HISC-History of Consciousness

Advanced introduction to the main currents of Marxism from the 19th century to the present. Lectures and discussion address Marx's conceptions of capitalism, later attempts to theorize the political, and philosophical and aesthetic consequences of this critique.

Traces the history of social movements in the late 19th- and 20th-century U.S., including populism, labor, socialism, Communism, the New Left, civil rights, feminism. Looks at the relationship between cultures of protest and mainstream popular and political cultures.

Using tools from the analysis of social history, visual and material culture, narrative, and laboratory and field practices, introduces students to modern science, technology, and medicine studies. Examples come especially from 20th- and 21st-century life and human and information sciences.

Studies in the theory and history of feminist consciousness; analysis of the main areas of a specifically feminist interest; determination of the theoretical bases for a distinctively feminist perspective on the principal problems of the life and human sciences; examination of relations of class, race, and gender in feminist theory and practice.

Writing intensivecourse based on readings in course 217A.

Study of selected topics in postcolonial theory, including decolonizing critiques of Western knowledges and epistemologies, nationalism, gender and sexuality, cultural representations of neo-colonialism and imperialism, subalternity, history and historical transformation, and global relations of dominations.

Looks at the theoretical literature on what is variously called late capitalism/postindustrialism/postfordism, and in that context considers the rise of nationalism and identity politics in the latter part of the 20th century. The primary focus is on the U.S. and Western Europe, but questions of the globalization of capital and the transformation of relations between the West and the Third World are also considered. Written work for the course consists of weekly short papers. (Formerly Theories of Late Capitalism, Nationalism, and the Politics of Identity.)

Point of departure is the question of the political, posed with respect to psychoanalysis. The underlying question is what the political does to psychoanalysis, but also what the unconscious does to the political.

Focuses on seminal works of political thought: the first half devoted to ancient and modern classics; the second considering several major contemporary reflections. Aims to reconstruct and assess the claims regarding epistemic conditions and criteria of metapolitical judgment.

Study of social and cultural theories of modernity and postmodernity; analysis of various conceptualizations of the modern and the postmodern and their relation to production, history, aesthetics, cultural identity, social struggle; texts from a variety of disciplines (literature, sociology, philosophy).

Writing intensive course based on readings in course 233A.

The history of major social movements in the 20th-century U.S., including populism, labor, socialism and communism, civil rights, the women's movement, the anti-nuclear movement. Various theoretical perspectives on the rise and fall of social movements.

Writing intensive course based on readings in course 234A.

From Adorno to Zizek rediscoveries of Hegel have provided the impetus for some of the most innovative currents of 20th-century Marxism. Examines the philosophical and historical problems that Marx inherited from Hegel through close readings of their major works.

From Adorno to Zizek rediscoveries of Hegel have provided the impetus for some of the most innovative currents of 20th-century Marxism. Examines the philosophical and historical problems that Marx inherited from Hegel through close readings of their major works.

Focus is on recent literature in social, cultural, and historical studies of science, medicine, and technology. This seminar familiarizes students with current scholarly debates, research networks, national traditions, international exchanges, conference proceedings, interdisciplinary projects, and publication sites.

Second quarter of two-quarter course. Writing-intensive course based on the readings studied in course 251A.

Advanced graduate seminar in which students do research on focused topics. Each quarter centered on single thematic area. Students read works of culture-theory and exemplary studies illustrating methodologies, problems, and current controversies. Prerequisite(s): minimum of second-year status in the history of consciousness program; instructor evaluates student's ability to participate. Enrollment restricted to graduate students.

Students study the main translated texts of Carl Schmitt's work, as well as certain secondary commentary on his body of thought. (Formerly course 255A.)