Department of English
Concentration in Cultural Studies (Bachelor of Arts in English)
Students on Summer 2021, Fall 2021, or Spring 2022 requirements ENGCULSCON
The Concentration in Cultural Studies allows students to explore popular culture, social movements, and interdisciplinary methods of analysis. Students may choose from a broad range of classes that include the study of popular genres (such as science fiction and graphic novel), the rhetoric of significant contemporary movements (for example, environmentalism or feminism), and the impact of technology on cultural production.
Requirements
The concentration requires at least 15 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
- Concentration Courses. Four (4) courses:
- ENG-L 389 Feminist Literary and Cultural Criticism
- ENG-L 393 Comics and the Graphic Novel
- ENG-L 395 British and American Film Studies
- ENG-R 340 The Rhetoric of Social Movements
- ENG-R 342 Rhetoric and Race
- ENG-R 348 Environmental Communication
- ENG-R 355 Public Memory in Communication and Culture
- ENG-R 397 Visual Rhetoric
- ENG-R 398 Culture, Identity, and the Rhetoric of Place
- One (1) of the following:
- ENG-L 210 Studies in Popular Literature and Mass Media
- ENG-L 230 Introduction to Science Fiction
- ENG-L 295 American Film Culture
- ENG-R 209 Topics in Rhetoric and Public Culture
- ENG-R 210 Introduction to Digital Rhetoric
- ENG-R 211 Rhetoric and Sports
- ENG-R 212 Communicating Sustainability
ENG-L 389 Feminist Literary and Cultural Criticism
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Selected critical approaches to the issue of gender over time and in various cultural settings. Topics vary, but may include feminist criticism and popular culture, the history of feminist expository prose, or deconstructionism and feminism.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-L 393 Comics and the Graphic Novel
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduction to the literary and poetic dimensions of various forms of contemporary graphic literature. Readings draw from graphic memoirs, graphic fiction, comics, and other varieties of graphic storytelling.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-L 395 British and American Film Studies
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Intensive study of specific topics related to film narratives; emphasis on American or British film as a cultural phenomenon. Topic varies.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 340 The Rhetoric of Social Movements
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduces rhetorical theories and practices which inform and are informed by the study of social movements. Topics vary and focus on a specific social movement or a range of social movements.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum total of 6 credit hours in CMCL-C 340 and ENG-R 340.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 342 Rhetoric and Race
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Explores the relationship between rhetoric and race, including the possibilities and implications entailed by an understanding of race as a rhetorical artifact, and rhetoric as a necessarily raced phenomenon.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 342 or ENG-R 342.
- Spring 2024CASE AHcourse
- Fall 2024CASE DUScourseSummer 2024CASE DUScourseSpring 2024CASE DUScourse
ENG-R 348 Environmental Communication
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- This class is grounded in the perspective that symbolic and natural systems are mutually constituted and therefore, the ways we communicate about and with the environment are vital to examine for a sustainable and just future. The focus of the class may vary to engage topics such as environmental tourism or environmental disasters.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 348 or ENG-R 348.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourseSummer 2024CASE SHcourseSpring 2024CASE SHcourse
ENG-R 355 Public Memory in Communication and Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines the contested nature of public memory from a communication and culture perspective. Focuses on the nature of public memory, its methods of perpetuation, its role in shaping citizens, and its implications for society.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 355 or ENG-R 355.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourseSummer 2024CASE SHcourseSpring 2024CASE SHcourse
ENG-R 397 Visual Rhetoric
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Focuses on distinctive rhetorical features of visual discourse to examine the political, cultural, persuasive, and ideological functions of media images in United States' public culture. Explores examples from advertising, journalism, and entertainment across media, including print, television, and film. Interrogates the consequences of conducting public communication through commodified imagery for contemporary social life.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 432 or ENG-R 397.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 398 Culture, Identity, and the Rhetoric of Place
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Invites advanced undergraduate students to consider the rhetorical dimensions of places with a particular focus on theories of culture and identity (e.g., race, gender, and nationality). Students will critically examine how places are the product of strategic communication choices that have been made to influence how human beings think and behave.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 425 or ENG-R 398.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-L 210 Studies in Popular Literature and Mass Media
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Popular literary modes in England and America, such as detective, western, fantasy; history and theories of “mass” or “popular” culture; uses of literacy. Literary analysis of particular mass media forms, including television drama. Topic varies.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-L 230 Introduction to Science Fiction
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of the kinds, conventions, and theories of science fiction. Course may include both literature (predominantly British and American) and film.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-L 295 American Film Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Film in relation to American culture and society. Topic varies. Works of literature may be used for comparison, but the main emphasis is on film as a narrative medium and as an important element in American culture.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 209 Topics in Rhetoric and Public Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines how rhetorical practice shapes public culture. May focus on a medium or mode of rhetorical practice, such as documentary film, social movement, or political speech; a theme or issue, such as race, gender, or democracy; or a particular historical period. Topic varies.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum total of 6 credit hours in CMCL-C 209 and ENG-R 209.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 210 Introduction to Digital Rhetoric
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Workshop-oriented course exploring new forms of writing, interaction, and design for rhetorical purposes and digital environments. Emphasis on producing, interpreting, and analyzing traditional and emerging texts and technologies.
ENG-R 211 Rhetoric and Sports
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines how discourse shapes—and is shaped by—sports culture. Uses a variety of rhetorical frames to analyze historical and contemporary sports communication, contextualize sports events and discourse in relation to particular socio-politico moments, and craft sophisticated responses (across media) to sports-oriented exigencies.
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourseSummer 2024CASE AHcourseSpring 2024CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 212 Communicating Sustainability
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- 'Sustainability' is the capacity to negotiate environmental, social, and economic needs and desires for current and future generations. Traces historical and global discourses of sustainability; defines key terms and frames sustainability; engages related concepts of democracy, citizenship, and community; and develops critical thinking, research, and communication skills.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 212 or ENG-R 212.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourseSummer 2024CASE SHcourseSpring 2024CASE SHcourse
- Advanced English Elective. One (1) course:
- ENG-G 405 Studies in English Language
- ENG-L 450 Seminar: British and American Authors
- ENG-L 460 Seminar: Literary Form, Mode, and Theme
- ENG-L 470 Seminar: Literature and Interdisciplinary Studies
- ENG-L 480 Seminar: Literature and History
- ENG-L 499 Senior Independent Study for Honors Students
- ENG-W 401 Advanced Fiction Writing
- ENG-W 403 Advanced Poetry Writing
- ENG-W 410 Indiana Writing Workshop
- ENG-W 413 Advanced Creative Nonfiction Writing
ENG-G 405 Studies in English Language
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Topics vary from semester to semester.
ENG-L 450 Seminar: British and American Authors
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: Junior or senior standing
- Description
- Intensive study of a major author or a school of closely related authors.
ENG-L 460 Seminar: Literary Form, Mode, and Theme
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: Junior or senior standing
- Description
- Study of texts written in several historical periods united by a common mode or form (narrative, romanticism, lyric, etc.), or by a common theme (Bildungsroman, the city and the country, the two cultures question, the uses of literacy, etc.).
ENG-L 470 Seminar: Literature and Interdisciplinary Studies
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: Junior or senior standing
- Description
- Study of a body of English or American literature in relation to another discipline (philosophy, art history, linguistics, psychology, etc.), or in light of critical theory (structuralist, psychoanalytic, genre theory, etc.).
ENG-L 480 Seminar: Literature and History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: Junior or senior standing
- Description
- Study of a body of literature in relation to a period of history, to a theory of history, or to a historical theme.
ENG-L 499 Senior Independent Study for Honors Students
- Credits
- 2
- Prerequisites
- Approval of department's Honors Director
- Description
- None
- Repeatability
- May be repeated once for credit.
ENG-W 401 Advanced Fiction Writing
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ENG-W 301; or consent of instructor
- Description
- Focused work in the art and profession of fiction writing.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated once for credit.
ENG-W 403 Advanced Poetry Writing
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ENG-W 303; or consent of instructor
- Description
- Focused work in the art and profession of poetry writing.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated once for credit.
ENG-W 410 Indiana Writing Workshop
- Credits
- 2
- Prerequisites
- Acceptance to the Indiana Writers' Conference
- Notes
- May be counted as part of the major
- Description
- Intensive training in various forms of writing.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated once for credit.
ENG-W 413 Advanced Creative Nonfiction Writing
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ENG-W 311; or consent of instructor
- Description
- Writing workshop in such modes as personal essay, autobiography, and documentary.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
- Concentration GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
- Concentration GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the concentration—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Concentration Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the concentration.
- Concentration Upper Division Credit Hours. At least 9 credit hours in the concentration must be completed at the 300–499 level.
Concentration Area Courses
Courses that may apply toward the Credit Hours and GPA requirements in this academic program include all courses listed on the requirement course lists at the time the course was taken as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent.
Exclusions
The following courses cannot be applied toward concentration requirements:
Same as the major, as appropriate based on the Academic program Area Courses list above.
Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to the minimum credit hours required in the concentration:
Same as the major, as appropriate based on the Academic program Area Courses list above.
Exceptions to and substitutions for concentration requirements may be made with the approval of the unit's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.