By the end of this course, you should feel comfortable:
Articulating your conceptual interests using a keywords approach
The notion of "keywords" was originated by sociologist Raymond Williams. In the 1960's, he began noticing the need for some way to teachers and students to talk about their different understandings of abstract concepts that appeared again and again in conversations.
A classic example is the word "culture." For a literature and fine arts person, this might mean poetry and the ballet (what some call high culture.) A media studies person might speak of a culture dominated by the 24/7 news cycle (news culture) or late nights playing Call of Duty online (pop culture.) An economist might speak in terms of consumer culture; an international relations expert might refer to differences between British and European cultures; a religious studies specialist could refer to Christian culture; a musicologist might bring up Hip hop culture; a gender studies student might write a paper on the rise of "Bro" culture. These days, most intellectuals feel their particular understanding of the word "culture" should be treated as a loose garment, freely admitting that in every population and example one could use, outliers, complicated cases and "cultural exceptions" exist.
In his book Keywords, Williams began assembling what struck him as some basic concepts in a new newly emerging field that later took the name of "cultural studies. " The image below shows the terms Williams included in his original Table of Contents. In this class, we'll supplement this text with from Keywords in American Cultural Studies ( which takes "American" to mean more than the United States.) We'll begin as a group, focusing on the keywords "subject," "space," "time" and "market." From there, we'll look at an introductory texts on global studies, where you will be encouraged to start collecting your own keywords lists appropriate to your interests as a GLS scholar.
The notion of "keywords" was originated by sociologist Raymond Williams. In the 1960's, he began noticing the need for some way to teachers and students to talk about their different understandings of abstract concepts that appeared again and again in conversations.
A classic example is the word "culture." For a literature and fine arts person, this might mean poetry and the ballet (what some call high culture.) A media studies person might speak of a culture dominated by the 24/7 news cycle (news culture) or late nights playing Call of Duty online (pop culture.) An economist might speak in terms of consumer culture; an international relations expert might refer to differences between British and European cultures; a religious studies specialist could refer to Christian culture; a musicologist might bring up Hip hop culture; a gender studies student might write a paper on the rise of "Bro" culture. These days, most intellectuals feel their particular understanding of the word "culture" should be treated as a loose garment, freely admitting that in every population and example one could use, outliers, complicated cases and "cultural exceptions" exist.
In his book Keywords, Williams began assembling what struck him as some basic concepts in a new newly emerging field that later took the name of "cultural studies. " The image below shows the terms Williams included in his original Table of Contents. In this class, we'll supplement this text with from Keywords in American Cultural Studies ( which takes "American" to mean more than the United States.) We'll begin as a group, focusing on the keywords "subject," "space," "time" and "market." From there, we'll look at an introductory texts on global studies, where you will be encouraged to start collecting your own keywords lists appropriate to your interests as a GLS scholar.
Analyzing the major components of any cultural studies research project.
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Applying the concepts of "framing" and "reframing" to discuss what appears in a text, and what does not
According to sociologist Erving Goffman, everything we know as “real” or “the way things are” is a result of various cognitive structures by which we’ve learned to interpret and manage information. Goffman gives these structures the name “frames.” To think critically is to be able to articulate the dominant frames we place around any given understanding of reality, and to propose alternate framings.
Here is a simple example:
It is 8:55 am. You look out the window and see an orderly line of people, waiting for something. You see a bus shelter, and from that information, you frame what you are seeing out the window as people waiting for a 6 bus to arrive. At 9:00 a.m., however, you notice that the store adjacent to the bus sign has opened, and the people on the line are streaming inside the store. You also notice the store has a huge “Going out of Business Sale” sign on the front. With this new data, you re-frame what you saw previously as a line of people who were waiting to get into the sale.
When we consciously explore framing and re-framing we ask questions like:
- What am I seeing, or being shown this moment? What I am not seeing or being shown?
- What am telling, or being told? What's not being shared?
- In what order, and according to whose priorities am I experiencing, learning or sharing this?
- What am I using for evidence, here?
- Am I sure I understand the context of that evidence (i.e. is it truth, a lie, a joke, a misunderstanding of what "legitimate" authority is, a game, etc.?)
- In short: what else could this be, to whom, and why?
Accessing scholarly and popular materials for research, including:
Accessing digital tools for various purposes including:
Discussing what it means to use artistic production to answer research questions regarding global culture
For some of you, the idea of artistic scholarship (e.g. rendering a portion of your thinking as fiction, or image, or sound, or video or performance of some sort) is thrilling. For others, it isn't where you see your own work headed. Some are curious, but unsure. Any of these emotional responses is fine. The students in our class come from different backgrounds, and will be headed to different concentrations around GLS. Some of you will want to try this approach to scholarship immediately. Some will take the ideas on board, but stay with traditional formats for now. No judgments here--all approaches to global studies are good ones, and let's be real: you don't see me doing economic calculations in my work!
- Appreciating the difference between a popular and scholarly source
- Negotiating specific databases available at NYU
- Locating appropriate Internet resources for your work
Accessing digital tools for various purposes including:
- group communication (we'll use Slack.com)
- project management (we'll use Trello.com)
- scholarly research (we'll use Google Scholar, NYU’s database engines and Ebrary for online books)
- shared bibliographies (we'll use Refme.com)
- web clipping and storage (we'll use Evernote.com)
- data storage (we'll use Googledrive.com)
- basic graphic design (well use Canva)
Discussing what it means to use artistic production to answer research questions regarding global culture
For some of you, the idea of artistic scholarship (e.g. rendering a portion of your thinking as fiction, or image, or sound, or video or performance of some sort) is thrilling. For others, it isn't where you see your own work headed. Some are curious, but unsure. Any of these emotional responses is fine. The students in our class come from different backgrounds, and will be headed to different concentrations around GLS. Some of you will want to try this approach to scholarship immediately. Some will take the ideas on board, but stay with traditional formats for now. No judgments here--all approaches to global studies are good ones, and let's be real: you don't see me doing economic calculations in my work!