Proseminar: American Cultural Studies

obligatory courses
proseminars

This BA proseminar welcomes students who wish to develop projects in American cultural studies, especially those with an interest in American film, as well as the problematics of race, gender and sexuality in US cultural history.

Introductory sessions will providing a theoretical framework, as well in-depth discussion of the process of writing a BA thesis. Next, we will look at a selection of movies that reflect on race, gender and sexuality in the US.

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? This proseminar will help you develop a research project in this area by providing theoretical inspirations as well as ideas for topics.

We will look at some classic texts as well as documentary films on race, gender, sexuality, and representation. We will also examine four case studies (2 chosen by the instructor and 2 selected by students) - iconic movies dealing with race, gender and/or sexuality. With each film discussed, we will focus on a piece of film criticism.We will also discuss the process of writing a BA thesis: topic development, how to find and use secondary sources, topic sentence, elements of academic style, outlining, work habits, etc. In the final two weeks students will present their work in progress.

Documentary films:

Ethnic Notions (Marlon Riggs, 1987)

Celluloid Closet (Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, 1995).

She's Beautiful When She's Angry (Mary Dore 2014)

Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power (Nina Menkes, 2022)

I Am Not Your Negro (Raoul Peck, 2016)

Feature films:

Guess Who is Coming to Dinner (Stanley Kramer, 1967)

Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017)

READINGS:

Chris Barker & Emma A. Jane, Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice (London: Sage, 2016) (selections)

Robyn Wiegman, “Race, ethnicity and film,” in: The Oxford Guide to Film Studies

Patricia White, “Feminism and Film” in: The Oxford Guide to Film Studies

Laura Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”.

Janey Place, “Women in Film Noir,” in E. Ann Kaplan, ed., Women in Film Noir Sylvia Harvey, “Women's Place: The Absent Family of Film Noir,” in E. Ann Kaplan, ed., Women in Film Noir

Michael Omi and Howard Winant, “Racial Formations” (1994)

Ralph Ellison, “What America Would Be Like Without Blacks” (1970)

Patricia Hill Collins, “Mammies, Matriarchs, and Other Controlling Images” (1990)

James Baldwin, “The American Dream and the American Negro”; “The Devil Finds Work" (selection)

Susan Courtney, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner with Eldridge Cleaver and the Supreme Court..." (2008)

Anna Everett, “1961: Movies and Civil Rights” in American Cinema of the 1960s. Themes and Variations, ed. M. Pomerance (2005)

Kevin Wynter , Critical Race Theory and Jordan Peele's Get Out (2022)

Knowledge:

Student:

- knows the key theoretical concepts of contemporary cultural studies in the field of research on socially constructed identity;

- is familiar with a range of outstanding works 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;

- is familiar with and open to various interpretations and opinions regarding cultural texts as well as visions of culture itself.

Skills:

Student:

- can analyze cultural texts in terms of genre, style, and structure;

- can apply key categories of contemporary cultural studies in interpretive practice;

- can plan, under the supervision of a supervisor, and then carry out a research project in the field of cultural studies;

- can prepare written reports in English.

Social Competencies:

Student:

- can formulate their own views in a consistent and clear manner, while maintaining respect for differing views.

FINAL GRADE COMPONENTS:

1. Attendance and participation in class discussion & Kampus Forum (10%)

2. Group presentation (10%)

3. Short paper (summary/review) (10%)

4. Thesis proposal with annotated bibliography, outline and draft of one chapter (50%)

5. Presentation of research project (20%)

5! = 96

5 = 92.5

4+ = 87.5

4 = 80

3+ = 75

3 = 60