Graduate Seminar, Autumn, 1998

Cultural studies is a catch-all term describing a wide array of writings in the social sciences and humanities whose common concern involves a concept of culture and a sense that the borders between disciplines are either unnecessary or at the least, highly permeable. Though the term "culture" has come into the foreground in the social sciences, literary criticism, and philosophy, it often signifies a highly contested terrain with widely diverse understandings of what constitutes a culture.

We will begin by considering the concept of culture, tracing ideas from semiotics and semiology, cultural anthropology, and sociology. We then move on to explore the ways the arts relate to cultural expression and critique, both as the embodiment of new modes of feeling and understanding and as a source for a critical perspective. The chief theme will be the post-World War Two arts through the 1950s and early ‘60s and the twin problems of a "culture of abstraction" and a "culture of spontaneity." Another theme for the seminar is "literary" social thought, including fictional work, non-fiction by fiction writers, ethnography, and other non-fiction writing which has both dramatic impact and critical purpose.

Requirements: In addition to xeroxes, required readings include a new book, The Culture of Spontaneity: Improvisation and the Arts in Postwar America, by Daniel Belgrad, plus some recent work by writer Milan Kundera. There will be a midterm paper of 5-7 pages and a final paper of 15-20 pages. There will also be an ungraded diary project. Students will also be expected to read the assignment before class, actively take part in discussions, and will take turns as discussion leaders preparing outlines of readings or key ideas in the texts to be used for discussion.