Ï㽶ÊÓƵ

McGill.ca / Overview / Faculty of Arts / Undergraduate / Programs

Major Concentration English - Cultural Studies (36 credits)

Note: This is the 2014–2015 edition of the eCalendar. Update the year in your browser's URL bar for the most recent version of this page, or click here to jump to the newest eCalendar.

Offered by: English     Degree: Bachelor of Arts

Program Requirements

The Cultural Studies option concentrates on analysis of forms of cultural expression and symbolic interaction, and of the various media through which these may be disseminated and transformed. Such study concerns symbolic form, aesthetically based forms of analysis, and the various modes of criticism and theory relevant to media which contain both verbal and non-verbal elements. The aim is above all to hone students' analytical and interpretive skills while introducing them to specific critical approaches to cultural studies. This is not a major in journalism or communications; and while many of our graduates go on to do creative work in a variety of media, instruction in film and video production is not part of the curriculum.

For the most up-to-date information on Department requirements and detailed course descriptions, please see the English Department Handbook at .

Required Courses (9 credits)

These courses should be taken in the first two terms of the program.

  • ENGL 275 Introduction to Cultural Studies (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A survey of cultural studies, its history and subject matter, presenting key interpretive and analytic concepts, the aesthetic and political issues involved in the construction of sign systems, definitions of culture and cultural values conceptualized both as a way of life and as a set of actual practices and products.

    Terms: Fall 2014

    Instructors: Nystrom, Derek (Fall)

    • Fall

    • Required of all U1 Cultural Studies students

  • ENGL 277 Introduction to Film Studies (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : An introduction to key concepts in film studies. Exemplary works from the history of film will be studied to introduce students to such topics as the aesthetics of film; sound's production of meaning; film as narrative; film and genre; period and national cinemas; film's role in culture.

    Terms: Fall 2014

    Instructors: Schantz, Edward (Fall)

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Cultural Studies Major and Honours program students.

  • ENGL 359 The Poetics of the Image (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : This course, normally taken in tandem with ENGL 276, examines contemporary debates about the aesthetic dimensions as well as social roles of pictorial, theatrical, cinematic, and other representations, the meanings, effects, and aesthetic significance of which depend on their having visually recognizable features.

    Terms: Winter 2015

    Instructors: Osterweil, Ara (Winter)

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Limited to students in the English Major Concentration, Cultural Studies Option

Complementary Courses (27 credits)

27 credits selected as described below.

Note on Topics Courses: The Department of English offers courses which change topic from academic year to academic year. Depending on the topic in a specific year, these courses may count toward different program requirements. At the time they register for a topics course, students should confirm with their program adviser the program requirement it fulfils for that academic year.

Major Figures

3 credits from a list of courses on Major Figures in Cultural Studies:

  • ENGL 315 Shakespeare (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of the major works of Shakespeare.

    Terms: Winter 2015

    Instructors: Folkerth, Theodore W (Winter)

    • Fall

  • ENGL 381 A Film-Maker 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Studies in the history of film: the works of a major director. Topic varies each year.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major programs

  • ENGL 418 A Major Modernist Writer (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Intensive study of a writer important for Modernism, such as James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Fall

  • ENGL 481 A Film-Maker 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Studies in the history of film.

    Terms: Fall 2014

    Instructors: Osterweil, Ara (Fall)

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Permission of instructor required

Canadian Component

3 credits from a list of courses in Cultural Studies with a Canadian component:

Theory or Criticism

3 credits from a list of courses on Theory or Criticism:

  • ENGL 317 Theory of English Studies 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Philosophical approaches.

    Terms: Winter 2015

    Instructors: Hensley, David C (Winter)

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs

  • ENGL 318 Theory of English Studies 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Socio-Historical approaches.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs

  • ENGL 319 Theory of English Studies 3 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Issues in interpretation: authorship, performance, reception.

    Terms: Winter 2015

    Instructors: Ponech, Trevor (Winter)

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs

  • ENGL 322 Theories of the Text (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A course focusing on textuality (as opposed to, say, intentionality and interpretation) and on how specific effects are made - how texts work and produce meaning, including rhetoric and form.

    Terms: Fall 2014

    Instructors: Hickman, Miranda Brun (Fall)

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs.

  • ENGL 346 Materiality and Sociology of Text (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Writing, printing, distribution, marketing, and placement within canon-making institutions; the influence of material forms of production and transmission on the creation and reception of literature, film, and theatre.

    Terms: Fall 2014

    Instructors: MacLaren, Eli (Fall)

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs.

  • ENGL 352 Theories of Difference (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Introduction to a selection of theories that have influenced thinking about difference across the humanities and social sciences, including gender, sexuality, race, class and hierarchical structures, language, religion, ethnicity, and personal identity.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs.

400-Level Theory

3 credits from a list of 400-level courses in Cultural Studies with a theoretical component.

Historical Dimension

6 credits from a list of courses in Cultural Studies with an historical dimension:

Additional Cultural Studies

9 additional credits from the option's offerings which includes all the courses specifically listed in the Cultural Studies categories above and the courses listed below. Any ENGL course not on these Cultural Studies lists, such as courses in Literature, may not count toward the Major Concentration English - Cultural Studies.

  • ENGL 280 Introduction to Film as Mass Medium (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : An introduction to film's social, historical, and technological contexts, including its relationships to other mass media.

    Terms: Summer 2015

    Instructors: Barth, Josie (Summer)

    • Students will be required to pay a screening fee.

  • ENGL 354 Sexuality and Representation (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Topics on representations of sexuality with reference to its cultural contexts.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Fall

    • Priority will be given to English Major/Honours students in second year of program

  • ENGL 366 Film Genre (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A discussion of an individual genre of cinema; concept of genre.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Winter

  • ENGL 378 Media and Culture (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : An introduction to the study of television and its distinctive aesthetic, generic, and discursive features.

    Terms: Fall 2014

    Instructors: Stenbaek, Marianne A (Fall)

  • ENGL 379 Film Theory (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Topics in film studies. Topic varies by year.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Fall

  • ENGL 380 Non-Fiction Media: Cinema, Television, Radio (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Historical, formal, and thematic analysis of non-fictional and documentary works within cinema, television, and radio.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

  • ENGL 382 International Cinema 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Studies in the history of film by period or nation. Topic varies by year.

    Terms: Winter 2015

    Instructors: Osterweil, Ara (Winter)

  • ENGL 383 Studies in Communications 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Studies in the relationships between the media and culture.

    Terms: Fall 2014

    Instructors: Kaite, Berkeley (Fall)

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Permission of instructor required

  • ENGL 385 Topics in Literature and Film (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A topic in literature and film. Topics vary by year.

    Terms: Winter 2015

    Instructors: Kaite, Berkeley (Winter)

    • Winter

  • ENGL 386 Fans, Celebrities, Audiences (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of celebrity, audience behaviour, and fan culture, including the symbolic function of the celebrity, the celebrity as 'text', and the interaction of fandom with the production of conventions and meaning in popular cultural forms.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Fall

  • ENGL 388 Studies in Popular Culture (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : History and development of important forms of popular culture. Topics may include traditional ballads; fairs; carnivals and popular festivity; material culture; popular fiction; mainstream television.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Winter

  • ENGL 389 Studies in Popular Culture (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : History and development of important forms of popular culture.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Winter

  • ENGL 390 Political and Cultural Theory (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : The intersection between theories of culture and theories of society.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

  • ENGL 391 Special Topics: Cultural Studies 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Current issues in cultural studies. Topics will include contemporary debates on high culture and the literary canon, and the question of aesthetic value and aesthetic judgment.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Fall

  • ENGL 395 Cultural and Theatre Studies (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : The relationships between theatre and forms of popular culture, including but not limited to cinematic and televisual adaptations of theatrical works.

    Terms: Fall 2014

    Instructors: Salter, Denis (Fall)

  • ENGL 398 Psychoanalytic Approaches to Cultural Studies (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Various psychoanalytic approaches to cultural production and reception.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

  • ENGL 476 Alternative Approaches to Media 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Study of alternative uses of contemporary media with particular emphasis on the forms of independent video and community television and their relationship to mainstream television and film.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    • Fall

    • Workshop course. Departmental permission required

  • ENGL 482 International Cinema 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Intensive study of a particular tradition or movement in international cinema.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2014-2015 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Other Departments

Students are normally permitted to count 6 credits from other departments toward their English programs. In exceptional circumstances, an adviser who is approached by a student with strong academic grounds for including a third such course may grant permission (to a maximum of 9 extra-departmental credits) and must so indicate in advance by signing the departmental program audit sheet.

Faculty of Arts—2014-2015 (last updated Feb. 18, 2014) (disclaimer)
Back to top