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KARSTEN H. PIEP 2019 7A (JAN-MAY 2019) 3-CREDIT-HOURS

[email protected] (513) 421-0551

HMS 809

Critical Theory

Ernest Meissonier, The Barricade (1848)

“The have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.” —, “Theses on Feuerbach” (1848)

SEMINAR DESCRIPTION

Although (capitalized) has come to be closely associated with the School, as a practice of sustained critical inquiry that seeks to bring about social change, its reach and application extends far beyond the work of the members of the Institute for Social Research. Karl Marx’s famous assertion that “philosophers have only interpreted the world” but “the point is to change it” has been taken up by a wide variety of social, political, and cultural theorists who, akin to Patricia Hill Collins’s account of “one distinguishing feature of Black feminist thought,” insist “that both the changed consciousness of individuals and the social transformation of political and economic institutions constitute essential ingredients for social change.” A central supposition underlying all critical theories, then, is that oppression, whether it is based on (frequently intersecting) constructs of class, gender, race, sexual orientation, or ability, cannot be overcome “under existing ideological and institutional structures” (Rhode). Thus, according to Max Horkheimer, critical theory distinguishes itself from traditional theory in that it actively critiques and challenges existing ideological and institutional structures. Whereas traditional theory, marked by and foundationalism, uncritically reproduces existing society, Horkheimer claims, critical theory strives to transform the very structure of society. “The aim of this activity,” he explains, “is not simply to eliminate one or another abuse, for it regards such abuses as necessarily connected with the way in which the social structure is organized. Although it itself emerges HMS 809 - Critical Theory 2

from the social structure, its purpose is not, either in its conscious intention, or in its objective significance, the better functioning of any element in the structure. On the contrary, it is suspicious of the very categories of better, useful, appropriate, productive, and valuable, as these are understood in the present order.” In part due to its characteristic suspiciousness of all things that are considered given (a critical move that Paul Ricoeur attributes to Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche and has described as “an art of interpreting” that exposes false assumptions to institute “a new relation…between the patent and the latent”), critical theory is “rooted in ‘critical activity’ which is oppositional and which is involved in a struggle for social change and the unification of theory and practice,” as notes. Generally speaking, critical theory may thus be understood as an ongoing effort to critique the social organization of economics, politics, and culture so as to discern and foster the emergence of alternative social practices and formations. For “unlike ,” avers, critical theory “always derives its goals from present tendencies of the social process. Therefore it has no fear of the utopia that the new order is denounced as being.”

In the spirit of what theorists call “immanent critique,” this advanced HMS seminar invites participants to turn a critical eye on five, decidedly interdisciplinary schools of critical theory that have gained prominence before the historical backdrops of nationalism, imperialism, and as well as the attendant resurgence of antiauthoritarianism, feminism, civil rights struggles, and various decolonization efforts. Following a brief consideration of Karl Marx’s approach to critique, we will scrutinize how thinkers such as Ernst Bloch, , and theorize resistance by expanding upon basic Marxist concepts. Next, we are going to take a close look at Max Horkheimer and Herbert Marcuse’s respective attempts to define critical theory and examine its applications and permutations in the historico-materialist art criticisms of and Theodor Adorno as well as and Jürgen Habermas’s on the political functions of public places and spheres. Turning to select foundational texts by Stuart Hall and , we will consider central critical approaches that continue to inform (British) and then investigate how these have been brought to bear on the study of as well as empire. Nancy Fraser’s “What’s Critical About Critical Theory?” sets the stage for our subsequent exploration of feminist appropriations of critical theory that entails close considerations of Chandra Mohanty’s indictment of feminist scholarship in colonial discourses and Barbara Smith’s account of the emergence of black feminist thought. Finally, we will examine some basic tenets of such as via pioneering texts by Kimberle Crenshaw, Paulette Caldwell, and Patricia Hill Collins, and consider the ways in which critical feminist theory and critical race theory contest “androcentric, Eurocentric, and colonial ‘ways to truth’ that universalize the experiences of a fraction of the human population...and develop alternative research practices that further feminist and antiracist goals of social transformation” (Hawkesworth). Interspersed throughout the seminar, one cinematic and three literary interludes--centered on Charlie Chaplin’s silent movie, Modern Times (1936); Herman Melville’s short story, “Bartleby, the Scrivener” (1853); James Joyce’s short story, “Eveline” (1914); and Sherley Anne Williams’s novel, Dessa Rose (1986)--challenge participants to apply aspects of critical theory to the interpretation of cultural artifacts.

INTEGRATION OF PROGRAM THEMES

Since, as defined by Max Horkheimer, critical theory “strives for a state of affairs in which there will be no exploitation or oppression,” this seminar perforce requires participants to critically engage changing notions of social justice as well as intersecting constructs of otherness and . Based on the guiding assumption embraced by many critical theorists that critique must begin by sketching out the limits of our current ways of knowing, the , discussions, and assignments have been assembled to facilitate a self-reflective approach to scholarship that entails a critical assessment of one’s investments in existing structures of organizing knowledge, obtaining power, and making judgments.

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INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING

In the context of HMS 809, thinking and about ideas and issues is conceived as a reflective dialogue between one’s own intuitions and beliefs, and a series of complex and provocative theoretical arguments and texts. Thus, the critical responses, annotated bibliography, critical review essay, and final seminar project allow participants to advance their individual intellectual projects through an informed dialogue with influential thinkers, concepts, and theories.

UNIVERSITY AND PROGRAM OUTCOMES AND COMPETENCIES

HMS 809 pays particular attention to UI&U Doctoral Learning Outcome IV: Social and Global Perspectives (“Articulate a perspective on power in the world and one’s own place in the global community”) as well as Ph.D. Program Outcome V.ii, “Demonstrate understanding of theories and practices of the creative process, engaging difference, and social justice.” This means that seminar contributions will be evaluated on the basis of the clarity of their descriptions and critiques of central arguments, theories, methods and their critical appraisals of potential benefits and shortcomings of theories and practices of the creative process, engaging difference, and/or social justice.

ASSIGNMENTS, PROCEDURES, AND EVALUATION

CLOSE RESPONSES (CRR): To facilitate the close reading of and critical engagement with texts, seminar participants will be divided into two groups and post altogether five reading responses. These responses should be between 400 and 800 words long and contain specific references to and/or quotes from the text under discussion. Rather than attempting to summarize an entire reading, the responses should focus on one idea, theme, or issue and pursue it in greater depth, recording comments or criticisms, and raising questions.

BRIEF COMMENTS (BC): In order to allow for group discussions, seminar participants who are not posting their (roughly) biweekly reading response will post one or more brief comments on one or more of the responses. The length of these short comments may vary from a few lines to an entire paragraph.

CONFERENCE CALL DISCUSSIONS: Toward the end each sequence, we will convene by phone to discuss what we have learned (or failed to learn) through our close engagement with various texts. Although these discussions are intended to be rather informal, participants are asked to prepare a three- to five-minute opening statement, in which he/she takes an arguable (preferably provocative) position on one or more of the readings.

CRITICAL REVIEW ESSAY: About midway through the seminar, participants will write a critical review essay that deals with one or more issues concerning the theory and/or practice of critical theory. The review essay should be 2000-2500 words in length (approximately 7-10 pages) and contain specific textual evidence from the readings to support interpretations and contentions. Written for an audience already familiar with the primary texts under discussion, the essay should largely consist of analysis and interpretation rather than mere summarization. The essay should be organized around a specific thesis or point based on the writer’s own reaction to the reading, and should make an argument.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY: In order to advance both their thinking and their research, seminar participants will compile a short annotated bibliography, consisting of 8 to 10 entries, each of which is followed by paragraph-length summary/assessment of the cited article or book chapter. The material HMS 809 - Critical Theory 4

included in the annotated bibliography should be selected with an eye toward the final research paper described below.

RESEARCH PAPER: A vehicle for applying core theories and concepts encountered in the seminar to individual intellectual and practical pursuits, the research paper affords seminar participants with the opportunity to advance their own projects. Work on the research paper will occur in three stages: (1) a brief PROPOSAL, containing a thesis that relates the seminar’s theme to their specific fields of inquiry as well as a short bibliography of relevant texts; (2) a first DRAFT OF his/her RESEARCH PAPER, to which the instructor will respond with detailed comments and specific suggestions for revision; (3) and a PEER REVIEW that will allow participants to revise their papers. The final product should contain 6000-8000 words (approximately 20 to 25 pages) and engage some of the seminar readings, supplemented by copious outside research, in a manner that advances the writer’s own specific field or area of inquiry.

RESIDENCY, MID-SEMESTER BREAK, AND VIRTUAL MID-SEMESTER RESIDENCY

RESIDENCY: January 5 - 12 at the Kingsgate Marriot Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio. The week following the Residency, January 13-20, no written assignments (papers or discussion posts) are due, but it is expected that students will remain actively engaged in course readings as required by the instructor.

MID-SEMESTER BREAK: No written assignments (papers or discussion posts) are due March 11-17, but it is expected that students will remain actively engaged in course readings as required by the instructor.

VIRTUAL MID-SEMESTER RESIDENCY (MSR): . Workshops, Friday, March 22, 7:00-9:00 PM ET. . Social Justice Presentation, Saturday, March 23, 11:00 AM -1:00 PM ET. . Concentration Meetings, Saturday, March 23, 1:15-2:15 PM ET. . Workshops, Sunday, March 24, 3:00-5:00 PM ET.

Additional will be provided throughout the semester. You will want to check your Union email account regularly and responsibly (at least once a day).

REQUIRED TEXTS, NOTES, AND SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Williams, Sherley Anne. Dessa Rose: A Novel. 1986. New York: William Morrow, 1999.

All of the remaining texts listed below can be accessed electronically via direct links through Union Institute & University’s library, an e-reserve depository, or public internet sites. Additional texts, recommended readings, lecture notes, handouts, assignments, et cetera will be made available through the HMS 809 CampusWeb site.

THE WRITING CENTER

Union Institute & University’s Writing Center offers self-help resources and free one-on-one tutoring sessions over the phone for all students. Tutoring sessions are available mornings, afternoons, evenings and weekends. Self-help resources are located at http://www.myunion.edu/writing-center. Appointments for tutoring by telephone can be scheduled through the writing center’s CampusWeb group or by contacting the center (phone: 513-487-1156 or toll free: 1-800-861-6400 ext. 1156 or email: writing- [email protected]).

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ADA ACCOMMODATIONS

Union Institute & University is committed to providing equal access to its academic programs and resources for individuals with disabilities. Information on ADA policies and services is located on UI&U’s public website: https://myunion.edu/current-students/student-services/disability-services/

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Union Institute & University’s Academic Integrity policy can be found on Campus Web at https://campusweb.myunion.edu/ICS/icsfs/Academic_Integrity_Policy.pdf?target=9ccd7549-1590-445f- 876e-a959b1724c31

GRADING SCALE AND SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (SAP)

Grading, SAP and Financial Aid Policies can be found in the University Catalog: http://myunion.edu/academics/catalog/.

Students in the Cohort PhD Program must make satisfactory academic progress every term. This means that students must earn at least a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or S. Students must also successfully complete at least 67% of cumulative credits attempted. For example, if a student has attempted 60 credit hours during enrollment, he/she must successfully complete 40 or more of those hours. Student completion rates are reviewed at the end of each term of attendance. Grades of U, W, I, V, NE and WIP adversely affect a student‘s completion rate because they are calculated as attempted but not completed. This can cause a student’s completion rate to drop below 67%. This may result in the student not meeting the SAP requirement facing possible academic and financial aid probation and/or dismissal from the program. Grades of C or U adversely affect the student’s GPA and academic standing in the program. A special review will be initiated if a student receives a C, U or two or more incomplete (I) grades.

Grading Scale Grade Criteria A Academic work reflects impressively thorough and accurate knowledge of assigned material, including the complexities and nuances of major and minor theories, concepts, and intellectual frameworks; exceptional evidence of capability to compare, assess, and synthesize material; especially strong capability to logically critique extant theories and claims and to develop persuasive arguments based on original thinking. 4.0 Quality Points A- Criteria for A work not fully met. 3.70 Quality Points B+ Criteria for B work is more fully met. 3.30 Quality Points B Academic work reflects accurate grasp of major concepts, theories, and prevailing knowledge; abundant evidence of capability to offer informed analysis of extant knowledge and ideas; clear capability to synthesize and apply key information from prevailing knowledge; appropriate critiques of extant theories and knowledge; considerable demonstration of capability to develop and logically present own judgments. 3.0 Quality Points B- Criteria for B work is not fully met. 2.70 Quality Points HMS 809 - Critical Theory 6

C+ Criteria for C work is more fully met. 2.30 Quality Points C Academic work reflects adequate familiarity with key ideas and knowledge, although interpretations of key theories and concepts are occasionally incomplete and flawed; written and verbal accounts of information, theories, and concepts remain primarily at the level of description; critiques are present but not well developed with occasional interpretive errors. 2.0 Quality Points S Academic work reflects satisfactory completion of all prescribed learning and is equivalent to B or better at the doctoral level on a standard letter grading scale. The S grade is used only for ACS 897, ECL/HMS/PPS 841, 850, 860, MLK 800, MLK 890 and RSCH 900 Dissertation. 0.00 Quality Points and does not calculate into the GPA U Academic work reflects insufficient capability to comprehend and accurately present ideas and information; superficial and unpersuasive critiques; little evidence of capability for original thinking. Unsatisfactory performance is defined as any performance less than C at the doctoral level. A U grade should be given only on the basis of less than satisfactory work and should not be given because a student has not been present in a seminar (in such a case a V grade should be given). 0.0 Quality Points W Withdrawal: Student initiated withdrawal from a seminar or the program. Withdrawal from the program discontinues connection to university passwords and accounts. I Incomplete: Student completes at least 60% of work in a seminar but less than 100% of the required work in a seminar. NE Never Engaged: An NE grade will be assigned during the first 21 days of each term for a student who neither attends nor engages in a registered seminar (including the residency sessions). V Vanished: A V grade will be assigned six weeks after the beginning of a term by the Dean’s Office, or during end-of-term grading by a faculty member for a student who attends/engages in a registered seminar (including the residency sessions) but subsequently ceases to attend/engage in the seminar and does not officially withdraw from the seminar. WIP (No No Grade: Faculty member has not submitted a grade for a student. grade) Repeated Students are permitted to repeat any seminar once after receiving a U. The last grade Seminar earned is calculated in the GPA. Successful A grade of A through C or S is considered successful seminar completion. Completion

Special Note Regarding Incompletes:

Students must have approval from the seminar faculty member to receive an incomplete for the term. If this approval is not requested and approved, the student will receive a W (withdrawal) or V (vanished), depending on the circumstances in regard to attendance in the seminar. In words, incompletes are not automatic and students should not assume that they can take incompletes at will. All incomplete work for a current term should be submitted by May 15 or November 15 of the following term. It is always best for students to stay in with faculty members and to try to get all the work done for the term by the deadline. Students and faculty members should explore all options together before deciding that the incomplete route is the one to take.

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TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE

I. Critical Theory: An Introduction

 Please read all assigned readings below prior to our residency meetings.  Consult latest residency schedule for meeting times and room assignments.

January 9: Surveying the Terrain of Critical Theory

Balsamo, Anne. “Feminism and Cultural Studies.” The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association 24.1 (1991): 50-73. Direct Link Bell, Derrick. “Who is Afraid of Critical Race Theory?” University of Illinois Law Review 4 (1995): 893- 910. Direct Link Johnson, Richard. “What Is Cultural Studies Anyway?” Social Text 16 (1987): 38-80. Direct Link Kellner, Douglas. “Cultural and Cultural Studies.” 2004. UCLA Faculty Website. ˂http://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/papers/cultmarx.htm˃. Rode, Deborah L. “Feminist Critical Theories.” Stanford Law Review 42.3 (1990): 617-38. Direct Link

January 10: Specters of Marx

Derrida, Jacques. “What Is Ideology?” Specters of Marx, The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning, & the New International. Trans. Peggy Kamuf. New York: Routledge, 1994. 70-86. Direct Link Marx, Karl. The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. 1842. New York: International, 1994. 1-20. (Chapters I-III). Direct Link ---. “The Fetishism of the and the Secret Thereof.” 1867. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1. Trans Ben Fowkes. New York: Vintage, 1976. 134-49. Direct Link ---. “Letter to A. Ruge, September 1843.” Karl Marx: Early Writings. New York: Vintage, 1975. 209. Direct Link ---. “Theses on Feuerbach.” 1845. Selected Writings. Ed. Lawrence H. Simon. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1994. 98-101. Direct Link

January 10: Literary Interlude - “Bartleby, the Scrivener”

Kuebrich, David. “Melville's Doctrine of Assumptions: The Hidden Ideology of Capitalist Production in ‘Bartleby.’” The New England Quarterly 69.3 (1996): 381-405. Direct Link Melville, Herman. “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” 1853. The Piazza Tales and Other Prose Pieces, 1839-1860. Eds. Harrison Hayford, Alma A. MacDougall, and G. Thomas Tanselle. Chicago: Northwestern UP, 1987. 11-35. Direct Link Reed, Naomi C. “‘Bartleby, the Scrivener’ and the Language of Commodities.” American Literature 76.2 (2004): 247-73. Direct Link

II. Cultural Marxism

January 21-27: Utopia  Post Close Reading Response (Group I) or Brief Comments (Group II)

Bloch, Ernst. “Introduction.” The Principle of Hope. 1954. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1987. 3-18. Direct Link Jameson, Fredric. “ and Utopia in Mass Culture.” Social Text 1 (1979): 130-148. Direct Link Kellner, Douglas. “Ernst Bloch, Utopia and Ideology Critique.” 1996. Illuminations: The Critical Theory Website. University of Texas at Arlington. ˂http://www.uta.edu/huma/illuminations/kell1.htm˃ HMS 809 - Critical Theory 8

January 28-February 3: Hegemony and Resistance  Post Close Reading Response (Group II) or Brief Comments (Group I)

Gramsci, Antonio. “History of the Subaltern Class,” “The Concept of ‘Ideology’,” “Cultural Themes: Ideological Material,” “Subversive.” Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci. Ed. Quintin Hoare. New York: International, 1971. 52-53, 57-8, 78-80. Direct Link Hall, Stuart. “Gramsci's Relevance for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.” Journal of Communication Inquiry 10 (1986): 5-27. Direct Link Scott, James C. Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1985. 29-47. Direct Link

February 4-10: Uses and Abuses of Theory  Post Close Reading Response (Group I) or Brief Comments (Group II)

Lukács, György. “What is ?” (1919) and “” (1920). History and Class Consciousness. 1923. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1971. 1-25, 46-82. Direct Link Fanon, Frantz. “The Pitfalls of National Consciousness.” The Wretched of the Earth. 1961. New York: Grove, 1963. 148-205. Direct Link Said, Edward. “Traveling Theory Reconsidered.” Reflection on Exile and Other Essays. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2000. 436-52. Direct Link

III. Frankfurt School

February 11-17: Traditional and Critical Theory

Horkheimer, Max. “Traditional and Critical Theory.” 1937. Critical Theory: Selected Essays. New York: Continuum, 2002. 188-243. Direct Link Marcuse, Herbert. “Philosophy and Critical Theory.” 1937. Negations: Essays in Critical Theory. London, UK: MayFlyBooks, 2009. 99-117. http://mayflybooks.org/wp- content/uploads/2010/07/9781906948054Negations.pdf Kellner, Douglas. “Critical Theory and the Crisis of .” Sociological Perspectives 33 (1990): 11-33. Direct Link

February 18-24: Art and Aura  Post Close Reading Response (Group II) or Brief Comments (Group I)

Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Illuminations. Ed. Hannah Arendt. New York: Schocken. 217-67. Direct Link Hansen, Miriam. “Benjamin, Cinema, and Experience: The Blue Flower in the Land of Technology.” New German Critique 40 (1987): l79-224. Direct Link

February 18-March 3: Cinematic Interlude - Modern Times

Howe, Lawrence. “Charlie Chaplin in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: Reflexive Ambiguity in Modern Times.” College Literature 40.1 (2013): 45-65. Direct Link Modern Times. Dir. Charlie Chaplin. Perf. Chaplin and Paulette. Goddard. United Artists, 1936. Direct Link

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February 25-March 3: Celluloid Politics  Participate in Conference Call TBD

Adorno, Theodor and Anson G. Rabinbach. “ Reconsidered.” New German Critique 6 (1975): 12-19. Direct Link Adorno, Theodor and Thomas Y. Levin. “Transparencies on Film.” 1966. New German Critique 24/25 (1981-1982): 199-205. Direct Link Hansen, Miriam. “Introduction to Adorno, ‘Transparencies on Film’ (1966).” New German Critique 24/25(1981-1982): 186-198. Direct Link

March 4-10: From Public Space to Public Sphere  First Draft of Critical Review Essay Due

Habermas, Jürgen. The Theory of , Volume 1. Boston: Beacon, 1984. 1-74. Direct Link Arendt, Hannah. “The Crisis in Culture Its Social and Its Political Significance.” Between Past and Future. New York: Viking, 1968. 197-226. Direct Link Benhabib, Seyla. “Feminist Theory and Hannah Arendt's Concept of Public Space.” History of the Human Sciences 6 (1993): 97-114. Direct Link ---. “From Public Space to Public Sphere: Hannah Arendt and Jürgen Habermas” and “The Contested Public Sphere: Arendt, Habermas and Beyond.” The Reluctant Modernism of Hannah Arendt. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. 199-210. Direct Link

March 11-17: Mid-Semester Break

IV. (British) Cultural Studies

March 18-24: Doing Cultural Studies  Post Close Reading Response (Group I) or Brief Comments (Group II)  Mid-Semester Residency (MSR): Workshops, Friday, March 22, 7:00-9:00 PM ET. Social Justice Presentation, Saturday, March 23, 11:00 AM -1:00 PM ET. Concentration Meetings, Saturday, March 23, 1:15-2:15 PM ET. Workshops, Sunday, March 24, 3:00-5:00 PM ET.

Hall, Stuart. “Cultural Studies: Two Paradigms.” Media, Culture and Society 2 (1980): 57-72. Direct Link ---. “The Problem of Ideology-Marxism Without Guarantees .” Journal of Communication Inquiry 10 (1986): 28-44. Direct Link Williams, Raymond. “The Analysis of Culture.” The Long Revolution. New York: Penguin, 1965. 57-70. Direct Link ---. “Dominant, Residual, and Emergent.” Marxism and Literature. New York: Oxford UP, 1977. 121-28. Direct Link

March 25-31: Popular Culture  Post Close Reading Response (Group II) or Brief Comments (Group I)

Bennett, Tony. “Marxism and Popular Fiction.” Literature and History 7.2 (1981): 138-65. Direct Link Eagleton, Terry. “Versions of Culture.” The Idea of Culture. London: Blackwell, 2000. 1-31. Direct Link

March 25-April 7: Literary Interlude - “Eveline” Joyce, James. “Eveline.” 1914. Dubliners. New York: Dover, 1991. 25-28. Direct Link HMS 809 - Critical Theory 10

Uphaus, Maxwell. “An ‘Unworkable Compound’: Ireland and Empire in ‘Eveline’.” MFS Modern Fiction Studies 60.1 (2014): 28-51. Direct Link

April 1-7: Nation and Empire  Annotated Bibliography and Brief Seminar Paper Proposal Due  Post Close Reading Response (Group I) or Brief Comments (Group II) Participate in Conference Call TBD

Baker, Houston A., Stephen Best, and Ruth H. Lindebog. “Representing Blackness/Representing Britain: Cultural Studies and the Politics of Knowledge.” Black British Cultural Studies: A Reader. Eds. Houston A. Baker, Stephen Best, and Ruth H. Lindebog. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1996. 1-15. Direct Link Gilroy, Paul. “British Cultural Studies and the Pitfalls of Identity.” Black British Cultural Studies: A Reader. Eds. Houston A. Baker, Stephen Best, and Ruth H. Lindebog. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1996. 223-39. Direct Link

V. Feminist Critical Theories

April 8-14: Feminist Critical Theory

Fraser, Nancy. “What’s Critical About Critical Theory?” New German Critique 35 (1985): 97-131. Direct Link Butler, Judith. “Merely Cultural.” Social Text 52/53 (1997): 265-77. Direct Link

April 15-21: Gender, Race, and the “Third World”  Individual Calls

Carby, Hazel V. “White Woman Listen! Black Feminism and the Boundaries of Sisterhood.” 1982. Black British Cultural Studies: A Reader. Eds. Houston A. Baker, Stephen Best, and Ruth H. Lindebog. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1996. 136-53. Direct Link Mohanty, Chandra. “Under Western Eyes.” Feminist Review 30 (1988): 61-88. Direct Link

April 15-28: Literary Interlude - Dessa Rose

Burns, Phyllis Lynne. “‘I Kill White Mens...Cause I Can’: The Rewriting of Liberation and Mastery in Dessa Rose.” Criticism: A Quarterly for Literature and the Arts 55.1 (2013):119-45. Direct Link Seliger, Mary A. “Dessa's Blues: Reimagining the Master's Narrative in Sherley Anne Williams's Dessa Rose.” The Western Journal of Black Studies 36.4 (2012): 314-24. Direct Link Williams, Sherley Anne. Dessa Rose. New York: William Morrow, 1986.

April 22-28: Black Feminist Thought  Post Close Reading Response (Group II) or Brief Comments (Group I)  First Draft of Seminar Paper Due

Collins, Patricia Hill. “Black Feminist Thought in the Matrix of Domination.” Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Boston: Hyman, 1990. 221–238. Direct Link Smith, Barbara. “Introduction.” Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology. 1983. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutger UP, 1999. xxi-Xlvii. Direct Link “The Combahee River Collective Statement.” 1983. Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology. Ed. Barbara Smith. Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1999. 25-29. Direct Link

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VI. Critical Race Theory

April 29-May 5: Intersectionality Caldwell, Paulette. “Hair Piece: Perspectives on the Intersection Between Race and Gender.” Duke Law Journal 42.2 (1991): 365-96. Direct Link Crenshaw, Kimberle. “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color.” Stanford Law Review 43.6 (1991): 1241-99. Direct Link Varma, Rashmi. “On Common Ground?: Feminist Theory and Critical Race Studies.” Feminist . Ed. Ellen Rooney. New York: Cambridge UP, 2006. 232-60. Direct Link

May 6-12: Decolonization  Conference Call and Adobe Session hooks, bell. “Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance.” Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: South End Press, 1992. 21-39. Direct Link Montoya, Margaret. “Trenzas, y Grednas: Un/Masking the Self While Un/Braiding Latina Stories and Legal Discourse.” Chicano-Latino Law Review 15 (1994): 1-37. Direct Link

May 13-19: Looking Back, Ahead

Beauvoir, Simone de. “Introduction: Woman As Other.” The Second Sex. 1949. Trans. H. M. Parshley. New York: Penguin,1972. 1-14. Direct Link Du Bois, W.E.B. “Of the Dawn of Freedom.” The Souls of Black Folks. Chicago: A.C. McClurg, 1903. 18-32. Direct Link Gerassi, John. ": The Second Sex: 25 Years Later.” Society 13.2 (1976): 79-85. Direct Link Hawkesworth, Mary. “From Constitutive Outside to the Politics of Extinction: Critical Race Theory, Feminist Theory, and Political Theory.” Political Research Quarterly 63.3 (2010): 686-96. Direct Link

May 20-26  Revision Week

May 27  Final Seminar Paper Due

“ is a cow of many; well milked and badly fed.” —Spanish Proverb