[ Wesleyan Home Page ] [ WesMaps Home Page ] [ WesMaps Archive ] [ Course Search ] [ Course Search by CID ]
Academic Year 2004/2005

The Trickster and the Stranger in the Making of American Culture
SOC 399 SP

This course may be repeated for credit.

The seminar invites research and analysis of the role of tricksters, outsiders, and strangers in the making of American Culture, with an emphasis on late 19th through 20th century. Among the subjects considered will be Muhammad Ali, Rosa Parks, Crazy Horse, Gloria Anzaldua, South Asian and Chinese Americans. Students will read both fiction and non-fiction. The idea of an "America" will be taken as a topic for analysis of culture as a cover for exclusion in the name of inclusion. Instances of disruption and transformation of the cultural norm will be considered.

MAJOR READINGS

Taylor Branch, PARTING THE WATERS Alexander Bloom and Wini Breines, TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS John Patrick Diggins, THE PROUD DECADES And selected books and articles on the New Social Movements, including feminism and queer politics.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Short papers, group research and presentation, perfect attendance, a major research paper.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Please do not register if you are unwilling to read all the assignments and attend every class.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS SOC    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: SOC151 Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-21-2005

Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email

Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459