Campuses:
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Twin Cities Campus
Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society M.A.Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature
College of Liberal Arts
Link to a list of faculty for this program.
Contact Information
Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, 216 Pillsbury Drive SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-624-8099; fax: 612-625-4170)
Email:
cscl@umn.edu
Website: https://cla.umn.edu/cscl
Along with the program-specific requirements listed below, please read the
General Information section of
this
website for requirements that apply to all major fields.
Note: The Comparative Studies and Discourse in Society (CSDS) graduate program does not accept applications directly to the MA; rather, the MA is an additional or alternative credential for students admitted to the CSDS PhD program.
While most traditional humanistic disciplines tend to focus either on a given mode of discourse (e.g., art history, musicology) or a specific cultural context (e.g., American studies, European languages and literatures), this program engages broader topics—how discourse and cultural production both shape and are shaped by life in time, space, matter, and society. Drawing on a variety of theoretical positions, close attention is paid to various types of discourse, such as music, film, myth, ritual, architecture, landscape and urban design, painting, sculpture, and literature in elite, popular, folk, and mass culture, understanding these as both a site and an instrument of contestation and negotiation among social forces. More generally, the program seeks to re-associate intellectual and cultural history with social and political history, to set discourse of various sorts within a social context, and to consider specific social formations within the ongoing historical process. In all this, the program encourages work that is interdisciplinary (at times, even anti-disciplinary) as well as cross-cultural. The curriculum emphasizes seminars and directed research.
Program Delivery
Prerequisites for Admission
The CSDS graduate program does not accept applications directly to the MA; rather, the MA is an additional or alternative credential for students admitted to the CSDS PhD program.
International applicants must submit score(s) from one of the following tests:
Key to test
abbreviations
(TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB).
For an online application or for more information about graduate education admissions, see the
General Information section of this
website.
Program Requirements
Plan B: Plan B requires
24
major credits and
6
credits outside the major.
The final exam is oral.
A capstone project is required.
Capstone Project:Passing the doctoral preliminary written and oral examinations, or completing one Plan B paper of approximately 40 pages.
This program may not be completed with a minor.
Use of 4xxx courses toward program requirements is permitted under certain conditions with adviser approval.
Language Requirement: Proficiency in two languages (other than English)
A minimum GPA of 3.50
is required for students to remain in good standing.
Required Courses (9 credits)
Take the following courses:
CSCL 8001 - Basic Research Seminar in Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature I
(3.0 cr)
CSCL 8002 - Basic Research Seminar in Comparative Literature II
(3.0 cr)
CSCL 8901 - Intro to the Profession: Critical Methods of Research, Pedagogy, and Creative Work in the Humanities
(3.0 cr)
Major Electives (9 credits)
Select credits from the following in consultation with the advisor and director of graduate studies:
CSCL 5302 - Aesthetics and the Valuation of Art
(3.0 cr)
CSCL 5305 - Vision and Visuality: An Intellectual History
(3.0 cr)
CSCL 5331 - Discourse of the Novel
(3.0 cr)
CSCL 5401 - Origins of Cultural Studies
(3.0 cr)
CSCL 5411 - Avant-Garde Cinema
(4.0 cr)
CSCL 5555 - Introduction to Semiotics
(3.0 cr)
CSCL 5666 - Film Music: Theory, History, Practice
(4.0 cr)
CSCL 5833 - Marx, Freud, Nietzsche: Intellectual Foundations
(3.0 cr)
CSCL 5910 - Topics in Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature
(3.0-4.0 cr)
CSCL 8910 - Advanced Topics in Comparative Literature
(3.0-4.0 cr)
CSCL 8992 - Directed Reading in Comparative Literature
(1.0-4.0 cr)
CSCL 8993 - Directed Study
(1.0-4.0 cr)
CSCL 8994 - Directed Research
(1.0-4.0 cr)
Related Courses (6 credits)
Select 6 credits from the following in consultation with the advisor. Other courses, including courses from the Major Electives list not applied to that requirement, can be used with advisor and director of graduate studies approval.
CSCL 5xxx
CSCL 8xxx
SCMC 5001 - Critical Debates in the Study of Cinema and Media Culture
(4.0 cr)
SCMC 5002 - Advanced Film Analysis
(4.0 cr)
Outside Coursework (6 credits)
Select 6 credits of coursework outside the major in consultation with the advisor and director of graduate studies from 'CSCL 5xxx' and 'CSCL 8xxx'. Other courses can be applied to this requirement with advisor and director of graduate studies approval.
Take 6 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
CSCL 5xxx
·
CSCL 8xxx
|
|
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CL 8001/CSCL 8001/CSDS 8001 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CL 8002//CSCL 8002/CSDS 8002 |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CL 8901/CSCL 8901/ CSDS 8901 |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CL 5302/CSCL 5302/CSDS 5302 |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CL 5305/CSCL 5305/CSDS 5305 |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CLit 5331/CSCL 5331 |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CL 5401/CSDS 5401/CSCL 5401/En |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CL 5555/CSCL 5555/CSDS 5555 |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 -4.0 [max 32.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 3.0 -4.0 [max 24.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CL 8910/CSCL 8910/CSDS 8910 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 -4.0 [max 12.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 -4.0 [max 48.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CSCL 8993/CSDS 8993 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 -4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CSCL 8994/ CSDS 8994/ CL 8994 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |