All Graduate Courses
The courses listed here are offered for graduate credit in the Department of Comparative Studies. It should be noted that the actual content of courses varies from quarter to quarter, especially that of topics courses, whose subject matter varies dramatically. Students should keep themselves apprised of quarterly offerings and should consult with faculty advisers on a regular basis to take best advantage of course offerings both in Comparative Studies and in other departments. Note that Associated graduate faculty also offer courses in their respective departments which are likely to be of interests to our students.
600 level courses are open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
700 level courses are open to all graduate students; these courses offer foundational approaches to theories, methods, and areas of research in comparative cultural studies. Advanced undergraduates may request the permission of the instructor to enroll in these courses.
800 level courses are advanced graduate seminars, intended primarily for doctoral students.
* = Course is Required
** = Course is an interdisciplinary course whose topic varies widely from quarter to quarter.
CS 620 APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF RELIGION Survey and comparison of concepts, categories, theories, and methods used by various disciplines in the study of religion. (Listed under Religious Studies pending change to Comparative Studies)
CS 641 THE JAPANESE RELIGIOUS TRADITION A survey of the Japanese tradition, including Shinto, Buddhism, Taoism, New-Confucianism, and folk religion from the 6th century B.C.E. to the present. (Listed under Religious Studies pending change to Comparative Studies)
CS 645 STUDIES IN KOREAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE Critical study of Korean-American literature and literary genres of the twentieth century, with particular attention to historical, social, and cultural contexts.
CS 648 STUDIES IN ORALITY AND LITERATURE Examination of major theories of writing and of oral composition and transmission, in juxtaposition to case material deriving from a variety of Middle Eastern cultures. Cross-listed in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures.
**CS 651 TOPICS IN COMPARATIVE STUDIES (repeatable to 15 credits) Critical study of selected themes and topics in a comparative and cross-cultural perspective; emphasis on issues of method, critical theory, representation, power, knowledge, and authority.
CS 660 MODERNISM: ITS ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY CULTURE AND POLITICS Origins and development of the modernist sensibility in 20th-Century art, literature, social theory, and politics.
CS 665 STUDIES IN JAPANESE AMERICAN LITERATURE Critical study of modern Japanese-American literature in historical and cultural context; topics vary: literature of the inernment, gender and identity politics, genre studies, women’s writing.
CS 672 POETRY AND POLITICS IN THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY MEDITERRANEAN Exploration of several poets and poetic traditions around the Mediterranean in relation to modern political struggles; resistance to fascism; dilemmas of imperialism and underdevelopment.
**CS 677 STUDIES IN WORLD FOLKLORE (each subdivision repeatable to 10 credits)
677.01 GENRES OF FOLK LITERATURE Historical and cross-cultural study of genre theory. Comparative study of specific genres of folk literature: e.g., fairy tales, folktales, legends, epics, and jokes.
677.02 THEMES IN WORLD FOLKLORE Cross-cultural, cross-genre study of folklore themes: e.g., folklore of sex, folklore of religion. Multidisciplinary perspective employs anthropological, psychological, and literary theory.
677.03 FOLK CUSTOM, ART, AND MATERIAL CULTURE Study of folk customs, arts, and material culture. Theoretical emphasis on structural affinities of these with other folk forms, including verbal art, ritual, festival, folk religion.
677.04 COMPARATIVE FOLK GROUPS Comparative study of ethnic, regional, religious, kin, occupational, age, or sex groups. Emphasis on range of historical and contemporary theoretical perspectives used to understand groups.
CS 678 STUDIES IN CHINESE-AMERICAN LITERATURE Critical study of modern Chinese-American literature in historical and cultural context. Topics vary: gender issues, genre studies, women's writing.
CS 693 INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (1-10; repeatable to 15 credits) Designed to give able students an opportunity to pursue special studies not otherwise offered.
**CS 694 GROUP STUDIES (3-5; repeatable to 15 credits) Special topics.
CS 697 STUDY AT A FOREIGN INSTITUTION (1-15) An opportunity for students to study at a foreign institution and receive Ohio State credit for that work.
CS 698 STUDY TOUR (1-15) Specific content, location, quarter(s) of offering, and prerequisites vary; contact department office for details.
CS 706 COMPLEX ETHNOGRAPHY Introduction to the theoretical foundation & methods of ethnography as a complex of practices.
*CS710 APPROACHES TO COMPARATIVE CULTURAL STUDIES I Historical perspectives on modernity and difference: introduces the issues and methods involved in situating and comparing authoritative discourses (literary, religious, scientific) and other cultural processes. REQUIRED FOR MA STUDENTS.
*CS711 APPROACHES TO COMPARATIVE CULTURAL STUDIES II Contemporary practices of contextualization and comparison: explores issues and methods involved in situating and comparing authoritative discourses (literary, religious, scientific) and other cultural processes. REQUIRED FOR MA STUDENTS.
CS715 THEORIZING AMERICA Interdisciplinary study of culture, identity, and representation in the U.S.
CS 716 THEORIZING CULTURE Examination of the culture concept, now featuring so prominently in different domains of national and international public discourse: education, politics, law, medicine, and elsewhere.
CS 725 THEORIZING RELIGION Examines relationships between religion and other domains in a cross-cultural, comparative framework with attention to theoretical models and particular texts and traditions.
CS 730 THEORIZING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Introduction to comparative and cultural studies of science and technology.
CS 739 COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL POLITICS Compares consititutions and constitutionalism across cultures and through different disciplines with special attention to how people make claims to secure their rights and interests.
CS 741 THEORIZING GENRE Comparative studies of genre theory and specific genres (e.g., epic, novel, autobiography, film genres) in cultural context.
CS 752 RACE AND CITIZENSHIP: FORMATIONS IN CRITICAL RACE THEORY Critical analysis of concepts of law, e.g., a value-free legal code, universality of legal concepts, equitable enforcement; emphasis on U.S.
CS 760 THEORIZING PERFORMANCE Advanced introduction to field of performance studies; theory and practice of expressive social behaviors, including theatre, dance, ritual, sports, and embodied practices of everyday life.
CS 770 INTRODUCTION TO GRADUATE STUDY IN FOLKLORE A two-course sequence in current scholarship and methods necessary for advanced study in folklore. Cross-listed in English.
770.01 APPROACHES AND RESEARCH METHODS Bibliography, research, and critical approaches for the advanced study of folklore.
770.02 FIELD RESEARCH Methods and theory of field research and field ethics necessary for advanced study in folklore.
770.03 THE ETHNOGRAPHY OF COMMUNICATION Ethnographic approaches to social interaction and performance; the speech community; the communicative economy.
CS781 STUDIES IN WOMEN’S HISTORY An intensive reading course designed to prepare graduate students in women's history in a comparative framework.
CS790 FOUNDATIONS OF CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL THEORY Interdisciplinary survey of the theoretical bases of major contemporary approaches to the study of literature; readings in Marx, Freud, Derrida, Cixous, and others.
**CS792 INTERDEPARTMENTAL STUDIES IN THE HUMANITIES (3-5; repeatable to 15 credits) Two or more departments present colloquia on subjects of mutual interest; topics to be announced.
CS798 THESIS SEMINAR (3) Writing seminar for second-year students in the Comparative Studies graduate program. Open only to Comparative Studies graduate students.
CS 820 COMPARATIVE SACRED ARCHITECTURE Explores the diversity of natural and built environments designed for various religious purposes in different cultural and historical contexts.
CS 825 SACRED BIOGRAPHY AND THE CULT OF THE SAINTS Explores issues and problems in the study of sacred biography and the cult of the saints; focus on both Christian and cross-cultural contexts.
CS 826 RELIGION AND SEXUALITY Examines relationships between religion and sexuality in a cross-cultural, comparative framework with attention to theoretical models as well as particular texts and traditions.
CS 827 RELIGION AND POLITICS Explores relationships across political and religious institutions and practices; topics vary.
CS830 SCIENCE AND DIFFERENCE Explores scientific constructions of difference (racial, gender, sexual, cultural) and the consequences of difference for the making of science.
CS 841 WOMEN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITING Maps diverse modes and practices of women's life writing by considering both theoretical works and 20th-century and contemporary autobiographical writing..
CS 845 LITERATURE IN GLOBAL CONTEXTS (repeatable to 15 credits) Discussion of literary texts, culturap-political documents, and theoretical discourses in global contexts.
CS850 WEXNER CENTER SEMINAR (1-5; repeatable to 15 credits) Graduate seminar offered in conjunction with Wexner Center exhibitions, performance series, or symposia; may be taught by visiting artists, performers, or critics.
CS 862 PERFORMANCE AND POLITICS (repeatable to 15 credits) Analyzes role of performance in relation to political processes and cultural production.
CS 880 CULTURE AND CAPITAL (repeatable to 15 credits) Exploration of theoretical approaches to the relation between cultural production and economies of value; course may include readings of major materialist theorists (Marx, Gramsci, Benjamin, Brecht, Adorno), explore materialist feminism and other forms of materialist critique.
**CS890 INTERDEPARTMENTAL STUDIES IN CRITICAL THEORY (Repeatable to 10 credits) Interdisciplinary study of a movement (phenomenology, deconstruction, etc.) or problem (intentionality, evaluation, etc.) in literary theory.
CS 996 RESEARCH IN COMPARATIVE STUDIES: CANDIDACY EXAMINATION (Arr) Research in preparation for Ph.D. exams.
CS 998 RESEARCH IN COMPARATIVE STUDIES: THESIS (Arr) Research for master's thesis. [Not to be included in 50 required coursework credit hours.]
CS 999 RESEARCH IN COMPARATIVE STUDIES: DISSERTATION (Arr) Research for dissertation.
