MCWP 125 Course Descriptions
Summer 2013 Cultural &
Historical Memory: Influences of Technology and Environment
Our
memories give us access to the past, teach us how to interpret the present, and
help us make choices for the future. Memory is frighteningly malleable, and the
act of remembering is in itself an act of rewriting. In this course we will
analyze how memory is constructed and manipulated to develop collective memory,
both cultural and historical. We will look at how media functions in creating
memory, and examine technology’s increasing role in cultural memory. We will
also dissect essays that address the role of memory in shaping our perception
of and interaction with our environment. The course will be strongly oriented
around argument and analysis, as you conduct original research and construct
your own argument on a topic relevant to the cours`e.
Required
Texts: MCWP 125/A Reader and The Craft of
Research
Medical
Controversies, Panics, and Hysterias
Probably ever
since human beings became human beings, they have wondered why they become
physically or mentally ill. They have blamed all sorts of things, from spirits
to animals to neighbors to rival tribes, towns, or states. This blame has led
to confusion, panic, and hysteria. In ancient times, lepers were ostracized
into abject poverty, and fear of trichinosis led pork to become immoral. In the
Middle Ages, Jews were blamed for the Black Death, and women accused of being
witches were rounded up whenever an unexplained malady struck a community. Even
after modern science helped us to understand much more specifically the causes
of illnesses, the panics and controversy have continued to erupt: Hysterical
women at the turn of the 20th century, Reefer Madness in the 1930s, lobotomies
in the 1940s, AIDS in the 1980s, and fear of a flu pandemic in 2000s. Just two
years ago, lack of vaccinations for pertussis caused a whooping cough epidemic
in California that killed ten infants; over the last 15 years, millions have
come to believe, falsely, that vaccines cause autism. In this class, through
readings, discussions, and particularly in students’ research projects, we will
examine medical controversies, moral panics, hysteria and somatic disorders,
and the social effects of biological situations.
Required
Texts: MCWP 125/B Reader and The Craft of
Research
From Dr. Noh to Margaret Cho: Asian
Americans and Popular Culture
This
course introduces students to the rhetorical constructions of Asian and Asian
American identities in popular culture, from narrative dramas, documentaries,
commercials, and news media. What can
the contextualization process connecting the social, historical, and cultural
conditions reveal about these stereotypes? All of the countries in what is designated as Asia have a large
diversity of different cultures and histories. Yet, Asians in film are often
depicted as the villain, the nerd, the martial arts master, the liquor
storeowner, and so on. An analysis of the power imbalance between the viewers
to reinterpret meanings and the discursive power of centralized media
institutions yields a loss of critical energy in questioning the
macro-structures of media and society. Therefore, the broad aim of this course focuses on cultural consumption
and relations of cultural production. Some of the topics that will be covered
include: stereotypes of Asians in Hollywood; the re/creation of history and
memory; the intersection of race, class, gender, and sexuality; and the
interpenetration of U.S. foreign policy.
Required
Texts: MCWP 125/C Reader and The Craft of
Research
Spring 2013
Borders,
Journeys, and Home
We live a
stone’s throw away from the most frequently crossed international border in the
world. How does this border—and the
countless reasons why it is crossed every day—contribute to our idea of
home? In this course we will examine
theories about displacement, migration and diaspora, and how these theories
challenge or support cultural constructions of home. In addition we will explore the ways in which
home becomes mythologized for refugees, those in exile and economic migrants
and consider how personal, social, national, ethnic or feminist identity is
formed during journeys that take us far away from home or return us there.
Cultural & Historical Memory: Influences of Technology & Environment
Military
Matters
Texts:
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