Cultural Studies

In the form of eleven educational videos accompanied by eleven written texts, this course will introduce basic terms and central theoretical and methodological approaches within Cultural Studies as well as provide a first insight into the cultural history of the anglophone world. Each unit will also contain a selected bibliography for further reading, as well as feature a podcast that further explores specific aspects and provides new and sometimes differing perspectives. The units build on each other, but they can also be consumed independently. As Cultural Studies scholar Gilbert B. Rodman once said: "You won’t come away from the experience as a full-fledged expert, of course, but you should still be able to come away with a preliminary understanding of the major contours of the project and, hopefully, a keen desire to do cultural studies yourself."

The video and text combinations in this section provide deeper insights into current Cultural Studies issues such as transgender, digital technology, the anthropocene or social media. Each unit stands for itself and serves as an introduction to ongoing discussions around these issues. They can be used by students to prepare for presentations or term papers, and they can also be employed by teachers as introductions to issues discussed in class.

Cultural Studies in Practice! On a regular basis, we - a student-run initiative - will bring the topics and critical questions of Cultural Studies to the public. We will talk to artists, scholars and activists to discuss matters of Cultural Studies. The events will take place at Hansa48, an independent Cultural Center in Kiel, Germany. Announcements and documentation of the events are published here.