Comparative Studies 3360 Introduction to Globalization and Culture
Comparative Studies 3646 Natures, Cultures, Technologies
Comparative Studies 5691 Topics in Comparative Studies: Ethnography, FIlm, Festival
HONORS 2596H Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Research
Instructor: Daniel Reff
WF 11:10am-12:30pm
Class# 30670
Many honors students go on to graduate/professional school or careers in business (think GOOGLE, NASA, Ford, or the Limited) and are asked to do interdisciplinary or collaborative research (or creative activity), that is, they are asked to work as part of a team, bringing different perspectives to bear on a particular problem or challenge.
This course provides an introduction as well as a practicum on interdisciplinary and collaborative research, or creative activity (e.g. realizing works of drama, art, and performance). The course will include students dividing up into teams and executing a project of their own, the results of which will be shared in the final weeks of the semester. The students, guided by the instructor and/or other faculty, will formulate projects that relate specifically to the OSU campus and its environs. Arguably, the OSU campus (both natural and human-made) is a world unto itself. For instance, the university spends many millions of dollars on energy; where exactly does it all go?
The river that runs through campus has signs saying don't go near the water; what exactly is in the Olentangy river and where does it come from? Along the same river, just south and north of campus (or along High Street), homeless people live in tents and cardboard shelters; how do these often familiar people “contribute” to campus life? Many students and faculty perceive the neighborhoods surrounding campus as less than ideal places to live; some are even perceived as dangerous — what’s the reality? The campus itself is a “constructed space” that elicits certain emotions (e.g. fear, affability, great thought?) and behavior; how is campus “constructed”? We ask our students to think globally, which is good, yet our “own world” is a great laboratory for exploring ideas and solving problems.
top of page Contact instructor at reff.1@osu.edu for more information.
COMPARATIVE STUDIES 3360 Introduction to Globalization and Culture
Instructor: Nina Berman
TR 3:55-5:15pm
This course introduces students to the broader experience of globalization by examining cultural representations in relation to the circumstances and conditions of the globalization process. The course is organized chronologically, and divided into four units: the period before European hegemony; the era of European colonialism and imperialism; the period of decolonization and modernization; and the contemporary context. These units serve to highlight continuities and changes in the globalization process. Questions of empire, migration, various types of networks, and the relationship between local lives and larger political and economic systems are central to all units. With the onset of European colonization and imperialism, however, the scale and nature of the interdependency of different areas of the world changed dramatically. The broad timeframe of the course allows a systematic discussion of these changes. The course pays particular attention to the ways in which human lives are affected by different aspects of globalization. Class discussion centers on cultural texts and other artifacts, which will be analyzed in light of various background readings.
Books (at SBX on High Street):
Jürgen Osterhammel and Niels P. Petersson, Globalization: A Short History (ISBN-10: 0691133956)
Albert Schweitzer, On the Edge of the Primeval Forest (BiblioLife; ISBN-10: 1113855622)
Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place (ISBN-10: 0374527075)
All other materials (including texts by, among others Ibn Battuta, Michel de Montaigne, José Marti, Qasim Amin, Rabindranath Tagore; Alison Brysk, Gershon Shafir, Kim Rygiel, Linda Polman and others)will be posted on Carmen.
Requirements and Grading: Participation and preparation (20%); 4 bi-weekly reaction papers (20%):term paper (60%). Questions? Contact Professor Berman at berman.58@osu.edu
top of page Prereq: Soph standing, or permission of instructor.
COMPARATIVE STUDIES 3646 Natures, Cultures, Technologies
Instructor: Rick Livingston
TR 9:35am-10:55am
Class# 13348
As we enter the Anthropocene--the era of human domination over natural and planetary systems--many of our fundamental categories of understanding are being reshaped. Climate change, biotechnology and geo-engineering promise to alter basic conditions of life; titles like The End of Nature and The Techno-Human Condition point toward a wide-ranging uneasiness about the world we are making.
In this class, we will ponder the historical connections between the key concepts of “nature,” “culture” and “technology,” exploring their shifting significance in human social and material life. Starting with ideas about the sacred cosmos in myth and religion, we will examine the emergence of scientific worldviews, the “disenchantment” of nature under capitalism, and contemporary debates around environmental crisis, biotechnology and sustainability. Drawing on primary literary, philosophical and historical readings, the class will probe deep-rooted assumptions about human nature, cultural difference and the uses of technological power.
top of page Contact instructor at livingston.28@osu.edu for more information..
COMPARATIVE STUDIES 5691 Ethnography, Film, Festival
Instructor: Katherine Borland
TR 11:10am-12:30pm
Class# Grad 13894; UG 13890
This class is a prerequisite for participation in the Maymester term Fieldschool in Bluefields, Nicaragua. (See OIA description.)
This undergrad/grad course combines ethnographic content with practical skill building. We will critically examine available ethnographies of Nicaragua (concentrating on the Creole Atlantic Coast but including Managua, Masaya and Miskito community studies). We will review and practice ethnographic method, and we will study folkloric, documentary and ethnographic filmmaking, reviewing exemplary projects and employing selected techniques. Finally, we will learn effective ways to catalog, store and archive footage and other data, so that our collected materials are accessible to diverse communities.
The course will culminate in a month-long Maymester immersion experience in Bluefields, where we will be working with students at the Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University (BICU) Tourism program to document on film the interaction of tourism and cultural preservation in the annual Palo de Mayo (Maypole) Festival. We will live with local residents, interview festival organizers and performers, audiences and tourists, and experience the festival ourselves. As we document ourselves in the festival, we will regularly reflect on our own position vis-à-vis our community partners in the production of cultural meaning and cultural exchange. Palo de Mayo is an Afro-Caribbean carnivalesque celebration that features distinctive local music and dance (check it out on YouTube). Bluefields is an English-speaking area of Nicaragua, but some ability to communicate in Spanish will be very helpful. This course (and the Maymester trip to Nicaragua) is ideal for those adventurous spirits who are looking for hands-on experience in ethnographic documentation in a team setting.
top of page Contact instructor at borland.19@osu.edu for more information.