SUMMER COURSE 2021 DESCRIPTIONS

SUMMER SESSION I: May 24th- July 5th 

SCA Faculty Electives 

 

SCA-UA 180.001: Theorizing Beyonce and the Black Fantastic

Prof. Renee Blake 

ONLINE: Tues, Wed, Thurs, 11:45 – 1:45 PM 

 The central question of this course, motivated by Richard Iton’s 2008 book, In Search of the Black Fantastic, is located at the intersection of culture and politics and asks: what is the political work, be it informal or formal, that Black artists do in the creation of art? While we start with Beyoncé, we undertake critical social, cultural and political analyses of other artists and performers, as well as artistic and creative mediums including music, film and literature. In this class, we will sharpen our critical lens with the help of bell hooks timeless book, Black Looks: Race and Representation, as we explore issues of blackness, whiteness, black subjectivity and positionality. SCA Faculty Elective for these majors/minors: Africana, American, Gender and Sexuality, and SCA.

 

SCA-UA 234: Cultures & Economies: History and Politics of the Far Right

*THIS CLASS WILL NOW BE BLENDED (In-Person/ONLINE)*

Prof.  Faith McGlothlin

BLENDED:  Tues, Wed, Thurs, 9:30 – 11:30 AM 

This seminar focuses on the relationship between 'the economy' and 'culture' in the contemporary United States. The specific focus on this course changes by semester; here is the current focus: The current rise of far right mobilizations in the US and around the world is based in long histories of racial capitalism, imperialism, settler colonialism, white supremacy, fascism and right wing authoritarian populism. In this seminar we will read and analyze these histories, and connect them to the current cultural and economic impact of the far right, from the Capitol Riot of 2020 to the rise of right wing strong men in Brazil, India, Russia, the Philippines and elsewhere. SCA Faculty elective for these major/minors: Africana, American, Asian/Pacific/American, Gender and Sexuality, Latino and SCA.

 

SCA-UA 280.001 Topics: Revolutionary Voices: US Radicalism 1968 to Now

Prof. Cindy Gao

IN-PERSON: Tues, Wed, Thurs, 2:00 – 4:00 PM 

This course covers the theories and practices of various leftist radical movements that emerged in 1960s America – Black Power, women’s liberation, gay liberation, Third World-ism, the American Indian Movement, Puerto Rican independence, prison abolition, and more. We will approach the history and ideologies of these movements through the lens of subjective experience by looking at memoirs, reflections, and interviews with US-based activists, as well as the stories and thinking of the international revolutionaries which inspired and supported them. Our goal will be to ground our understanding of radical ideologies through an exploration of the messy, mundane, and exhilarating business of how politics is actually practiced and experienced. SCA Faculty Elective for all seven majors/minors.

 

SUMMER SESSION II:  JULY 6 - AUGUST 15

SCA-UA 280.002/280.060 Topics: U.S. Policing and the World

Prof. Maya Wind

ONLINE: Tues, Wed, Thurs, 9:30 – 11:30 AM 

The Movement for Black Lives has inspired social movements across the world, and reignited a global conversation about the function of police. This course introduces students to the study of U.S. policing in an international context. We will connect colonial Frontier Wars to the U.S. occupations of Vietnam and Iraq, and will consider the U.S.-Mexico border and segregated U.S. cities in relationship to U.S. bases, prisons and camps across the world. The course explores the domestic policing and foreign wars of the U.S. Empire through legal, economic and cultural analyses as well as journalistic, artistic and autobiographical accounts. We will ask: what links U.S. wars on crime, drugs, and terror? How do policing and military technologies travel the globe? And what is the militarization of police? Finally, we will engage theories and practices of Black and Indigenous abolitionists to consider the liberatory futures offered by contemporary social movements. SCA Faculty Elective for these majors/minors Africana, American, Asian/Pacific/American, Gender and Sexuality, Latino, and SCA.

 

SCA-UA 401.001: Approaches to Gender and Sexuality Studies

*THIS CLASS WILL NOW BE ONLINE*

Prof. Jennifer Lynn Ayres

ONLINE: Tue, Wed, Thu,  12:00 –2:00 PM 

Explores the construction of sex, gender, and sexuality; gender asymmetry in society; sexual normativity and violations of norms; and the interactions of sex, gender, sexuality, race, class, and nation. Engages materials and methodologies from a range of media and disciplines, such as literature, the visual arts, history, sociology, psychology, and anthropology. Examines both feminist and nonfeminist arguments from a variety of critical perspectives. CORE Social Science, intro for Gender & Sexuality Major/Minor and SCA Major NOT Minor, by request, can count as an SCA Faculty elective for the American and SCA majors and minors. email sca@nyu.edu for this.

 

SCA-UA 608.001: Urban Cultural Life

Prof. Kassandra Manriquez

IN-PERSON:Tue, Thu 3:00 – 6:00 PM

Few cities enjoy as rich a cultural life as New York City, with its plethora of neighborhoods, museums, galleries, theatres, concert halls, and alternative spaces. Through walking tours, attendance at cultural events, and visits to local cultural institutions, students explore the definition of urban culture. Sites include the familiar and the unfamiliar, the Village and the outer boroughs. Students examine the attributes that constitute culture and community from an interdisciplinary perspective. SCA Faculty Elective for these majors/minors:  American, Asian/Pacific/American, Latino, Metropolitan & SCA.

Cross-listed Electives 

SCA-UA 721.001: All the Rage: Black Feminists on Anger (Sessions 1 & 2--12 weeks) 

Prof. Sybil Cooksey

ONLINE: Tue  2:00 –5:00 PM 

Cross-listed Elective for these majors/minors: Africana, Gender and Sexuality, and for the American and  SCA majors NOT minors. For course description and more information please see IDSEM-UG 2107 in Gallatin. 

 

SCA-UA 846.001: On Eating Others: Cannibalism & Anthropophagy in the Circum-Atlantic World (Session 2) 

Prof. Dylon Robbin

ONLINE:  Mon, Weds  10:00 –1:00 PM 

Cross-listed Elective for these majors/minors: Latino and for the American and SCA majors NOT minors. For course description and more information please see PORT-UA 403 in Portuguese. 

 

SCA-UA 9744: Critical Perspectives on Brazilian Culture and Society (Session 1)

Prof. Michele Kettner

ONLINE: Mon, Weds 9:30 –12:30 PM 

Cross-listed faculty elective for Africana Studies major and minor and for the SCA major but NOT MINOR. For course description and more information please see PORT-UA 9700 in Portuguese.