Cultural Studies and Communication Minor

Cultural Studies and Communication Overview

 The Cultural Studies and Communication Program (CSAC) offers a unique interdisciplinary major and minor at Clark University - emphasizing human communication, broadly conceived as the exchange of information through linguistic, nonlinguistic, representational, or technological means. Courses focus on the complex relationship between communication and culture, via critical and comparative examinations of media, local and global cultural processes, and social institutions. The CSAC major offers students a vigorously interdisciplinary program of study that examines the cultural foundations underlying the vast communication phenomena that we experience daily. The program encourages students to think analytically about human communication, to integrate concepts and ideas with professional practices, and to engage in original projects and research, equipping students with the tools to become engaged citizens, generators of new knowledge, and 21st century leaders.

At the heart of the CSAC program is what might be thought of as “cultural and ideological critique.” CSAC students interrogate texts, messages, media, and practices - exploring the many ways that what appears “normal” and “natural” is actually socially constructed (through media, schools, and institutional practices, as well as through moment-to-moment social interactions via conversation, gesture, fashion, even eating). We are particularly interested in the ways that social practices (often mediated through new digital tools) can create oppression and injustice or open up spaces of opportunity and liberation.
 

For more information, please visit the Cultural Studies and Communication Program’s website.

Minor Requirements

The minor in Cultural Studies and Communication is a 6 course sequence, designed to provide a foundation in cultural and media studies, leading to an exploration of problems of practice relating to media (broadly conceived) and its relationship to power and influence - locally, nationally, and globally.

The CSAC Minor begins with CSAC 101  or CSAC 050  (a First-Year Intensive Seminar) as the foundation. This is followed by 5 required courses: 2 Chronologies courses (see course listings below) - one course in at least 2 different “chronologies” categories; 1 Theory-Intensive course (at the 200 level); 1 Practice-Intensive course; 1 Problems of Practice course or Capstone seminar (at the 200 level).
Note: You are permitted to “double count” - that is, count the same course for two different programs- only twice. To declare CSAC as your minor, make an appointment with the Director of the CSAC Program (Sarah Michaels) and bring a major/minor declaration form (downloadable from the Clark website) for her signature. She will be your CSAC minor advisor, answer any questions you might have, guide your selection of courses, and sign your graduation clearance form.

Students must earn a grade of C or better in all courses contributing to the minor.

Cultural Studies and Communication Faculty

Michael Bamberg, Ph.D.
Parminder Bhachu, Ph.D.
Ramon Borges-Mendez, Ph.D.
Eric DeMeuleanere, Ph.D.
Odile Ferly, Ph.D.
Betsy Huang, Ph.D.
Benjamin Korstvedt, Ph.D.
Stephanie Larrieux, Ph.D.
Stephen Levin, Ph.D.
Matthew Malsky, Ph.D.
Hugh Manon, Ph.D.
Sarah Michaels, Ph.D.
Debra Osnowitz, Ph.D.
Jie Park, Ph.D.
Laurie Ross, Ph.D.
Rhys Townsend, Ph.D.
Kristina Wilson, Ph.D.