Cross-Cultural Studies Concentration (CCST)
Coordinator: Professor Clifford Clark
Associate Coordinator: Professor James Fisher
Committee Members: Scott Carpenter, Clifford Clark, Michael Hemesath, Roger Jackson, Chérif Keïta, Jerome Levi, Kathryn Sparling, Qiguang Zhao
This concentration has been created for American and international students interested in traveling and working abroad. It is designed to help students who are studying a particular area of the world (e.g., majors in area studies, languages, history, economics, political science, literature, anthropology, religion, etc.) to place that area in a broader, comparative, cross-cultural context by seeing how it participates in and is influenced by trans-national, sometimes global, dynamics and problems. It is also designed to attract international students, no matter what their major, who in coming to Carleton will experience a culture not their own, normally in a language not their own, and thereby have at least an experiential basis for comparative study.
The objectives of this concentration are: 1) by making comparisons explicit, to enable students to come to a sharper understanding not only of their own society but also of a society different from their own; 2) to bring together American and international students in a program of study and interaction that will prepare them to live and work productively in an unfamiliar area of the world; 3) to provide a forum for studying problems and issues that cut across traditional national or cultural boundaries, such as citizenship, ethnicity, linguistic grouping, etc. that tend to be excluded in traditional disciplines or area studies; and 4) to create an arena for faculty whose work focuses on different parts of the world to address common issues and problems in a comparative, collaborative framework.
Requirements for the Concentration:
First-year students interested in this program should enroll in the First-Year Seminar, Cross-Cultural Studies 100, Growing Up Cross-Culturally.
To fulfill the requirements for this concentration, each concentrator must look at his/her area from three different perspectives: 1) in focused comparison with another culture, 2) in regional perspective, broadening the focus beyond national or conventional borders, 3) globally, in relation to some issue or problem affecting the future.
Language is fundamental to understanding other societies and therefore to the concentration. Each concentrator will have, at a minimum, completed the Carleton language requirement (or the equivalent) in the language of his or her focus area. Upper level language study is also encouraged.
Concentrators will normally take the First-Year Seminar (recommended but not required), the Sophomore Theory course (CCST 200), four courses at the 200 level or higher selected from three groupings (regional courses which transcend national boundaries, comparative courses, and global issues courses from the pertinent courses list), a colloquium for students returning from off-campus study (CCST 175), and a senior seminar (either CCST 395 or HIST 395). American students will also participate in an approved international program (one term or full year), normally in an area where the language studied at Carleton by the student is spoken. (International students are exempt from this requirement since they already participated in a foreign culture).
Cross-Cultural Studies Courses
CCST 100. Growing Up Cross-Culturally From cradle to grave, cultural assumptions shape our own sense of who we are. This course is designed to enable American and international students to compare how their own and other societies view birth, infancy, adolescence, marriage, adulthood, and old age. Using children's books, child-rearing manuals, movies, and ethnographies, we will explore some of the assumptions in different parts of the globe about what it means to "grow up." 6 credits cr., S/CR/NC, RAD,ND, Fall—C. Clark, J. Fisher, M. Hemesath, É. Pósfay
CCST 175. I Am A Stranger Here Myself Designed for students who are returning from off-campus studies or who have lived abroad, and for anyone who has had the experience of being an outsider, this course will explore theories and models of intercultural competence and intercultural transition. Using the actual experience of the students in class as its evidence, it will first develop theories about the nature of intercultural contact and then test their usefulness by applying them to the analysis of specific historical and literary evidence. 6 credits cr., RAD,ND, Winter—P. Crosby, M. Johnson, É. Pósfay
CCST 200. Theory and Practice of Cross-Cultural Study This course introduces students to theoretical, epistemological, and methodological issues in cross-cultural study. Emphasis will be on cultural translation, cultural encounters between groups, and the concomitant cultural appropriations, cross-fertilizations, and resistance. How do we define and understand "communities" and "cultures"? What are the dynamics of power involved in cultural encounters? What are the theoretical debates surrounding colonialism and post-colonialism, globalization, and transnationalism? How do we juxtapose regional cultural identities vis-à-vis globalization and transnationalism? The course will examine approaches drawn from the humanities and social sciences, and apply them to case studies from different parts of the world. 6 credits cr., ND, Spring—K. Sparling, B. Nagel
Pertinent Courses:
Comparative Courses
ARTH 101: Introduction to Art History I
ARTH 102: Introduction to Art History II
ECON 231: Soviet and Post-Soviet Economics (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
ECON/LTAM 240: Economics of Developing Countries
HIST/LTAM 209: Colonial Cultures in the Modern World
HIST/LTAM 271: 1898: "The Spanish American War" and the Transition from Spain to U.S. Empires
POSC 120: Comparative Political Regimes
POSC 233: Global Resurgence of Democracy (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
POSC 263: European Political Economy (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
POSC 383: Maastricht Program: Political and Economic Integration of Europe (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
POSC 387: The Europe of Regions
RELG 122: Introduction to Islam
RELG 251: Theravada Buddhism (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
RELG 272: Pilgrimage: A Comparative Study (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
RELG 355: Buddhist Ethics (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
RELG 371: Poetics of Enlightenment (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
RELG/LTAM 227: Liberation Theologies
SOAN/LTAM 130: Population and Food in the Global System
SOAN/LTAM 234: Ecology, Economy, and Culture
SOAN/LTAM 259: Comparative Issue in Native North America
SOAN/LTAM 312: Actors and Issues in Contemporary Third World Development
SPAN/LTAM 260: The Artist And the City
SPAN/LTAM 360: Sex with God: Mystic Writers in Spain and Latin America
Global Courses:
ECON 240: Economics of Developing Countries
ECON 271: Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
ECON 273: Water and Western Economic Development
ECON 280: International Trade
ECON 281: International Finance
MUSC 140: Introduction to World Music I
MUSC 141: Introduction to World Music II
POSC 268: International Environmental Laws and Politics
RELG 222: The Islamic Revival (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
RELG 235: Women and Islamic Constructions of Gender
RELG 262: Millennialism in Cross-Cultural Perspective
SOAN/LTAM 302: Anthropology and Indigenous Rights (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
Regional Courses:
ARTH 100: Sacred Realms: Religious Architecture of Asian Cities
ECON 283: Contemporary Economies of East Asia
ECON 395: Economic Transitions in Europe
HIST/LTAM 170: Modern Latin America
HIST/LTAM 171: Spain and It's Empire, 1492-1820
HIST 265: Empires of the Steppe
HIST/LTAM 273: The Caribbean: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Anthropology and History
POSC 221: Latin American Politics (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
POSC 234: Arab-Israeli Conflict (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
POSC 320: Government and Politics of Africa (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
POSC/LTAM 322: Political Economy of Latin America
POSC 323: Russian Government and Foreign Policy (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
POSC 325: Japan: Politics and Foreign Policy
POSC 326: America's China Policy
POSC 329: Vietnam War and American Policy (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
RELG 111: Religions of the West
RELG 150: The Religions of South Asia
RELG 255: East Asian Buddhist Thought and Practice (Not offered in 2001-2002.)
RELG 330: Islamic Aesthetics
RUSS 150: Comtemporary Russian Culture and Society
SOAN 395: Idioms of Inequality: Ethnicity, Gender and Exchange in Latin America
SPAN 260: The Artist and the City
SPAN 260: Spanish Cinema
SPAN 360: Difference, Identity and Representation in Latin America
SPAN/LTAM 207: Exploring Hispanic Culture
SPAN/LTAM 248: Drama and Performance in Latin America
SPAN/LTAM 252: Telling Stories: The Short Story in Latin America
SPAN/LTAM 338: Images of the Indian in Spanish American Literatures
SPAN/LTAM 350: Recent Trends in Latin American Narrative: Pop Culture and Testimony