POLS 5140 Delatolla 1
POLS 5140-01 | Globalization and the Politics of Pop Culture Department of Political Science Semester: Fall 2019
Course Information Course Convener Dr. Andrew Delatolla
Class Meeting Monday 17:00-19:40
Location: SSE CP21
Course Resources: Available on Blackboard. Students are expected to check the Blackboard site of the course on a weekly basis, where any important announcement on class readings, scheduling and assessment will be posted.
Instructor Contact Information Email: [email protected] Phone Ext. 1946 Office: HUSS 2012 Office hours: Monday/Thursday 13:00-14:00
Course Description This advanced topic seminar uses pop culture as a lens to examine globalization and politics. The course will use academic texts in combination with films, novels, poetry, songs, music videos, and advertisements to engage with politics. Students will be expected to develop a strong understanding of critical, creative, and visual methods to in the deconstruction of cultural products, particularly in relation to their use of academic texts to further the discussions concerned. As such, students will make interventions and commentaries on subjects to do with empire, orientalism, human rights, war, gender, race, and class. Students will engage in analysis to help develop critical thinking and situate themselves as consumers of culture within the context of politics.
Course Format and Teaching Methods This course engages in a mix of the traditional and flipped classroom. Students can expect introductory lectures to the topics covered but there is an expectation of student ownership of discussion and learning outcomes based on critical engagement with the assigned material. The course convenes once a week for a total of 2.5 hours.
List of Foundational Texts Each week students will be required to complete and take notes on the required texts assigned. Completion POLS 5140 Delatolla 2 of the required texts is necessary for active participation in the class. These texts will make essay research and writing easier and are essential for this course.
In addition to the required texts are recommended texts that address other aspects of the debates, histories, or traditions covered in that week. These texts are not compulsory and do not necessarily have to be addressed. Addressing them will be beneficial, but these recommended texts are primarily useful for essay research and writing.
Students must do all of the assigned readings and make sure to bring them to class.
Assessment Discussion and Participation (10%)
Presentations (10%) Panel presentation, invite friends and colleagues, be prepared to answer questions and lead discussion.
Creative Response (50% - 2 x 25%) 2500 words each
Research Essay (30%) – 3000 words
Important Notes Regarding Written Assignments - All written assignments are due in print, stapled, with all pertinent information on a cover page, submitted to the instructor at the beginning of class. - Students are required to include their name, course code, student number, Title Page and Bibliography, including standard formatting written in Times New Roman, 12pt font, and double-spaced. - Make sure to include correct referencing for any materials used from the readings following the in-text Chicago for citation (LAST NAME YEAR, PAGE). - Do not exceed the assigned word/page count as indicated above. - All written assignments are graded on both form and content. This means that you are graded both on what you argue as well as how you present your ideas and claims. Please see the grading criteria attached. - Penalties and deductions for any limitations or discrepancies regarding the above for written assignments may be applied at the discretion of the instructor.
Grade Scale UNDERGRADUATE A 93+ C+ 77-79 F 59 and below A- 90-92 C 73-76 B+ 87-89 C- 70-72 B 83-86 D+ 67-69 B- 80-82 D 60-66
POSTGRADUATE A 93+ C+ 77-79 POLS 5140 Delatolla 3
A- 90-92 C 73-76 B+ 87-89 C- 70-72 B 83-86 F 69 and below B- 80-82
Grade Policy The instructor reserves the right to refuse any late assignments. If the instructor accepts a late assignment without a justified excuse, a full 5% will be deducted/day. The grade that you receive at the end of the semester is the sum of grades received for your completed coursework and participation. This is not negotiable and no additional coursework will be provided to supplant grades. Grades are not altered based on a curve.
Attendance Policy and Participation No attendance mark is assigned in this course. However, the following policies will be strictly adhered to:
- Students are expected to attend the seminars (including rescheduled ones) AND take part regularly in class discussions, showing knowledge of – and engagement with – the essential readings. Students who are physically present in class but are unable or unwilling to contribute to the class discussions or are otherwise distracted (for instance by using their mobile devices during the session), will have marks deducted from the participation grade or be considered as absent at the discretion of the instructor. - Students who, without a valid justification, arrive to class more than 5 minutes late, leave more than 5 minutes early or leave the teaching room repeatedly during the session will be considered as absent. - Students unable to attend class for justifiable reasons should contact the instructor ideally before class, and in any case no later than seven days after the missed class. Only serious and documented family or health emergencies and documented participation in formal AUC activities will be accepted as valid justifications. - The procedure for correct documentation of such absences is outlined in the university-wide attendance policy. - Unexcused absences equivalent to at least THREE weeks of teaching (3 or 6 classes depending on the course structure) will result in an automatic “F” grade for the course. The policies related to late drops, as spelled out in the attendance policy included in the AUC Catalog, apply. - If an attendance sheet is circulated in class, each student is expected to sign only for him- /herself. Falsifying signatures is considered as a breach of academic integrity by AUC and the students involved in this practice will be immediately referred to the AUC Academic Integrity Committee.
Academic Integrity Teaching is based on a relation of mutual trust between the teacher and the students. When we research, we use other people’s work to help develop our own: this is an essential part of the academic world. However, when you use someone else’s work, you must cite it. This lets the reader know which parts of the work are your own, and which parts come from other sources. What that means it that anytime you draw from POLS 5140 Delatolla 4 someone’s ideas or use their actual words, you must give the name of the author and the book in proper citation form.
All students are expected to be familiar with the AUC code of practice on academic integrity which is available at: https://documents.aucegypt.edu/Docs/Policies/Code%20of%20Ethics.pdf Please pay particular attention to the regulations on plagiarism, collaborative work and falsification of signatures. All breaches of the code of practice will be acted upon promptly and firmly, resulting at least in zero marks for the relevant piece of assessment and possibly in further action being taken by the instructor, depending on the severity of the offense. If in doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism, do not hesitate to contact the instructor.
Academic Freedom and Intellectual Interaction In this course you will deal with a number of topics that are often controversial. You are free to offer the class any disagreement you may have with the readings or lecture. You will not be penalized for disagreeing with other students, the readings, or the instructor, but your perspective must be based on documentable evidence from the course or other readings. Freedom of speech and ideas is a basic principle of academic life (and of universal human rights) and every student will have a chance to express her/his opinion as long as it is voiced in a respectful manner. However, varied points of view must be expressed in a manner that is sensitive to differences in abilities, ethnicity, religion, gender and lifestyle, and should not be expressed so as to be perceived as a personal attack. In short, respect for others’ differences is one of the most important prerequisites for us working together in this course.
Note on Recording Devices in Class To enable open and uncensored discussion and protect the privacy of students, there is a zero-tolerance policy on any and all recording/surveillance devices in and around the classroom. Discovery of such devices will result in automatic reprimand and removal from the classroom. This is fundamental to ensure a fruitful discussion.
Students Who Are Differently-Abled If you believe that you are differently-abled/have a disability that impacts your studies, or you have documentation of such, please contact the instructor as soon as possible. The instructor is happy to hear from you even if you do not have a formal proof; however, you may be asked to provide a note from the AUC Disability Services [https://www.aucegypt.edu/student/well-being/disability-services]. When your condition requires substantial adjustments (e.g. to the structure of the exams etc.).
Course Readings *Further instructions on the readings will be provided in class*
CLASS SCHEDULE Week 1 Sept. 2 Introduction & Semiotics 101
Week 2 Sept. 9 Theory: Images, Power, and Politics POLS 5140 Delatolla 5
- Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright, 2009, Chapter 1: Images, Power, and Politics, The Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture, Second Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press (9-48).
Week 3 Sept. 16 Theory: Constructing Meaning - Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright, 2009, Chapter 2: Viewers Make Meaning, The Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture, Second Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press (49- 92).
Week 4 Sept. 23 Theory: Understanding Power/Knowledge in Culture and Politics - Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright, 2009, Chapter 3: Modernity: Spectatorship, Power, and Knowledge, The Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture, Second Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press (93-139).
Week 5 Sept. 30 CREATIVE RESPONSE (25%) Consumerism, Capitalism, and Empire - Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright, 2009, Chapter 7: Advertising, Consumer Cultures, and Desire, The Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture, Second Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press (265-306). - Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright, 2009, Chapter 10: The Global Flow of Visual Culture, The Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture, Second Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press (389-431).
Week 6 Oct. 7 Orientalism - Edward Said, 1992, Chapter 1, Orientalism, Penguin Classics. - Anthony Shay and Barbara Sellers-Young, 2003, Belly Dance: Orientalism – Exoticism – Self Exoticism, Dance Research Journal 35.1: 13-37. - John Frederick Lewis, A Slave for the Harem, (late 19th c.) https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1011/8136/products/John-Frederick-Lewis-A-Slave- for-the-Harem.jpg?v=1503385884 - Coldplay feat. Beyonce. 2016. Hymn for the Weekend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YykjpeuMNEk - Cardi B. 2017. Bodak Yellow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEGccV-NOm8 - Sex and the City 2. 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVYh4sS1Fcw - Visit Dubai, 7 Days in Dubai. 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGO7L5Xt_Fw
Week 7 Oct. 14
Food Culture and National Identity POLS 5140 Delatolla 6
- Diana Spechler, 2017, Who Invented Hummus? BBC Travel, 12 December. http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20171211-who-invented-hummus - Amir Reicher, 2016, Yael Raviv, 2015: Falafel Nation: Cuisine and the Making of National Identity in Israel, Dialect Anthropology 40: 47-43. - Ozge Copuroglu, 2018, Behind Hummus Wars: The Role of the Food in National Identity in the Middle East, Transnational Marketing Journal, 6.2: 121-137. - Liora Gvion, 2006, Cuisines of Poverty as a Means of Empowerment: Arab Food in Israel, Agriculture and Human Values 23: 299-312. - Ari Ariel, 2012, The Hummus Wars, Gastronomica, 12.1: 34-42. - Dafna Hirsch, 2011, “Hummus is best when it is fresh and made by Arabs”: The gourmetization of hummus in Israel and the return of the repressed Arab, American Ethnologist 38.4: 617-630.
Week 8 Oct. 28 Film and Propaganda: The Cold War and Anti-Communist Film [Hollywood] - Grant Watts, 2014, Communism Amongst the Stars: Anti-Communism in Film during the 1940s-50s, Historia, 23: 60-67. - Daniel J Leab, 1984, How Red Was My Valley: Hollywood, the Cold War Film, and I Married a Communist, Journal of Contemporary History, 19.1: 59-88. - John Sbardellati, 2008, Brassbound G-Men and Celluloid Reds: The FBI's Search for Communist Propaganda in Wartime Hollywood, Film History, 20.4: 412-436. - Wai-Siam Hee, 2018, Anti-Communist Films Sponsored by the US Government in Singapore and Malaya: on the New York Sound Masters Inc, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 19.2: 310-327 - Benjamin Balthaser, 2008, Cold War Re-Visions: Representation and Resistance in the Unseen Salt of the Earth, American Quarterly, 60.2: 346-371. - Salt of the Earth (1954) Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dt2PKU4yLg The work of a group of blacklisted ex-Hollywood film industry workers, this film is a powerful, at times didactic, telling of a New Mexico mining strike. Produced by Paul Jarrico, directed by Herbert Biberman, written by Michael Wilson and starring Will Geer, the film had very limited distribution when first released. - How Did ‘Socialism’ Become a Dirty Word in America?, The History Channel, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4zzU67y9EU
Week 9 Nov. 4 War, Art, Propaganda PRESENTATIONS (10%) on final research essay. CREATIVE RESPONSE (25%) DUE on the following pieces: - Adi Nes, Untitled (Last Supper), 1999, 90x148cm, Photography, https://www.phaidon.com/resource/lastsupper.jpg - Peter Turnley, Fighting on a South African Street, East Rand, South Africa, 1994, https://i.cbc.ca/1.4584794.1521589354!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/1 6x9_780/beyond-words-photographers-of-war-james-nachtewy.jpg - Tom Lea, Marines call it that 2,000 yard stare, 1944, oil on canvas, 91.4 x 71.1 cm https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Tom_Lea_- _2000_Yard_Stare.jpg - Barbara Kruger, Your Manias Become Science, 1982, Gelatin silver mural print with print- painted artist’s frame, 104 x 127 cm POLS 5140 Delatolla 7
https://s3.amazonaws.com/stockx-sneaker-analysis/wp- content/uploads/2019/01/BarbaraKruger-Your-manias-become-science-1981.jpg - Standish Backus, At the Red Cross Hospital, Hiroshima, 1946, Watercolour, 76.8 x 56.5cm, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Backus%2C_At_the_Red_Cross _Hospital%2C_Hiroshima.jpg
Week 10 Nov. 11 Song/Art as Protest - Lyndon C.S. Way, 2016, Protest Music, Populism, Politics and Authenticity, Journal of Language and Politics, 15.4: 422-445. - Anastasia Valassopoulos & Dalia Said Mostafa (2014) Popular Protest Music and the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Popular Music and Society, 37:5, 638-659 - Anya Bernstein, 2013, An Inadvertent Sacrifice: Body Politics and Sovereign Power in the Pussy Riot Affair, Critical Inquiry 40: 220-241. - Sergei Prozorov, 2014, Pussy Riot and the Politics of Profanation: Parody, Performativity, Veridiction, Political Studies 62: 766-783. - Marina Yusupova, 2014, Pussy Riot: A Feminist Band Lost in History and Translation, Nationalities Papers, 42.4: 604-610. - Susan Hansen and Flynn Danny, 2015, ‘This is not a Banksy’: Street art as aesthetic protest, Continuum, 29.6: 898-912. - Neil Young, Rockin’ in the Free World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvxxdZpMFHg - Buffy Sainte Marie, Universal Soldier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWsGyNsw00 - Pussy Riot, Police State https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaZl12Z5P7g - Pussy Riot, Chaika https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VakUHHUSdf8 - MIA, Borders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-Nw7HbaeWY - Rage Against the Machine, Sleep Now in the Fire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w211KOQ5BMI&list=PL2EbESdPFdo5Xwx2SHw0 _SsayQzOqZaNZ&index=9 - The Cranberries, Zombie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts
Week 11 Nov. 18 Racial Capitalism - Sara Ahmed, 2007, A Phenomenology of Whiteness, Feminist Theory, 8.2: 149-168. - Ida Danewid, 2019, The fire this time: Grenfell, racial capitalism and the urbanization of empire, European Journal of International Relations, 1-25. - Nancy Leong, 2013, Racial Capitalism, Harvard Law Review, 126.8: 2151-2226. - The Carters, Apeshit, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbMqWXnpXcA - Solange, Losing You, 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy9W_mrY_Vk POLS 5140 Delatolla 8
- Arinao Mangoma & Anthony Wilson-Prangley (2019) Black Tax: Understanding the financial transfers of the emerging black middle class, Development Southern Africa, 36:4, 443-460 - Brittney Dennis, 2015, On Cultural Hegemony, Cultural Appropriation, and Blackness, https://www.sociologylens.net/topics/culture/on-cultural-hegemony-cultural- appropriation-and-blackness/15152
Week 12 Nov. 25 Feminist Engagements - Susan Bordo, 1993, Feminism, Foucault and the Politics of the Body, in Caroline Ramazanoglu (ed.), Up Against Foucault: Explorations of Some Tensions Between Foucault and Feminism, Routledge. - Alessandra Mezzadri, 2016, Class, Gender and the Sweatshop: On the Nexus between Labour Commodification and Exploitation, Third World Quarterly, 37.10: 1877-1900. - Anne Teresa Demo, 2010, The Guerrilla Girls’ Comic Politics of Subversion, Women’s Studies in Communication, 23.2: 133-156. - Catherine Driscoll, 1999, Girl Culture, Revenge and Global Capitalism: Cybergirls, Riot Grrls, Spice Girls, Australian Feminist Studies, 14.29: 173-193. - Julie Clarke, 1999, The Sacrificial Body of Orlan, Body & Society, 5(2-3): 185-207. - Jess Cartner-Morley, 2017, This is what a feminist T-Shirt Looks like, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/jan/24/this-is-what-a-feminist-t-shirt-looks- like - BiC, Women’s Day Advert (2015): https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/16B9C/production/_84848039_84848038.j pg - Orlan, The Guardian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ1Ph-Pprj4
Week 13 Dec. 2 Queer Politics - Sarah Schulman, 1998, Stagestruck: Theater, AIDS, and the Marketing of Gay America, Duke University Press. - Catherine Baker, 2017, The ‘gay Olympics’? The Eurovision Song Contest and the Politics of LGBT/European Belonging, European Journal of International Relations, 23.1: 97-121. - Nassim Hamdi, Monia Lachheb and Eric Anderson, 2018, Muslim Gay Men: Identity Conflict and Politics in a Muslim Majority Nation, The British Journal of Sociology, 69.4: 1293-1312. - Ghassan Moussawi, 2015, (Un)Critically Queer Organizing: Towards a more complex analysis of LGBTQ organizing in Lebanon, Sexalities, 18.5/6: 593-617. - Jeanette Winterson, Written on the Body, available to purchase on Apple Books, Amazon, Google Play - Barbara Kruger, Untitled (You Construct Intricate Rituals), Photograph, Gelatin Silver Print, 1981 https://art21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/kruger-artwork-001-intricaterituals- 1980.jpg - Madonna, Vogue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJQSAiODqI - Paris is Burning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf6Cn2y2xEc - Codi Maddox, Paris is Burning is a Black Exploitation Film, Afropunk, https://afropunk.com/2019/06/paris-is-burning/ POLS 5140 Delatolla 9
- Mashrou’ Leila Radio Romance, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpbC_XZQNQ8 Fasateen, 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HqHdBlQEe8 - Billy Porter, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY058WwzR7s - RENT (the film)
Week 14 Dec. 9 Superheroes
EXAM WEEK RESEARCH ESSAY DUE (30%) December 18