COURSE OVERVIEW

The course provides a general overview of the highly diversified field of “cultural studies” – what it is, the evolving relationships between its various approaches and concerns, the central issues that it confronts, and its importance to international development education.

Cultural Studies concerns itself with the meaning and practices of everyday life. Particular meanings attach to the ways people in particular cultures do things. Primary stress will be placed on the relation between knowledge and power, ethnicity/class/gender and culture, and the attempts within cultural studies to embrace a variety of disciplines in a transdisciplinary critique of intellect and institution.

We will review basic readings in history, theory, and method, and then proceed to special topics in spatial and temporal organization of contemporary institutions, the politics of knowledge, and personality formation. The major governing paradigms in cultural studies will be reviewed and then put to use in the examination of topics currently in the public eye, in regards to international education and development.

OBJECTIVES

This course aims to:

• Interrogate prevailing common-sense notions of education and international development
• Examine how social and cultural relations affect education and international development
• Improve students’ abilities to critically assess, analyze and develop educational and developmental programs, policies and goals
• Improve students’ critical reading, research, oral presentation and academic skills

OFFICE HOURS & COMMUNICATIONS

In order to best accommodate the variable schedules of participants in this class, I will make individual appointments with students on Thursdays and have open office hours for drop-ins on Tuesday afternoons. If you need to make an appointment, please send an e-mail to: jmosselson@educ.umass.edu. If neither of the set times are feasible, please email me and we can try to find a time that is mutually convenient. Also, if you have any other problems or concerns, I find it best to communicate via e-mail, which I check frequently. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of email and office hours.

COURSE MATERIALS

The readings for this course include books and articles about theoretical issues related to cultural studies and international development. There are three required books for this course and a set of required readings. The required texts can be purchased at Food For Thought Books in downtown Amherst and a set of required readings will be distributed on a CD.

Required Books:

Storey, J. (1998). An Introduction to Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.

Surber, J.P. (1998). Culture and Critique: An introduction to the critical discourses of Cultural Studies. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Hall, S. (Ed.) (2001). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage Publications.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The specific requirements for successful completion of this course are:

• Class participation 20% of total grade

You are expected to read all assigned readings and come to class prepared with questions and issues for discussion.

• Auto-ethnography 60% of total grade

In this assignment, you will develop and clarify your own perspective for analyzing international development and education. There are many issues in international development and education which raise questions of power and culture dynamics – for example, is Education for All the best option for all countries? Whose values does EFA represent? While I’m not asking you to address specific cases or policies until the final part of the written assignment, this example can help you think about the compelling issues of international development, education, and your own ideas/perspectives/attitudes on power and culture etc. You will do this assignment in conjunction with the readings and theorists we discuss in class and in relation to a variety of alternative perspectives and concepts. This assignment is broken down into five components:

Part One (3-5 pages): due week 3

Reflect on your views, as you come into the course, on international development and education. We are all products of culture and socialization processes, and have internalized enough of our own society’s values to be relatively successful actors within it. As we seek to work in development education, many of us talk about ‘giving back’ or ‘helping those less fortunate than ourselves.’ There are inherent cultural and power dynamics wrapped up in these, and a full range of other attitudes that are helpful to reflect upon. You may want to use this part of the assignment as an opportunity to think about why you wish to work in development and education, what attracts you to working with communities other than your own (which could be nationality, socioeconomic status etc), and so on. There are no right answers or value-judgments attached to this paper – indeed, that expectation could be a whole other paper in itself (after all, many of us have also internalized what we are supposed to say too).

Part Two (8-10 pages): due Week 7

Discuss the implications the ideas discussed in the readings and in class up until this point have for confirming, refining, or altering what you outlined in Part One (attach a copy). Integrate into the discussion a summary of the major ideas addressed in the readings and class discussions.

Part Three (8-10 pages): due Week 12

This part builds on both Parts One and Two. Again, discuss the implications the ideas discussed in the readings and in class up until this point have for confirming, refining, or altering what you outlined in Parts One and Two (attach a copy). Integrate into the discussion a summary of the major ideas addressed in the readings and class discussions.

Part Four (5-8 pages): due Week 13

For the conclusion of your grounded autoethnography, reflect on the theoretical perspectives discussed in class in the context of a research issue or professional practice that is of interest to you. Explain how the theoretical constructs and perspectives you select contribute to studying the issue in ways that are original, insightful and relevant. This paper should reflect your ability to apply cultural studies theory to research issues as well as your ability to explain why you select certain theoretical perspectives over others.

Part Five

Make a short (10-minute) presentation about the content of your paper during the last class.

• Media Portfolio (20% of total grade) Due weeks 3, 8 and 14.

In this project, the goal is to put together a portfolio of media artifacts with a written analysis of the ways in which knowledge and/or opinions are shaped/formed in different societies. Choose a topic related to international development and follow it in the US and international news for the duration of the course. Use a variety of media sources – television, magazines, newspapers, internet, journals, etc. Within each genre look further into a variety of sources. For example, with magazines, look at how The Economist, The Nation, The New Yorker etc. address the same topic, as well as different types of newspapers, web sites, blogs etc. Be sure to include international sources to help identify the ways in which local conditions inherent to societies construct global perspectives and inform opinions. This is an exercise on comparing and contrasting and is a semester long project. In week 3 and week 8 you must bring your portfolio to class to discuss.

Special feature of the Fall 2006 class: There can be no Incompletes or Extensions for this class. I am due to have a baby in late December and will not be grading after the end of the semester.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

For every class you will be expected to do all the assigned readings and be prepared to discuss them. Integration and critical analysis of readings are also part of all written assignments. A word on plagiarism, per University policy:

The integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research. Academic honesty is therefore required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Academic dishonesty (cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, facilitating dishonesty) is prohibited in all programs of the University. Sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Ombuds office, the Dean of the Graduate School and given an F in this course. Please visit http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/rights/acad_honest.htm for more details.

ACCOMODATIONS

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological or learning disability on file with Disability Services (DS), Learning Disability Support Services (LDSS), or Psychological Disabilities Services (PDS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course. If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements.

GRADING POLICY

Grades in this class will be Pass/Fail unless you notify me, in writing, by the end of September that you would prefer a Letter Grade. Letter Grades will be determined according to the Rossman/Rallis rubric below:

An A-range essay is both ambitious and successful. It demonstrates mastery of the academic writing with grace and confidence. It includes:

• an interesting, arguable thesis that is sufficiently limited in scope, presented early and developed throughout the essay;
• a logical, progressive structure that takes the reader on a journey, developing, complicating, and expanding the initial thesis by considering counter-arguments; strong and clear links between points, and well-organized paragraphs;
• sufficient, appropriate, and interesting evidence, presented in a readable and understandable way;
• deep and thoughtful engagement with sources that uses those sources in a range of ways, including to motivate and support the argument, provide key-terms, and so on; it integrates and cites sources correctly;
• a style that is both conversational and sophisticated; that uses diction appropriate to the subject matter and the audience; that engages and stimulates the reader; and
• mastery of the mechanics of writing in all aspects: grammar, punctuation, APA style.

A B-range essay is one that is ambitious but only partially successful, or one that achieves modest aims well. It exhibits one or more of the following features:

• a thesis that may be arguable but vague, uninteresting, or fragmentary; it may be implied rather than stated directly (or stated quite late); it may be dropped in places;
• a structure that proceeds logically most of the time or in general, but is periodically confusing due to missing links or large intellectual leaps; it might be overly predictable and undeveloped, with few complications; it may include disorganized paragraphs;
• evidence that is generally solid but may be thin in places, or might be presented without analysis (as undigested quotation);
• sources that are quoted and cited correctly (for the most part) but are deployed in limited ways—as a straw person or as simple confirmation of the author’s viewpoint;
• a style that is clear but lacking in sophistication; or that is weighed down by inappropriately fancy diction; may demonstrate some errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, and format; and
• limited mastery of mechanics such that they interfere with the flow of the argument.

A C-range essay typically has significant problems in articulating and presenting its argument, or seems to lack a central argument entirely. Its features include one or more of the following:

• a thesis that is either vague and descriptive, or is a buried unifying concept that is implied rather than stated directly;
• a structure that is imposed externally (by the requirement of the assignment, or by the ideas and structure of its sources) or is confusing (showing signs of movement toward a logical progression of ideas but still making huge, unmotivated intellectual leaps); that includes few complications or counter-arguments; that exhibits disorganized, often overly descriptive, paragraphs;
• insufficient evidence, often presented without analysis as undigested quotations; may be taken out of context;
• sources that are not adequately situated or explained; that may be quoted and cited incorrectly; that are used simply as filler or as affirmation of the author’s viewpoint;
• a style that is both unclear and overly simplistic; and
• substantial difficulty with mechanics.