Cultural Studies

Chair: Henry Krips
(909) 621-8612
Humanities@cgu.edu
www.cgu.edu/culturalstudies

Faculty

Academic Program

Cultural Studies situates culture as a site of struggle among structures of power, representation, and subjectivity. Our methods of study are critical in so far as we emphasize not only the ideological dimension of cultural practices but also their radical political potential. We are also reflexive in our approach in so far as we emphasize the ideological investment by cultural studies in the processes of its own production. The fields in which our faculty specialize include history, feminist and queer studies, critical race theory, film and media studies, literary studies, postcolonial studies, Transatlantic studies, psychoanalysis, science studies, historical perspectives on immigration, memory and nationalism, as well as the Frankfurt and Birmingham Schools.

We are concerned to link cultural theory to cultural practices and activist politics. Students are required to take courses in a variety of research methodologies appropriate to the discipline of Cultural Studies, including ethnographic field research methods, visual research methods, oral history, archival studies, and film or literary theory and analysis.

Instruction in Cultural Studies is carried on in seminars. Classes are small and each student’s program is designed individually. A favorable student-faculty ratio allows for an unusual amount of individual attention from faculty members. Students work with faculty advisers in planning their course of study; candidates for the Ph.D. work closely with a faculty committee composed of professors in the student’s fields of study.

Students have considerable choice in the design of their course of study, including choice of concentrations and minor fields. Working closely with faculty advisors, students devise a course of study that gives them intellectual depth in Cultural Studies as well as one other traditional humanities field. Cultural studies courses are also an attractive option for students obtaining degrees in the social sciences, religion, education, politics, or Arts and Cultural Management.

Concentrations

MA or PhD students interested in Media Studies or Museum Studies may choose to complete a concentration in these fields. Requirements for these concentrations are as follows:

Media Studies

12 units must be taken as approved Media Studies courses taught by faculty at CGU or the Claremont Colleges. In addition, one of the student’s Research Methods Courses must be in the field of Media Studies. Students may also complete an optional 4-unit internship (approximately 100 hours.)

Museum Studies

8 units must be taken as approved seminars in Museum Theory and History. Students may also complete an optional 4-unit internship (approximately 100 hours.)

Links to Specific Degrees or Further Information

Cultural Studies, MA

Cultural Studies, PhD