Pratt Institute Intro. Cultural Studies, Spring 1998 B. Ricardo Brown, Ph. D.


NODE.801 Obsolete Syllabus B. Ricardo Brown, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Cultural Studies Pratt Institute BRBrownIII@earthlink.net Retrurn to the Course Materials Page

Cultural Studies
SS 330.01 & .02
Pratt Institute Spring 1998
Meeting Times & Room: Monday 9:30-12 meets in ISC 211; Monday 2-4:30 meets in Engr 32.

B. Ricardo Brown, Ph.D.
Department of Social Science & Cultural Studies
Office: Dekalb 419
Office Phone: 1.718.636.3567, ext. 2709
Office Hours: Monday 1:00pm-1:55pm and 4:30pm-5:30pm,
Tuesday 1:00pm-1:55pm and by appointment
Email: brbrowniii@earthlink.com
URL: http://www.geocities.com/brbgc
Blog: http://node801.blogspot.com
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Course Description

Our present era has been characterized as an age of global integration and the age of a true world economy, yet we can just as often hear Culture invoked as both an expression of this globalism and in opposition to it. Culture is not a new idea, and its full meaning is still a topic of fierce debate. Indeed, we can see in both the invocation of a “Cultural War” in America to the idea of the “gorgeous mosaic” of multiculturalism, the range of conflicting views regarding the meaning and role of culture. Obviously, this use of culture is not limited to any one part of the political spectrum. Cultural Studies is the emerging discipline that seeks to understand the complexity of culture and its political uses. From how to help the “Underclass” to debates over “High & Low” art, the value of the artifacts of popular culture (television, music, etc.), to exploring authority and power in the social relations of everyday life, Cultural Studies examines and intervenes in some of the most pressing issues of the day. The class will explore how Cultural Studies contributes to these debates and in the process offers an integrative understanding of culture and conflict.

Course Requirements

Presentations
Participants are expected to give two presentations. The first, shall be on the readings for a weekly session. The second will be on the topic of their final paper. Participants are expected to select the readings within the first two weeks of class. Group presentations are encouraged, but must be cleared with the instructor before hand. The presentations and class participation will account for 40 percent..

Fianl Paper
One paper, 8-12 pages in length (typed and double-spaced), and two presentations are required. The papers will each 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 anf will be factored into the final grade at the discretion of the instructor.

Readings
The reading for the class will be drawn from these sources. Required readings for the class are marked with an “*”. The books may be purchased from the Pratt Bookstore, and many other bookstores in the city, including St. Marks Books, Barnes and Nobles, etc. You may also purchase these books, often at a discount, via Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com)

*Aronowitz, Stanley. 1993. Roll Over Beethoven: The Return of Cultural Strife. Hanover: Wesleyan University Press.
______________. “Reflections on Identity” and “Birth Rights” from Dead Artists, Live Theories and Other Cultural Problems. 1994. New York: Routledge.
Boynton, Robert. 1995. “The New Intellectuals,” Atlantic Monthly, Vol.275, No.3 (March).
Deleuze, Gilles. 1992. “Postscript on the Societies of Control,” http://www2.stg.brown.edu; also published in October, Vol.59 (Winter).
*During, Simon, ed. 1993. The Cultural Studies Reader. New York; Routledge.
Dutta, Mary Buhl. 1995. “Very Bad Poetry, Captain: Shakespeare in Space,” Extrapolation, Vol36, No.1 (Spring).
Fripp, Robert. “The Musician in Politics,” http://192.41.14.72/crimson/rf-art2.html
__________. “The New Realism: A Musical Manifesto for the 80s,” http://192.41.72/crimson/rf-art.html
Giroux, Henry, David Shumway, Paul Smith, James Sosnoski. 1990. “The Need For Cultural Studies: Resisting Intellectuals and Oppositional Public Spheres,” http://english-www.hss.cmu.edu/theory/Need.html
Hall, Stuart. 1996. Questions of Cultural Identity. New York: Sage.
_________. 1990. “What is this ‘Black’ in Black Popular Culture?” Social Justice, Vol.20, nos.1-2.
Hunter, James Davidson. 1991. Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America. New York: Basic Books.
Marc, David. 1984. “Understanding Television,” Atlantic Monthly, Vol.254 (August).
Nehamas, Alexander. 1990. “Serious Watching,” South Atlantic Quarterly, vol.89, No.1 (Winter).
Rapping, Elayne. 1995. “Watching the Eyewitless News (Infotainment),” The Progressive, Vol.59, No.3 (March).
Scott, Janny. 1994. “Thinking Out Loud: The Public Intellectual is Reborn,” The New York Times, August 9, B1.
Trend, David. 1993. “Rethinking Media Activism,” Socialist Review, vol.23, no.2
West, Cornell. 1993. Race Matters. Boston: Beacon Press.
Willis, Paul. 1977. “Notes Towards a theory of Cultural Forms and Social Reproduction” from Learning to Labor: How Working Class Kids get Working Class Jobs. New York: Columbia.
________. 1990. Common Culture. Boulder: Westview Press.
Young, Iris Marion. 1990. Justice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Session Outline

Session One
Introduction to the Course

Session Two: What is Cultural Studies?
Aronowitz, “Introduction,” pp. 1-20;
Adorno and Horkheimer, in During, “The Culture Industry,” 29-43.
Movie: "Degenerate Art"

Session Three: The “Culture Wars”
Aronowitz, “On the Politically Correct”, pp. 20-63.

Session Four: Questions of Culture
West, in During, “The New Cultural Politics of Difference,” pp. 203-220;
Hall, “What is this ‘Black’ in Black Popular Culture?”

Session Five: Cultural Studies and Postmodernism
Aronowitz, “Cultural Study in Postmodern America,” pp. 167-202;
Deleuze “Postscript on the Societies of Control”.

Session Six: Media I
Hunter, “Media and the Arts,” pp.225-249;
Wallace, in During, “Negative images,” pp. 118-135.

Session Seven: In Class Essay

Session Eight: Media II
Hall in During, “Encoding, decoding,” pp. 90-104;
Williams in During, “Advertising,” pp. 320-339;
Dutta “Very Bad Poetry, Captain: Shakespeare in Star Trek”;
Radway in During, “The Institutional Matrix of Romance,” pp. 438-454;
Rapping, “Watching the eyewitless News”.

Session Nine: Public Intellectuals
Giroux, et al., “The Need for Cultural Studies”
West, “The Crisis of Black Leadership,” pp. 33-47.

Session Ten: Music
Frith, in Hall and du Gay, “Music and Identity,” pp108-128;
Willis, “Music and Symbolic Creativity”;
Fripp, “The Musician in Politics” from http://192.41.14.72/crimson/rf-art2.html ;
Fripp, “The New Realism” from http://192.41.72/crimson/rf-art.html.

Session Eleven: The City
Certeau in During, “Walking in the City,” pp. 151-161;
Donald, in Hall and du Gay, “The Citizen and the Man About Town,” pp. 170-191; Young, “City Life and Difference”
Morris, “Things to Do in Shopping Centers”

Session Twelve: Presentations

Session Thirteen: Presentations

Final Session: Final Paper Due