Cultural Studies Courses (CULT)

Related Catalog Entry: College of Arts and Sciences / Cultural Studies

Related Mason Website: Cultural Studies (http://www.gmu.edu/departments/cultural/)

802 Ideas and Methods I (4:4:0).Prerequisites: Admission to program, to M.A. "feeder" track, or permission of instructor. Examination of various models for cultural studies that highlight the production, distribution, and consumption of cultural objects in their social contexts. Emphasis on contemporary issues emergent from case studies of local cultures.

804 Ideas and Methods II (4:4:0).Prerequisites: Admission to program and CULT 802. Examination of major traditions for defining culture and the theoretical issues underlying them.

806 Research Seminar in Cultural Studies (3:3:0).Prerequisite: CULT 802. Introduction to research methods in cultural studies. Specific topics vary.

808 Student/Faculty Colloquium in Cultural Studies (1:1:0).Prerequisite: Admission to program or permission of instructor. Forum for the presentation of original and current research in cultural studies. Students register for one credit per semester over a four-semester period.

810 Theories of Culture: Track Core Course (3:3:0).Prerequisite: CULT 802 or permission of instructor. Historical introduction to the tradition of "grand theory" in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

812 Arts, Artifacts, and Institutions: Track Core Course (3:3:0).Prerequisite: CULT 802 or permission of instructor. Multidisciplinary approach toward construction of the aesthetic. Balances moments of emergence with contemporary formations and theoretical texts with case studies focusing on a wide variety of media, institutions, and audiences.

814 Social Construction of Identities: Track Core Course (3:3:0).Prerequisite: CULT 802 or permission of instructor. Advanced introduction to the discovery, constitution, and contestation of "identity" in history, theory, and discourse; addressing issues of subjectivity and consciousness, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, nationality, and class.

816 Culture and Information Technology: Track Core Course (3:3:0).Prerequisite: CULT 802 or permission of instructor. Examination of the historical, philosophical, and social background of the contemporary information technology revolution, exploring its implications as well as its relation to social organization, product design, and artificial intelligence.

818 Culture of Politics: Track Core Course (3:3:0).Prerequisite: CULT 802 or permission of instructor. Introduction to major issues in the relationship between cultural forces and political power.

860 Special Topics in Cultural Studies (1-3:1-3:0). Specialized interdisciplinary topics in cultural theory and analysis; content varies. May be repeated.

870 Directed Readings (3:0:0). Intensive reading course aimed at developing comprehensive coverage for specific tracks as agreed upon in consultation with student's advisers. May be repeated.

880 Independent Study (1-3:0:0). Reading and research on a specific topic, resulting in a written project. May be repeated.

998 Doctoral Dissertation Proposal (1-6:0:0). Work on a research proposal that forms the basis for the doctoral dissertation. Students enrolling in 998 must have completed all Cultural Studies course work, fulfilled the foreign language requirement, and passed the comprehensive examination. Course may be repeated once for credit.

999 Doctoral Dissertation (1-12:0:0).Prerequisites: Completion of CULT 998 and public presentation of the dissertation proposal. Doctoral dissertation research and writing under the direction of the student's dissertation committee.