciplinary knowledge of American studies to formulate their own opinions.
- Critically engages with content about U.S. culture presented by the media and other sources.
Assessment criteria
In order to get credit (zaliczenie) a student must finish and submit his/her BA thesis.
Bibliography
1. TEXTBOOKS:
The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Wayne C. Booth, et al. The Craft of Research. 2nd ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Karen Gocsik, Richard Meran Barsam, Dave Monahan, Writing about Movies, New York: W.W. Norton, 2018
2. Films and texts assigned by students, related to their research projects.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: