Short Essay Assignment

GST6101 Summer 2020: Short Essay Assignment

Instructions

Please provide short answers to the THREE prompts (out of 7 questions) of your choice. In each

instance, the emphasis is on demonstrating a working knowledge of the material covered in class.

With that in mind, please do not copy definitions from the lectures, the books, or any other source.

Define and discuss the terms as you understand them and provide the necessary context required

to express the relevance of the terms/theories. Please note that for some questions the context must

come from the readings as well. Due Date & Time: August 9, 2020 (Sunday) at 11:59 PM EST. Ideally 250-

350 words for each answer, 1” margin, 12 Size Times New Roman Font in Microsoft Word File

Format.

1. Please describe the power and plurality of language - as you understand it - within the

context of this class. Then, explain how you think Williams’ and Narayan’s writings from

week two support your thinking. For example, how is/are Williams’ usage(s) of words like

‘neighbor’ or ‘class’ relevant to your discussion?

2. In your own words, please define the terms agency and subjectivity. Then, describe how

both terms are employed in Raymond Williams’ ‘Culture is Ordinary’ and Uma Narayan’s

‘Essence of Culture and a Sense of History’.

3. As best you can and in your very own words, please define deconstructionism and anti-

essentialism taking good care to demonstrate the connection between the two and the

relevance of each term. How significant is poststructuralism in cultural studies? Use

examples from class discussion and/or the readings to help provide the context that explains

precisely how and why your explanation is relevant to your definition.

4. In your own words, please define & describe postmodernism within the context of

cultural studies & the social sciences (as opposed to the strictly aesthetic usage). In your

description make connections to Said’s, Spivak’s, AND Narayan’s book chapter &

articles (respectively) from week four. As always, when referencing the texts, be sure to

include page numbers.

5. Each of the graduate level readings for week four discusses, in some way, the practice of

“othering”. Please define this practice as best you can (in your own words), then provide

examples from each reading. Finally, make a connection of how the practice of othering

might exist within the context of your own research interests.

6. As best you can, explain what you think hegemony by consent means and provide a real-

world example that supports your thinking. Why is the concept of ‘hegemony’ so important

to understanding the relationship between culture and power?

7. Define and discuss duty memory & distance memory as discussed by Pierre Nora and

vicarious memory as discussed by Young. In your discussion, be sure to demonstrate the

relevance of each by providing real-world examples to support your thinking.