Theories and Practices of Culture

elective courses

The course proposes a survey of key texts in cultural studies and cultural anthropology, both classic and contemporary, that explore the ways in which theories of culture can help us to critically engage with issues of race, class, gender and sexuality in American culture. The aim of the course is to introduce students to core ideas, concepts and methodological frameworks, as well as their positioning in the history of development of cultural theory, that can be used for analyzing different phenomena in contemporary American society. During the course, students will learn about both past traditions and paradigms of approaching culture, as well as discuss recent applications of cultural studies methodology in American studies scholarship.

The course is designed as a survey of selected theoretical approaches to culture, with the primary aim of exploring the complex historical and political transformations in broadly defined cultural studies. In the first part, we will be closely analyzing key theoretical readings and approaches to studying culture, discussing their historical significance and limitations, as well as engaging with the texts critically to test their application to present-day realities in the US. Besides introducing students to basic theories of cultural anthropology, cultural studies and related disciplines, during the course we will also follow and respond to the debates that emerge between these texts and their critics. Particular attention will be given to the genealogy of ideas, in order to trace the development of influential concepts and methods across time. We will be examining the different ways in which ‘politically useful knowledge’ can be employed to deepen our understanding of such categories as power, hegemony, resistance and dissidence. Special emphasis will be given to the relationship between theory and its application – in the second part of the course, we will turn our attention to understanding “culture as praxis” through an examination of selected case studies that demonstrate how the workings of contemporary American culture are critically addressed by scholars as sites of ongoing political and social struggle.

Selected readings from:

Baldwin, John R., Sandra L. Faulkner, Michael L. Hecht, and Sheryl L. Lindsley, eds. Redefining Culture: Perspectives Across the Disciplines. Mahwah, N.J: Routledge, 2005.

Campbell, Neil C., and Alasdair Kean. American Cultural Studies: An Introduction to American Culture. New York: Routledge, 2005.

Engelke, Matthew. How to Think Like an Anthropologist. Princeton Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2019.

Eriksen, Thomas Hylland, and Finn Sivert Nielsen. A History of Anthropology. London ; Sterling, Va: Pluto Press, 2001.

Geertz, Clifford. Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books, 1973.

Hall, Stuart, Andrew Lowe, Paul Willis, and Dorothy Hobson, eds. Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, 1972-79. Routledge, 2015.

Lewin, Ellen, ed. Feminist Anthropology: A Reader. Malden, MA ; Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006.

McRobbie, Angela. The Uses of Cultural Studies: A Textbook. London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE, 2005.

Moore, Jerry D. Visions of Culture: An Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2018.

Obeyesekere, Gananath. The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1997.

Rapport, Nigel. Social and Cultural Anthropology: The Key Concepts. London ; New York, NY: Routledge, 2014.

Rowe, John Carlos, ed. A Concise Companion to American Studies. Malden, Mass. Weinheim: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.

Smith, Paul, ed. The Renewal of Cultural Studies. Temple University Press, 2011.

Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. London ; New York: Routledge, 2018.

Wake, Paul, and Simon Malpas, eds. The Routledge Companion to Critical and Cultural Theory. London ; New York: Routledge, 2013.

KNOWLEDGE

After completing the course:

- Students have knowledge of key theories of culture and their application to the study of American culture

- Students understand the terminology, methods, tools, selected research traditions, and directions of development specific to cultural and anthropological studies for researching cultural and social phenomena in the United States

- Students possess an understanding of the complexity of research on the culture of the United States and the ongoing transformations in cultural theory

SKILLS

After completing the course:

- Students are able to use basic tools in the field of theory and methodology specific to cultural studies and cultural anthropology for reading, understanding, and interpreting texts in this field

- Students are able to analyze cultural phenomena using various theoretical approaches

- Students are able to draw conclusions and formulate opinions on crucial debates within cultural studies

- Students critically approach classic text from the field of American cultural anthropology

SOCIAL COMPETENCES

After completing the course:

- Students know how to work in groups, participate in discussions and academic debates

- Students know how to plan and write an academic essay based on theoretical and cultural knowledge

- Students are open to new phenomena and ideas in American culture, continue learning and engage in the development of American Studies

*Active participation in classes (20 points)

*Pop-up quizzes (20 points)

*Research proposal presentation (to be developed into a final essay) (20 points)

*Short interpretative essay (40 points)

In order to pass the course, the student must receive a minimal score of 60 points.

Two absences are allowed.

Grading:

90-100: 5

85-89: 4+

78-84: 4

68-77: 3+

60-67: 3