University of St. Thomas

4 Credit Hours

In ACST 200, students learn about the historical and theoretical foundations of Cultural Studies as an academic discipline and use cultural theory to analyze a variety of cultural products and representations. In this course, students look specifically at dominant and subversive constructions of gender, race, ethnicity, national and sexual identities, and how these constructions are deployed through cultural practices and productions such as sports, film and television, folklore and popular culture, youth subcultures, music, and so on. For example, the course may contain units on "nation" and the creation of American mythologies; the process of hero-making in American history; stereotypes and the representation of race and ethnicity in television and film; representations of gender and sexuality in advertising; as well as a section on American music from jazz, blues, folk and roots music, to rock and roll, punk, and hip-hop. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum.

4 Credit Hours

In ACST 200, students learn about the historical and theoretical foundations of Cultural Studies as an academic discipline and use cultural theory to analyze a variety of cultural products and representations. In this course, students look specifically at dominant and subversive constructions of gender, race, ethnicity, national and sexual identities, and how these constructions are deployed through cultural practices and productions such as sports, film and television, folklore and popular culture, youth subcultures, music, and so on. For example, the course may contain units on "nation" and the creation of American mythologies; the process of hero-making in American history; stereotypes and the representation of race and ethnicity in television and film; representations of gender and sexuality in advertising; as well as a section on American music from jazz, blues, folk and roots music, to rock and roll, punk, and hip-hop. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum.

4 Credit Hours

This course will examine the complex constructions of "race" in American literature and popular culture. How has the category of "race" been historically constructed and represented? Whose interests have these constructions served? Why are these dominant representations often so far removed from the "real" way in which people live their lives? How do writers and artists resist dominant representations of race in the present, creating complex and liberating ways to rethink race? We will read writers such as Sherman Alexie, Ana Castillo, Joy Harjo, bell hooks, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chang-Rae Lee, and August Wilson, as well as examine representations of race in film, music, and advertising. The writing load for this course is 15 pages of revised formal writing. Prerequisite: ENGL 111 or 121. This course replaces ENGL 112 as the second course in the core Literature and Writing sequence. ENGL 190 students should take an ENGL 205 or above literature course to satisfy the core Literature and Writing requirement.

4 Credit Hours

This course will examine the complex constructions of "race" in American literature and popular culture. How has the category of "race" been historically constructed and represented? Whose interests have these constructions served? Why are these dominant representations often so far removed from the "real" way in which people live their lives? How do writers and artists resist dominant representations of race in the present, creating complex and liberating ways to rethink race? We will read writers such as Sherman Alexie, Ana Castillo, Joy Harjo, bell hooks, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chang-Rae Lee, and August Wilson, as well as examine representations of race in film, music, and advertising. The writing load for this course is 15 pages of revised formal writing. Prerequisite: ENGL 111 or 121. This course replaces ENGL 112 as the second course in the core Literature and Writing sequence. ENGL 190 students should take an ENGL 205 or above literature course to satisfy the core Literature and Writing requirement.

3 Credit Hours

In a recent piece, "The Location of Literature: The Transnational Book and the Migrant Writer," Rebecca Wolkowitz suggests that "contemporary literature in the age of globalization is, in many ways, a COMPARATIVE literature: works circulate in many literary systems at once, and can-- some would say, need [to]--be read within severe national traditions" (my emphasis). In this course, we will examine the premise of this claim, examining a range of texts within the context of some of the vast changes that have taken place in the global economy in the last twenty years. We will focus on just a few distinctive feature of the present conjuncture: the political economy of transnationalism--how the acceleration in transnational capital accumulation and the accompanying dispossession of the poor and rise in migrant and refugee populations (especially in/from the Global South), have been highlighted or displaced in the transnational text; the emergence of a transnational citizen --how questions about citizenship have evolved at a time when national borders have become both more rigid and more fluid; gender in a transnational world--how gender has been used to demarcate and negotiate political and economic conflicts; and finally, the idea of transnational ethics-- how the events of 9/11 and the subsequent "war on terror" have realigned our notions of human rights. The texts we will read do not merely serve as "vessels" for economic or social positions, nor are they simply allied or resistant to dominant neoliberal paradigms; instead, like most texts, they yield contradictory "meanings," and we will consider ways in which these texts succeed or fail within the conditions of their own production. The course will explore a range of voices, including Arvind Adiga, Anthony Appiah, Giovanni Arrighi, Alain Badiou, Judith Butler, Rey Chow, Teju Cole, Amma Darko, David Harvey, Eduardo Galeano, Muhammed Hanif, Caren Kaplan, Arundhati Roy, Amartya Sen, Gayatri Spivak, and Slavoj Zizek. Each student will write blog entries, a mid-term paper, and a final essay, and s/he will also be responsible for an extended presentation. A list of books and films will be available at the end of the fall semester. This course satisfies the Multicultural Literature distribution requirement and counts as one 600-level course. Prerequisite: GENG 513 or permission of the instructor.

3 Credit Hours

In a recent piece, "The Location of Literature: The Transnational Book and the Migrant Writer," Rebecca Wolkowitz suggests that "contemporary literature in the age of globalization is, in many ways, a COMPARATIVE literature: works circulate in many literary systems at once, and can-- some would say, need [to]--be read within severe national traditions" (my emphasis). In this course, we will examine the premise of this claim, examining a range of texts within the context of some of the vast changes that have taken place in the global economy in the last twenty years. We will focus on just a few distinctive feature of the present conjuncture: the political economy of transnationalism--how the acceleration in transnational capital accumulation and the accompanying dispossession of the poor and rise in migrant and refugee populations (especially in/from the Global South), have been highlighted or displaced in the transnational text; the emergence of a transnational citizen --how questions about citizenship have evolved at a time when national borders have become both more rigid and more fluid; gender in a transnational world--how gender has been used to demarcate and negotiate political and economic conflicts; and finally, the idea of transnational ethics-- how the events of 9/11 and the subsequent "war on terror" have realigned our notions of human rights. The texts we will read do not merely serve as "vessels" for economic or social positions, nor are they simply allied or resistant to dominant neoliberal paradigms; instead, like most texts, they yield contradictory "meanings," and we will consider ways in which these texts succeed or fail within the conditions of their own production. The course will explore a range of voices, including Arvind Adiga, Anthony Appiah, Giovanni Arrighi, Alain Badiou, Judith Butler, Rey Chow, Teju Cole, Amma Darko, David Harvey, Eduardo Galeano, Muhammed Hanif, Caren Kaplan, Arundhati Roy, Amartya Sen, Gayatri Spivak, and Slavoj Zizek. Each student will write blog entries, a mid-term paper, and a final essay, and s/he will also be responsible for an extended presentation. A list of books and films will be available at the end of the fall semester. This course satisfies the Multicultural Literature distribution requirement and counts as one 600-level course. Prerequisite: GENG 513 or permission of the instructor.

4 Credit Hours

The course provides students with intensive practice in writing, enabling them to adapt to the demands of differing rhetorical contexts. Emphasis on understanding writing processes and learning to respond thoughtfully to writing at various stages. Critical reading will be practiced as an integral part of the writing process. Prerequisite: participation in the Academic Development Program

4 Credit Hours

The course provides students with intensive practice in writing, enabling them to adapt to the demands of differing rhetorical contexts. Emphasis on understanding writing processes and learning to respond thoughtfully to writing at various stages. Critical reading will be practiced as an integral part of the writing process. Prerequisite: participation in the Academic Development Program

4 Credit Hours

Offered with specific subtitles, this course provides an intensive focus on a selected body of literature concerning one of the following aspects of human diversity: race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation. Students will also consider relevant critical approaches and concepts. Credit may be earned more than once under this number for different emphases. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisites: ENGL 111 and 112 or 190

4 Credit Hours

Offered with specific subtitles, this course provides an intensive focus on a selected body of literature concerning one of the following aspects of human diversity: race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation. Students will also consider relevant critical approaches and concepts. Credit may be earned more than once under this number for different emphases. This course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement in the core curriculum. Prerequisites: ENGL 111 and 112 or 190