Intro to Cultural Studies

Course Theme: Magazines and

Meaning

English 207 A01; Fall 2012
Monday & Thursday 1pm - 2:20pm
HHB (Hickman Building) 116

Instructor: Dr. Matt Huculak
Office: Clearihue D227
Office Hours: Monday 2:30-3:30pm
Thursday 11am-12pm
& by appt.
Email: jhuculak@uvic.ca

Culture is one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language.
Raymond Williams, Keywords.

Description
This course provides an introduction to critical approaches and debates in the field of cultural
studies. Our primary (but not exclusive) approach to this field will be through magazine culture
as we examine what Sean Latham and Robert Scholes call The Rise of Periodical Studies.
Students will apply the theoretical approaches and methodologies of cultural studies to the
material culture of magazines. Lectures and discussions will be particularly concerned with the
following questions:

How do understandings and ideas about culture emerge from historical as well as
theoretical perspectives?
What arguments have historically been used to distinguish between high art and mass
culture?
How are race, gender, and class produced and consumed in the mass market?

This course is writing intensive with an emphasis on developing skills in critical thinking and
scholarly argumentation and documentation. David Foster Wallace notes that we should draw
no distinction between the quality of ones ideas and the quality of those ideas verbal
expression.

Required Texts
Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader. Ed. John Storey
Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. John Storey
Online Texts
Modernist Journals Project (modjourn.org)
Recommended Text
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Other Texts
Students are asked to purchase a current magazine for critical study
Format
This course will employ a lecture and discussion format. Brief lectures will be given at the
beginning of class in order to locate possible discussion topics. Students are expected to prepare
discussion points for in-class conversation.

Readings
The assigned readings can be found in the course textbooks. Other readings can be downloaded
from the course website. Please be aware that you are likely to find the readings in this course to
be difficult. Give yourself time to engage properly with the texts.

Grading
Participation 20%
Paper 1 10%
Paper 2 10%
Paper 3 10%
Blog Entries 30%
Quizzes 10%
Final Exam 10%

Attendance
It is your responsibility to be in class on time. Since nearly a quarter of your grade depends on
participation, you are asked to be active in the classroom community.

Participation
You are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the texts in an informed and public
manner. You are expected to be an active learner (do ask questions!) and to participate in class
discussions and group activities. Failure to be prepared and participate in class will affect your
participation grade.

Quizzes
Brief will be given that will cover the reading assignment for that day. You will not be permitted
to take the quiz if you are not in class on time, and make-up quizzes will only be offered in the
case of an excused absence.

Papers & Self-Evaluation Forms
You are expected to write three short papers over the course of the term. Each of these papers
will employ a different critical approach learned during class lectures and discussions. For
example, if your first paper primarily examines gender and GQ, your second and third papers
must address other issues like race or popular culture in magazines.

Each essay MUST be accompanied by a self-evaluation form available on the course website.
Papers will not be accepted without this form and will be considered late until it is completed.

Papers should be 1,000 words, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and a 12pt-Times font
You must use MLA guidelines to style your papers
You should have a title that is succinct and catchy
You should staple your paper (a cover page is not necessary)
You should proofread your essay several times
Your paper must be turned in on time. You will lose 1/3 of a letter grade each day it is late
Your paper must be accompanied by a self-evaluation form

Blog Entries
You are expected to write three, 300-word blog entries over the course of the term. The blog is
intended to give you a multimedia tool to explore a particular subject of your choice. Your blogs
should be more than just text. You are expected to use images, links, mp3s or other media files to
support your argument. The blogs are meant to encourage you to be attentive readers of your
own culture. You might be inspired to write an entry on a news article (news.google.ca) or a
commercial/show on television. You might want to examine advertising on a website. Be
creative in how you approach these assignments.

Final Exam
The final exam will consist of identification, short answer, and essay questions. It will cover all
of the reading and lecture material in the course. The final exam date will be announced in
October.

Technology
Anything that has the potential to disrupt the class should not be used or accessed. Laptops
should only be used for taking notes. Browsing the internet during class is disruptive to both the
professor and your neighbours. All phones should be turned off and put away during class.
Recording the class is strictly prohibited without the permission of the class.

Academic Honesty
We will discuss good research and citation practices in class. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If
you have any questions about academic honesty, please ask me or visit
http://library.uvic.ca/instruction/cite/plagiarism.html

Accessibility
Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. In particular, if you
have a disability/health consideration that may require accommodations, please feel free to
approach me and/or the Resource Centre for Students with a Disability (RCSD) as soon as
possible. The RCSD staff are available by appointment to assess specific needs, provide
referrals and arrange appropriate accommodations http://rcsd.uvic.ca/. The sooner you let us
know your needs the quicker we can assist you in achieving your learning goals in this course.

How to Contact Me
I hold regular office hours in Clearihue D227 on Monday 2:30-3:30pm and Thursday 11am-
12pm. You can also set up a meeting by appointment if you are in class during those times by
emailing me at jhuculak@uvic.ca. I also work in the new Makers Lab in TEF (2
nd
floor).

Schedule of Readings
Week 1
Thursday, 9/6 Introductions. Syllabus. Moodle.

Week 2 Making Culture
Monday, 9/10
Arnold, Culture and Anarchy (Reader)
Latham and Scholes, The Rise of Periodical Studies (PDF)
Morris, A Question of Cultural Studies (PDF)
Thursday, 9/13
Williams, The Analysis of Culture (Reader)
Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (Reader)
Anderson, Imagined Communities (PDF)

Week 3 The Popular
Monday, 9/17
Blog 1 Due
Bourdieu, Distinction & the Aristocracy of Culture (Reader)
De Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life (Reader)
Thursday, 9/20
Fiske, The Popular Economy (Reader)
Schudson The New Validation of Popular Culture (Reader)

Week 4 Marxism
Monday, 9/24
Paper 1 Due
Marx, Base and Superstructure (Reader)
Gramsci, Hegemony, Intellectuals and the State (Reader)
Thursday, 9/27
Hall, The Rediscovery of Ideology (Reader)
Laclau and Mouffe, Post-Marxism without Apologies (Reader)

Week 5 Feminism
Monday, 10/1
Radway, Reading the Romance (Reader)
Butler, Imitation and Gender Insubordination (Reader)
Thursday, 10/4
Rakow, Feminist Approaches to Popular Culture (Reader)
Winship, Inside Womens Magazines (PDF)

Week 6 Psychoanalysis & Post-Structuralism
Monday, 10/8 No Class (Thanksgiving Day)
Thursday, 10/11
Blog 2 Due
Freud, The Dream Work (Reader)
Lacan, The Mirror Stage
Althusser, Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses

Week 7 Continued
Monday, 10/15
Foucault, Method (Reader)
Zizek, From Reality to the Real (Reader)
Barthes, Myth Today (Reader)
Thursday, 10/18
No Class (Professor at Conference)
Weedon, Feminism & The Principles of Poststructuralism

Week 8 Postmodernism
Monday, 10/22 Paper 2 Due
Baudrillard, The Precession of Simulacra (Reader)
Morris, Feminism, Reading, Postmodernism (Reader)
Wilson, Fashion and Postmodernism (Reader)
Thursday, 10/25
Creed, From Here to Modernity (Reader)
Perryman, Doctor Who and the Convergence of Media (Reader)

Week 9 Race
Monday, 10/29
Bobo, The Color Purple: Black Woman as Cultural Readers (Reader)
West, Black Postmodernist Practices
Thursday, 11/1
hooks, Postmodern Blackness (Reader)
Hall, What is Black in Black Popular Culture (Reader)

Week 10 Fashion
Monday, 11/5 Simmel, The Philosophy of Fashion (PDF)
Thursday, 11/8 Wilson, Feminism and Fashion (PDF)

Week 11 Music
Monday, 11/12 No Class (Reading Break)
Thursday, 11/15
Adorno, On Popular Music (Reader)
Saeed, Musical Jihad (Reader)

Week 12 Digital
Monday, 11/19
Blog 3 Due
Kirschenbaum, What is Digital Humanities (PDF)
Davidson & Goldberg, A Manifesto for the Humanities (PDF)
Thursday, 11/22 Moretti, Graphs, Maps, and Trees (PDF)

Week 13 Cyborg
Monday, Haraway, A Cyborg Manifesto (PDF)
Thursday, Hardt & Negri, Biopolitical Production (PDF)

Week 14 Shopping
Monday, 11/26 Fiske, Shopping for Pleasure (PDF)
Thursday, 11/29 Kowinski, Mallaise: How to Know if You Have It (PDF)

Week 15 Subcultures
Monday, 12/3
Paper 3 Due
Class-Determined Reading

Last day of Class

Final Exam TBA


Writing Assignment Self Evaluation Forms
Name and Student Number _________________________________
In order to help you achieve your goals, I require you to provide a grade for your work. This
grade does not constitute your final mark, but rather provides me with information on your
expectations. If your grade is significantly lower (or higher) than you expect, then we need to
discuss the matter further. Be as honest as you can with your grades and comments. I realize that
it is hard to grade your own work, but it is a valuable exercise. Remember, a C grade means
average, so base your marks (either higher or lower) on this standard.
Attach this sheet to your writing assignment.
Grade Outline: Here is a guide to help you evaluate your work.
F = Failure
- inadequate knowledge of material
- inadequate use of material
- contained numerous grammatical errors to the point where the clarity of the argument
was compromised
- plagiarism found (zero tolerance)
D = Below Average
- contains numerous grammatical errors and is structured inadequately
- covers the required content in a superficial manner
- no analysis of points or ideas
- uses description far too much, with little creative analysis
C = Average
- contains few grammatical errors and is well-organized
- covers the required content but goes no further
- relatively simply ideas that are easy to prove
- could prove points with more analytic depth (i.e. relies on description, not analysis to
illustrate your points)
B = Good
- contains few grammatical errors
- appropriate use of material
- fully explores all the ramifications of ideas
- relatively creative thesis/ideas that requires analytic depth to prove
- shows knowledge and command of the material
A = Excellent
- contains very few grammatical errors
- writing is not only grammatically correct, but also showed command of language and
style
- fully explores the required topics, but also engages more critical issues
- creative, innovative and interesting thesis/ideas that require not only analytic depth to
prove, but genuine insight into the topic
- shows mastery of the material
In the space below, please evaluate the general quality of your work. Using the grade outline
(found above) to help you, answer these questions:
1. I should receive a grade of ______ on my content (did you use all required resources i.e.
lectures, readings, quotations, secondary material etc.).
2. I should receive a grade of ______ on my creativity (the degree to which your writing
assignment attempts to answer challenging questions).
3. I should receive a grade of ______ on the quality of my ideas and writing (how successful
were you in exploring your topics and ideas).
Overall, I believe that my final grade for this writing assignment should be ________.
4. I would like WRITTEN comments returned to me with this essay
YES ____ NO____
Additional Comments: