Global Cultural Studies with tracks in Creative Writing and Translation, World History, and World Literature
Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary field that investigates the forms of social life and culture produced in today’s interconnected world. Understanding the complexity of global culture requires mastery over the tools of interpretation and knowledge production. It requires students to “read, write, and translate the world.” Global Cultural Studies courses combine the strengths of the social sciences, the humanities, and creative practice, by drawing on interpretive methods and theories from literary and translation studies, cultural anthropology, history, sociology, media studies, film studies, journalism, communications, economics, and more.
Global Cultural Studies takes the concept of “cultural literacy” seriously. It explores the fascinating and fluid nature of “culture” which is both created by individuals and societies, and transformative of them at the same time. The political and economic power embedded in culture must never be taken for granted. To this end, Global Cultural Studies core courses remain focused on the histories and poetics of economic exploitation, imperialism and industrialization, gender inequality, and other forms of social injustice.
Students armed with the expansive and critically informed tools for reading, writing, and translating our world, will apply their sharpened literacy skills to tracks in History, Literature, or Creative Writing & Translation. While study in the three tracks is different in obvious ways, all focus on texts and interpretation as critical tools for understanding the growing complexity of our globalizing world. Students in these tracks will pursue coursework and research on crucial challenges facing our interconnected world.
The major in Global Cultural Studies has tracks in Creative Writing & Translation, World Literature, and World History, and imparts students with skills and competency in critical thinking, cultural analysis, and communication for careers in education, the creativity economy, media and journalism, NGOs, and international business and law.
Major Requirements
(Not every course listed is offered every term, and the course list will be updated periodically. Please refer to the online Course Catalog for Courses offered in 2023-2024.)
Global Cultural Studies / Creative Writing and Translation
Divisional Foundation Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| ARHU 101 | The Art of Interpretation: Written Texts | 4 |
| ARHU 102 | The Art of Interpretation: Images and Sound | 4 |
Interdisciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| GCULS 105 | Critical Comparative Studies | 4 |
| GCULS 205 | Texts in Motion | 4 |
| CULMOVE 201 | Migration, Inequality and Culture | 4 |
| GCULS 202 | Empires and Culture | 4 |
| GCULS 302 | Gender in Global Perspective | 4 |
| GCULS 490 | Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics | 4 |
Disciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| LIT 216 | Introduction to Creative Writing and Translation | 4 |
| Students are required to take an additional 20 credits from the thematic elective list below, with at least 4 credits from “Writing” and 4 credits from “Translation”. The remaining 12 credits may be from the lists below or any other elective or disciplinary course listed in any track of the major. A maximum of 8 total credits may consist of 2-credit courses. At least 8 credits must be LIT courses at the 300-level or above. | ||
Electives
Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year. (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)
| Writing: Students must take at least 4 credits from the following courses | ||
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| Writing: Students must take at least 4 credits from the following courses | ||
| LIT 107 | From Data to Narrative: A Workshop in Non-Fiction Writing | 2 |
| LIT 109 | Writing Children’s Stories | 2 |
| MEDIART 110[1] | Audio Documentary and the Podcast | 4 |
| WOC 190 | Creative Nonfiction: People and Places | 2 |
| WOC 290 | Special Topics: Writing Across Cultures (not currently on offer) | 4 |
| WOC 108 | Intercultural Communication | 2 |
| MEDIART 207[2] | Elements of Story: Introduction to Narrative Technique | 4 |
| LIT 220 | Line Breaks and Chapbooks: Poetry Workshop | 4 |
| WOC 213 | From Text to World: Editing and Publishing | 2 |
| WOC 214 / CHINESE 414 | Reading Chinese Love Stories in Novels and Memoirs | 2 |
| WOC 216 | Introduction to Feature Writing | 2 |
| WOC 217 | Introduction to News Writing | 2 |
| LIT 307 | Digital Storytelling | 4 |
| MEDIART 310 | Screenwriting | 4 |
| LIT 311 | Poetry in Conversation | 4 |
| LIT 314 | Big Stories: Fiction and Non-Fiction Workshop | 4 |
| HIST 314 | Writing the History of War | 4 |
| GCULS 401 | Games and Culture | 4 |
| GCUL 405 / MEDIART 405 | The Curatorial: Theory and Practice | 4 |
| Translation: Students must take at least 4 credits from the following courses | ||
| WOC 207/ Chinese 408 | Translation Workshop: Chinese-English / English-Chinese | 2 |
| WOC 210 | Translation Workshop: Adaptation and Transformation | 2 |
| LIT 219 / MEDIART 219 | Stage Translation for Kunqu | 2 |
| LIT 217 / CHINESE 417 | Li Yu and Seventeenth-century Chinese Pop Culture | 4 |
| GCHINA 302 | Translating and using Chinese non-fictional sources for academic purposes | 4 |
| LIT 310 | Translation for Kunqu: Literary Repertoire | 4 |
| LIT 315 | Translation Theory | 4 |
| CHINESE 407 | Readings in Classical Chinese | 4 |
Global Cultural Studies / World History
Divisional Foundation Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| ARHU 101 | The Art of Interpretation: Written Texts | 4 |
| ARHU 102 | The Art of Interpretation: Images and Sound | 4 |
Interdisciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| GCULS 105 | Critical Comparative Studies | 4 |
| CULMOVE 201 | Migration, Inequality and Culture | 4 |
| GCULS 202 | Empires and Culture | 4 |
| GCULS 205 | Texts in Motion | 4 |
| GCULS 302 | Gender in Global Perspective | 4 |
| GCULS 490 | Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics | 4 |
Disciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| HIST 201 | History Methods and Research | 4 |
| And choose five additional courses from the elective list below: at least two courses from “Themes and Theories” and at least two courses from “Research and Methods.” Of the five total courses, two must be at the 300-level or above. | ||
Electives
Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year. (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| Themes and Theories | ||
| RELIG 108 | History of God in Seven Paintings | 2 |
| HIST 110 | Historical Perspectives on Contemporary Global Issues | 4 |
| HIST 111 | Ancient Roots to Global Routes | 4 |
| HIST 112 | History of the Indian Ocean World | 4 |
| HIST 123 | All Around Us – Technology, Infrastructure, and History | 2 |
| HIST 202[3] | Global Interactions in Historical Perspective | 4 |
| HIST 204 | Asia in World History | 4 |
| GCULS 204 | Global Histories of the Anthropocene | 4 |
| HIST 212 | Pandemics in World History from the Black Death to COVID-19 | 4 |
| HIST 301 | China in Global Perspective 1: China and the Silk Roads World: 500-1500 | 4 |
| HIST 312 | Southeast Asia and the Rise of Global Trade | 4 |
| HIST 313 | Southeast Asia from the Age of Imperialism to the Global Cold War | 4 |
| LIT 313 | Anatomy of Emotions: Literature and Psychoanalysis | 4 |
| HIST 315 / CULANTH 315 | Why Be a Bandit? | 4 |
| HIST 410 | The Spice Race: How the Spice Trade shaped our World | 4 |
| HIST 412 | Global Labor History | 4 |
| Research and Methods | ||
| HIST 114 | Conflicts and Resolutions in Modern South Asia | 4 |
| HIST 203 | America in Asia, Asians in America | 4 |
| HIST 205 | Shanghai: From Treaty Port to Global Metropolis | 4 |
| HIST 210/ARTS 210 | Global Art History | 4 |
| HIST 220 | Global Media History | 4 |
| HIST 250[4] | Gandhi and Moral Leadership | 4 |
| HIST 302 | China in Global Perspective 2: The Internationalization of Modern China | 4 |
| HIST 307 | Cold War America | 4 |
| HIST 308 | Immigration and the American Experience | 4 |
| HIST 312 | Southeast Asia and the Rise of Global Trade | 4 |
| HIST 314 | Writing the History of War | 4 |
| POLSCI 317/ SOSC 317 | Politics of Organization | 4 |
| HIST 411 | Seeing History from the Mountains and the Seas: Ethnographic histories of Asia | 4 |
| LIT 216 | Introduction to Creative Writing and Translation | 4 |
Global Cultural Studies / World Literature
Divisional Foundation Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| ARHU 101 | The Art of Interpretation: Written Texts | 4 |
| ARHU 102 | The Art of Interpretation: Images and Sound | 4 |
Interdisciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| GCULS 105 | Critical Comparative Studies | 4 |
| CULMOVE 201 | Migration, Inequality and Culture | 4 |
| GCULS 202 | Empires and Culture | 4 |
| GCULS 205 | Texts in Motion | 4 |
| GCULS 302 | Gender in Global Perspective | 4 |
| GCULS 490 | Senior Seminar: Advanced Topics | 4 |
Disciplinary Courses
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| LIT 214 | Introduction to Literary Research Writ Large | 4 |
| And choose five additional courses from the elective list below: at least two courses from “Foundations” and at least two courses from “Relations.” Of the five total courses, two must be at the 300-level or above. | ||
Electives
Courses listed in the table below are recommended electives for the major. The course list reflects the most recent intellectual organization of major electives. Depending on the academic year in which you matriculated, some of the courses below may be requirements for your major. To verify required courses, always consult the requirements for the relevant class year in the bulletin of the year in which you matriculated unless you have been approved to complete the major requirements of a subsequent year. (See Ability to Meet Major Requirements Published in Years Subsequent to Year of Matriculation.)
| Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
| Foundations | ||
| LIT 105 | The Epic of America | 4 |
| LIT 201 | Asian-American Arts and Letters | 4 |
| LIT 202 | African-American Literature and Culture | 4 |
| LIT 204 / MEDIA 204 | Online Novels and the Chinese Public Sphere | 4 |
| LIT 205 | American Lyric Across Borders (Poetry) | 4 |
| LIT 207 | The American Renaissance and Its Rivals | 4 |
| LIT 208 / ARTS 208 | From Cool Japan to the Korean Wave: Popular Culture from East Asia | 4 |
| LIT 216 | Introduction to Creative Writing and Translation | 4 |
| LIT 217/ CHINESE 417 | Li Yu and Seventeenth-century Chinese Pop Culture | 2 |
| LIT 302 | America’s Novel Modernity | 4 |
| GCULS 303 | Chinatowns: A Cultural History | 4 |
| GCULS 304 | Chinese Culture and Ideology in the 20th Century and Now | 4 |
| LIT 305 | The U.S. and the Contemporary Global Imagination | 4 |
| LIT 308 | American Icons (rhetoric and performance—pulpit /address /theater/ music) | 4 |
| LIT 310 | Translation for Kunqu: Literary Repertoire | 4 |
| LIT 311 | Poetry in Conversation | 4 |
| LIT 314 | Big Stories: Fiction and Non-Fiction Workshop | 4 |
| Relations | ||
| LIT 203 | Reading Empire | 4 |
| LIT 209 | Critical Inter-Asia: Rethinking Local and Global Connections | 4 |
| LIT 210 | Robots and Monsters: Unruly Human Creations in World Literature | 4 |
| LIT 211 / POLSCI 211 | Politics and Literature | 4 |
| LIT 212 | Extinctionism: Representing the Survival of the Fittest in Literature and Culture | 4 |
| LIT 213 | Literature and Global Citizenship | 4 |
| LIT 303 | The Literary Arts of the Cold War | 4 |
| LIT 305 | Translation for Kunqu: Literary Repertoire | 4 |
| LIT 307 | Digital Storytelling | 4 |
| LIT 309 | What’s the Fuss? The Art and Power of Banned Literature | 4 |
| LIT 312 | Writing the World: Travel Narratives and Beyond | 4 |
| LIT 313 | Anatomy of Emotions: Literature and Psychoanalysis | 4 |
| GCULS 301 | Religion and Sexuality | 4 |
| GCULS 401 | Games and Culture: Politics, Pleasure and Pedagogy | 4 |
| GCULS 402 | Digital Tribes | 4 |
[1] This course was named MEDIART 110 Audio Documentary and Storytelling prior to fall term 2023.
[2] This course was named MEDIART 207 Creative Writing and the Elements of Story prior to fall term 2023.
[3] This course was named HIST 202 World History and Global Interactions prior to fall term 2022.
[4] This course was numbered HIST 107 prior to fall term 2022.