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Core Course Culture and Politics

Vak
2016-2017

Admission requirements

Admission to the MA International Relations, track International Studies.

Description

This course examines the relationship between culture and politics. Each week will students will discuss political themes in popular cultural works. Examples of themes discussed in class include the representation of the developing world in discourses about aid, gender as a metaphor for national power in Hollywood movies, and the relationship between superhero narratives and global capitalism. While it focuses on the visualization of politics, students will be introduced to a range of methods, including semiotics, content analysis, psychoanalysis, discourse analysis, and audience studies, among others drawn from the fields of linguistics, psychology, media and cultural studies that will be useful for the analysis of politics later in their degree. The course will also examine and critique attempts to mobilize culture in order to achieve political goals. One of the core texts for this course is Gillian Rose, Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials, Sage, 2016, 4th Edition. Please make sure you purchase the correct edition. This will be supplemented with additional texts.

Course objectives

Students will learn how to apply methods of cultural studies to analyse representations of politics and global political phenomena. They will enhance their critical thinking and essay writing skills.

Timetable

Timetable

Mode of instruction

Seminars

Course Load

Total course load 280 hours
Lectures: 26 hours

Students are expected to organize their time to complete the required readings and coursework in a way that best suits their abilities.

Assessment method

  • One essay (5000 words) 50%

  • One book review (1500 words) 25%

  • One oral presentation (time dependent on class size) 25%

Weighing

The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average.

Resit

For the book review and the essay, there are two deadlines. Students who submit for the first deadline in either case may resubmit for the second deadline. Students who only submit for the final dealine will not have the opportunity to resubmit.

Blackboard

Yes, course information will be accessible via Blackboard before the start of the course.

Reading list

Gillian Rose, Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials, Sage, 2016, 4th Edition. Please make sure you purchase the correct edition. This will be supplemented with additional texts. Please see the syllabus, which will be available before the course starts for the reading assigned to the first lesson.

Registration

Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.

General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch.

Contact

Bryce Wakefield