SGIA3811: The Culture Wars: Past, Present, Future

• Any Level 2 SGIA module

• None

• None

• To understand the importance and lived experience of 'culture wars' in shaping current political problems. To encourage critical reflection on the 'culture wars' through a set of innovative theoretical approaches.
• To explore a range of case studies that are important in the 'here and now' of our current historico-political juncture.To develop inquiry-based skills for critical research and interpretation.

• The 'culture wars' are used to describe flashpoints between seemingly irreconcilable worldviews within contemporary societies. Tensions are usually over differences in values, beliefs, identities and cultural norms. Today, especially with the rise of social media, culture wars shape public discourse, politics and policies. This module aims to understand how reactionary politics amplified by new digital media have put European and North American liberal democracies under duress, with a special focus on affective and cultural politics directed towards state-phobia, and corporate, (neo)colonial, cultural, religious, and 'global' institutions.
• This module explores the past, present, and future of the 'culture wars' in western European and North American contexts. In the 1950s and 60s, 'culture' was identified by critical theorists in the Marxist tradition - from Gramsci and the Frankfurt School to the Situationists and the Birmingham Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies - as the 'key' to understanding capitalist hegemony in late-modernity. In more recent years, 'culture' has been become the primary battleground for radical right and left politics, from conflicts over pronouns and 'wokeness' to Covid-19 lockdowns. The course interrogates the affective registers and shifts in understanding the culture wars from the 1950s to the present.
• Part 1 (Michaelmas term) of the module will explore theoretical frameworks to understand current 'culture wars' drawn from Marxist ideology critique, psychoanalysis, poststructuralism, critical theory, critical race theory, cultural studies, and affect theories.
• Part 2 (Epiphany term) will examine case studies of contemporary culture wars. Topics may include: the rise of the 'new right' and neo-authoritarianism; postliberalism; racial justice and Black Lives Matter; the culture industry; identity politics; political correctness; burnout and capitalism; climate anxiety; loneliness and solitude; fanaticism and nihilism; 'toxic masculinity' and 'incels'; self-help and therapeutic society; left-wing and right-wing pessimism; digital alienation; etc.
• Indicative theorists and readings: Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, Theodor Adorno, Hannah Arendt, Frantz Fanon, James Baldwin, Raymond Williams, Michel Foucault, Philip Rieff, Herbert Marcuse, Stuart Hall, Peter Sloterdijk, Byung-Chul Han, Lauren Berlant, Judith Butler, etc.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• In depth knowledge of lived experience and political consequences of 20th and 21st century culture wars.
• An advanced level understanding of main theories and debates within the culture wars.
• An understanding of a range of concepts and theoretical perspectives to analyse public policies and measures designed to intervene in perceived 'culture wars'.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Think critically and creatively about how wars persist and change.
• The ability to perform textual and conceptual analysis.
• To apply critical theoretical knowledge on empirical case-studies.

Key Skills:

• Demonstrate written and speaking communication skills.
• Carry out an in-depth textual analysis of theoretical texts.
• Demonstrate a capacity to reflect critically on the relations between concepts and a range of real world problems and issues.

• The teaching and learning of the module will be based on lectures, seminars, and two workshops and one group presentation session. The lectures will give detailed introductions to the material - appropriate to a level three module - followed by in-depth discussion of assigned readings, with three seminars spread over the year. There are two workshops as well as a session to showcase group posters. There is one revision lecture at the end of Epiphany term. Students will be expected to read 20-40 pages per week in preparation for both lectures and seminars.
• Formative assessment is a feedback essay/quiz to clarify theories and concepts covered in Term 1.
• Examination and coursework will assess critical understanding of concepts and critical thinking
• The exam will assess key skills including a) ability to evaluate and synthesise information from a range of sources; b) the ability to engage in critical reflection and analysis on module themes; and c) the ability to make a coherent and insightful argument that engages the central concepts and themes of the module.
• The group poster will assess skills including a) understanding and evaluation of key concepts, debates, and approaches to the study of the 'culture wars'; b) the communication and synthesis of information. Students will display their group posters in two end-of-year workshops.

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