CLIT2094: Introduction to Critical Theory and Cultural Studies (Spring 2023)

Spring 2023| 6 Credits| Dr. Anna Marie Bautista

This course will introduce students to two influential schools of thought in the twentieth-century: cultural studies (Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies) and critical theory (Frankfurt School). Readings/lectures will include the following thinkers: Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, Stuart Hall, Raymond Williams, Hazel Carby, and others.

One of the central texts for both of these bodies of thought is Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project. Drawing on this key text, students will produce a creative work that responds to the Arcades Project in the context of the contemporary moment. Students will present this project to a panel of critics from Cornell University and Art Basel. Students will work together to edit and produce a limited-edition publication.

Other course assignments include short written essays, and robust class participation.