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AMER 481

Theories of American Culture: An Ethnographic Approach

AMER 481 treats "American culture" not as a fixed thing to define but as something produced unevenly by forces like racial violence, militarism, neoliberal labor, and empire, and asks what different Americas those forces actually make. You'll read anthropology and ethnography alongside films, photography, music, and literary essays, from Nanook of the North through Baldwin and Woody Guthrie, and work through them in class discussion, a short essay, and midterm and final essays. It builds on the close-reading habits from earlier AMER courses but pushes you toward thinking like an ethnographer of everyday life, which is the lens most upper-level AMER electives and any serious thesis work will assume you have.

Kredi3ECTS5FakülteFaculty of Humanities and LettersBölümAmerican Culture and LiteratureKoordinatörJohn William Day

Haftalık müfredat 14 hafta

Hafta 114–20 Eyl
Giriş ve Nanook of the North gösterimi
Introduction: Screening: Nanook of the North (Robert J. Flaherty, 1922, Revillon Frères)
Nanook of the NorthRobert J. FlahertyRevillon Frèresbelgesel
Hafta 221–27 Eyl
Kültürü incelemek: Gupta ve Ferguson okuması
Studying Culture: Gupta, Akhil & James Ferguson (1997). “After Peoples and Cultures” in Eds. Akhil Gupta and James Ferguson, Culture, Power, Place: Explorations in Critical Anthropology pp. 1-30. London: Duke University Press.
Gupta & FergusonAfter Peoples and CulturesCulture, Power, PlaceCritical Anthropology
Hafta 328 Eyl – 4 Eki
Zaman, kölelik ve Afroamerikan kültürü
Clock for Religion: Smith, Mark M (1997). “Time in African American Work and Culture” in Mastered by the Clock: Time, Slavery and Freedom in the American South, pp. 129-152. Chapel Hill & London: The University of North Carolina Press. White, John (1983). “Veiled Testimony: Negro Spirituals and the Slave Experience”, Journal of American Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2: pp. 251-263.
Mark M. Smith, Mastered by the ClockTime in African American Work and CultureJohn White, Veiled TestimonyNegro spirituals
Hafta 45–11 Eki
Büyük Buhran ve bolluk kültürü
“Hard Times, Modern Times”: Barnard, Rita (1995). “Part I: Context” in The Great Depression and the Culture of Abundance: Kenneth Fearing Nathanael West and Mass Culture in the 1930s, pp.3-40. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The Great DepressionRita BarnardKenneth FearingNathanael West
Hafta 512–18 Eki
Amerika'yı çerçevelemek: fotoğraf ve tarih
Framing America: Levine, Lawrence W. (1993). “The Historian and Icon: Photography and the History of the American People in the 1930s and 1940s”, in The Unpredictable Past: Explorations in American Cultural History, pp. 256-290. New York: Oxford University Press.
Levine (1993)photographyAmerican cultural history1930s-1940s
Hafta 619–25 Eki
Broadcasting Nation: Amerikan radyo yayıncılığı
Broadcasting Nation: Hilmes, Michele (1997). “Radiating Culture”, in Radio Voices: American Broadcasting, 1922-1952, pp. 1-33. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Berg, Gertrude & Robert Harris (1954). “A Sad Day”, The Goldbergs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgiYXIUG5eg
Hilmes, Radio VoicesRadiating CultureAmerican broadcasting 1922-1952The Goldbergs
Hafta 726 Eki – 1 Kas
Woody Guthrie ve tarım işçilerinin hikâyeleri
Class Revised: Jackson, Mark Allan (2008). “Busted, Disgusted, Down and Out: Documenting the Stories of America’s Agricultural Workers”, in Prophet Singer: The Voice and Vision of Woody Guthrie, pp. 48-92. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. Guthrie, Woody (1997). “This Land is Your Land”, This Land is Your Land: The Asch Recordings Vol 1. https://open.spotify.com/track/3ZjrfGcb3A2PMGA1vRNgSk?si=fa3098b6351641bb
Woody GuthrieProphet SingerThis Land is Your LandMark Allan Jackson
Hafta 82–8 Kas
Gösterim: içerik sonra duyurulacak
Screening: To be announced
screening
Hafta 99–15 Kas
Radikal belgesel ve sensory ethnography
Radical Documentary: Scott, MacDonald (2013). “Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Sensory Ethnography” in American Ethnographic Film and Personal Documentary, pp. 634-679. London: University of California Press.
sensory ethnographyLucien Castaing-TaylorScott MacDonalddocumentary
Hafta 1016–22 Kas
Amerikan rüyası: Baldwin ve Congo Square
An American Dream: Baldwin, James (2011). “Chapter One: Congo Square” in The Devil Finds Work: An Essay, pp. 12-74. New York: Vintage International.
James BaldwinThe Devil Finds WorkCongo Square
Hafta 1123–29 Kas
Soğuk Savaş ve modern sanat: Jasper Johns
Cold War and Modern Art: Genter, Robert (2011). “Masculinity, Spontaneity, and the Act: The Bodily Ego of Jasper Johns” in Late Modernism: Art, Culture, and Politics in Cold War America, pp. 197-235. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Robert GenterJasper JohnsLate Modernismbodily ego
Hafta 1230 Kas – 6 Ara
Kimliğin yeniden konumlanışı: Drown
Repositioning Identity: Diaz, Junot (1997). “Drown” in Drown, pp. 91-107. NYC: Riverhead Books. Caminero-Santangelo, Marta (2016). “The Caribbean Difference: Imagining Trans-Status Communities” in Documenting the Undocumented: Latino/a Narratives and Social Justice in the Era of Operation Gatekeeper, pp. 107-148.
Junot DiazDrownCaminero-SantangeloDocumenting the Undocumented
Hafta 137–13 Ara
Queer aktivizm: Diedrich ve Berlant-Warner okumaları
Queer Activism: Diedrich, Lisa (2016). “Doing Queer Love” in Indirect Action: Schizophrenia, Epilepsy, AIDS, and the Course of Health Activism pp. 17-44. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Berlant, Lauraen and Michael Warner, (1998). “Sex in Public”, Critical Inquiry 24: 547-566.
DiedrichBerlantWarnerSex in Public
Hafta 1414–20 Ara
Film round table gösterimi (duyurulacak)
Film Round Table Screening: To be announced
film gösterimiround table

Değerlendirme 100% · 4 adım

25%
40%
20%
15%
Midterm:Essay/written Midterm Quiz 25%
Final:Essay/written Final Essay (Proposal 10% + Final Paper 30%) 40%
Short essay In-class writing 20%
In-class participation Participation 15%
en büyük tek kalem %40 · sınav ağırlığı %65 nasıl hesaplanıyor

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