Cultural Studies
AMST Methods: Cultural St
The study of culture is at the heart of the humanities and social sciences. Each discipline outlines a specific way of defining culture, a specific set of research questions, and a specific way to collect and analyze evidence. Though it is an interdisciplinary formation, American Studies, too, is marked by specific ways of approaching the study of culture. In contemporary American Studies, this approach is rooted in the approach that was first developed at the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies. This course serves as an introduction to cultural studies, with a particular focus on the concept of “structures of feeling,” as proposed by the Welsh critic Raymond Williams.
- T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
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Instructor:
Manu Karuka
Info - 4 points
Feminist Ethnography
This course offers an overview of classic and contemporary examples of feminist ethnography. Over
the course of the semester, we will trace the development of, and debates around, feminist
ethnography from the 1970s to the contemporary period, highlighting the key questions and
dominant paradigms of the field. We will examine how feminist approaches shape the questions we
ask, how we present our research and the ethics of research. We will explore how to incorporate
collaborative and activist methods and analysis in our scholarly projects, asking: How can feminist
ethnography intensify efforts towards social justice in the current political and economic climate?
How do feminist ethnographers link their findings to broader publics through activism, advocacy, and
public policy?
THE WEALTH OF NATIVES
Indigenous people are often imagined in the distant past, or as living anachronisms in relation to contemporary life. Working against these assumptions, this course examines how Native peoples have survived colonialism, focusing on economic aspects of colonialism in North America, while looking to Australia and Hawai‘i. We will look at the long history of Native land struggles, and links between colonial economies and ecological destruction. Themes guiding our inquiry include: the development of wage labor, property law and economic production on Native lands, histories of political and economic dependency, "development" as defined and practiced over Native communities, and Native people's own economic choices. Our inquiry will be oriented towards deepening our ability to critically analyze the colonial situation we live in, and to see Indigenous survivals despite ongoing assaults against life and territory.
- R 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
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Instructor:
Manu Karuka
Info - 4 points
Latina/o/x NY
Latina/o/x populations constitute over 19% of the U.S. population as of 2020, one of the fastest
growing groups in the U.S. with a long and rich history in the U.S while maintaining transnational ties.
In this course students are invited to critically analyze the social histories of and contemporary
experiences of a diverse range of Latino/a/x populations from across the Americas. Over the course of
the semester, we will discuss how Latino/a/x populations come to reside in and transform New York
City, how Latina/o/x populations contend with everyday life and, how they shape and reshape the
communities they resettle in. Although the focus is on New York City, we will also examine the
movement of peoples from the Caribbean and Latin America. Topics include histories of migration,
labor recruitment, citizenship, coloniality and racialization, neoliberalism and the rise of
financialization in NYC, environmental racism, community formation and Latino/a/x political
activism. We will critically examine a variety of text and genres ranging from anthropological,
historical, poetry, documentary, films, media, and art to shift away from homogeneous categorization
of Latino/a/x populations to understanding populations as dynamic and complex. Students are
invited to bring their stories to class as this is a collaborative learning environment.