Obsolete Syllabus
B. Ricardo Brown, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Cultural Studies
Pratt Institute
BRBrownIII@earthlink.net
Retrurn to the
Course Materials Page 
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Obsolete Syllabus B. Ricardo Brown, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Cultural Studies Pratt Institute BRBrownIII@earthlink.net Retrurn to the
Course Materials Page
|
Theory and method are closely connected. In fact, it is difficult if not impossible to separate theoretical issues from those of methodology. Any emerging field of knowledge usually lays claim to the methods and theories of preceding fields---albeit with modifications---while at the same time deploying new methods for understanding the world. The emerging field of Cultural Studies is no exception. This class will give an overview of some of the most important theoretical and methodological orientations in Cultural Studies: feminism, psychoanalysis, structuralism and post-structuralism, ethnography, and others. We will also examine Du Gay, Hall, et al. Doing Cultural Studies: The History of the SONY Walkman.
Last year, we concentrated upon epistemological questions, and these will remain central to our work. The emphasis this year will be on how to pursue investigations within the domain of Cultural Studies. This is intended as a practical course.
Cultural Studies is for the most part a collaborative
discipline. For this reason, the class will form groups for the purpose
of preparing presentations on the weekly readings and for undertaking a
semester project on one of the following topics:
Media
A project on the local Evening News programs.
Advertising and Sexuality
A project decoding the HIV drug
ads that have recently appeared in the New York City Subways, or the
marketing of Viagra are the two available topics for this semester.
Landscape and Society
A project on the changes in the
landscape of Pratt itself and the surrounding area since World War II.
You may also select an alternative landscape.
Technology
A project on a specific technology or device (but not the Internet) such as that done by Hall et al. on the SONY Walkman.
Ethnography and the Audience for Art
A project aimed at
understanding the audience for art. You will select a particular venue
here in the city, such as the Metropolitan or another museum, and
devise a method of studying the makeup of its audience (this might
include interviews, pretending not to know anything and recording how
the patrons respond to you, surveys of patrons, researching and
interviewing donors, etc.).
Participants are expected to give two presentations.
The first presentation will be on the readings appropriate for their
group (e.g., the landscape group will present the course readings on
landscape). At this time the group is also required to describe their
final project.
The second presentation will be on the topic of the final paper. You
may give group presentations. (The final paper will be on your project,
its methods, and your understanding of the process of investigating a
cultural artifact.)
The presentations and class participation will account for 40 percent.
Final Paper
One paper, 8-12 pages in length (typed and
double-spaced) or a demonstration (public exhibit, performance, film,
etc.) with a textual description of 3-5 pages is required. (The
demonstration option must be approved beforehand.) The paper will count
for 60 percent of the final grade.
Class Participation
Education is not a one way street and we can not expect to simply
passively receive knowledge. Participation is mandatory and will be
factored into the final grade.
Absences and Lateness
Persistent absences or lateness will result in a reduction of your final grade.
Grades and Incompletes
Grades will be posted in the
department at the end of the semester. Incompletes will be granted only
in accordance with the established policy of the college. The request
must be made in advance of exam week. It must be made in writing. An
incomplete is “available only if the student has been in regular
attendance, has satisfied all but the final requirements of the course,
and has furnished satisfactory proof that the work was not completed
because of illness or other circumstances beyond control” (Pratt
Institute Bulletin). If you do not turn in your paper on time, and you
do not have an approved incomplete, you will fail the course.
