About the

CULTURAL STUDIES & PUBLIC LIFE

THEMATIC SEQUENCE

"Cultural Studies and Public Life" is a liberal education thematic sequence intended to assist students in understanding how culture helps construct public life through the deliberate and unwitting actions of people and, therefore, reveals one way that citizens can play an active role in the public life of their society.

Cultural Studies is concerned with the struggles over meaning that reshape and define cultures; therefore, this thematic sequence studies (primarily contemporary) cultural productions and the attempts of people to participate in public life.

There will be an emphasis on mass and popular cultures (e.g., popular literature, film, music, TV, trekkies, deadheads) and youth subcultures (e.g., punks, skin-heads) including minority subcultures such as those associated with African-American and Latino cultures (e.g., hip hop, rastas, pachucos), but any form of cultural production is content for this sequence.

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"Cultural Studies and Public Life" is a sequence of 3 courses in the field of Cultural Studies (with an optional fourth course as a capstone) which is coordinated in the Department of Educational Leadership. While it is housed in an education department, the sequence is not about "schooling" but about "cultural studies." Courses in the sequence are offered thoughout the university and more courses are being added every year.

The sequence must be taken in the following order:

Tier 1

choose one of these

EDL 204
Sociocultural Studies in Education

PHS 292
Dance, Culture and Contexts

COM/FST 205
American Film as Communication

Tier 2

everyone is required to take this

EDL 282
Culture Studies, Power, and Education

Tier 3

choose one of these

SOC 270
Sociological Perspectives: Images of Women

EDL 334
Youth Subcultures, Popular Culture, & Nonformal Education (EDL 282 prerequisite)

ARC 427
The American City and Small Town: Multiculturalism and Space

Capstone

optional

EDL 401
Cultural Studies and the Complexity of Empowerment

Information on how to apply to this sequence (click here)

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The sequence must be taken in the following order:
Tier 1	choose one of these	EDL 204	Sociocultural Studies in Education
		PHS 292	Dance, Culture and Contexts
		COM/FST 205	American Film as Communication
Tier 2	everyone is required to take this	EDL 282	Culture Studies, Power, and Education
Tier 3	choose one of these

		SOC 270	Sociological Perspectives: Images of Women
		EDL 334	Youth Subcultures, Popular Culture, & Nonformal Education (EDL 282 prerequisite)
		ARC 427	The American City and Small Town: Multiculturalism and Space
Capstone	optional	EDL 401	Cultural Studies and the Complexity of Empowerment
		Information on how to apply to this sequence (click here)