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Majors and Concentrations
- Cultural Studies (BA)
- More about Cultural Studies
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Related Events
- November 3: Fall Open House
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Other Programs to Consider
- Journalism
- Creative Writing: Nonfiction
- Fiction Writing
- Creative Writing: Poetry
- Television
Cultural Studies at Columbia College explores culture in its richly varied forms. Cultural Studies is a field that analyzes and critiques our cultural, social, and political world. It is best understood as the politically committed, theoretically informed, radically self-reflexive and historical-materialist analysis of cultural processes and practices in which the commitment to imagine a more humane, more democratic society has always been a guiding assumption in the field. The program seeks to help students understand aesthetic, political, social, and economic relationships between cultural production and reception. It also considers the civic dimension of cultural practice by viewing these practices from standpoints of ethics and social justice. And, finally, it strongly emphasizes the active involvement of all forms of cultural knowledge and social action in the everyday life of local and global communities.
Cultural Studies deals with the dimensions of everyday culture, yet is not limited to them; it addresses the traditional and the novel, the familiar and the foreign. Cultural Studies examines the cultural collaborations, borrowing, and blending of diverse groups, exploring the centers as well as the margins of cultural production. The major emphasizes critical thinking, civic engagement and creative practices. Housed in the Department of Humanities, History and Social Sciences, the program is enriched by an exciting array of faculty studying a wide range of disciplines, geographical areas and historical periods. Because Cultural Studies has such an extensive scope, it includes, yet moves beyond, the boundaries of ethnic, area, and critical studies.
We are the only program to combine theory and praxis in our advanced course offerings, where seniors in Cultural Studies complete either a yearlong Capstone Research Thesis or a yearlong Capstone Internship in Cultural Studies. Capstone seniors present their work publicly before graduating from the program. The former has led to published articles, academic essays, and conference presentations by our undergraduate seniors. The latter provides students with an exciting opportunity to participate in closely supervised, service-learning work experiences under the sponsorship of a local cultural or political organization. These intensive Capstone experiences provide a bridge between a student’s formal undergraduate education, preparing them for future employment or graduate school.
The Cultural Studies program publishes Cultural Landscapes, an open-access, online academic journal whose Managing Editor is a Cultural Studies student. The journal has a special commitment to publishing the work of undergraduate students, graduate students, and emerging scholars in the field of Cultural Studies. The program also hosts an ongoing Colloquium series with visiting Cultural Studies scholars from around the world and other programs of public intellectual engagement.
Our graduates become active participants in society who blend strong skills in creative/critical thinking with written, oral, and visual communication. Many of our students go on to attend graduate school in North America and abroad, while others find employment in cultural institutions, the nonprofit sector, public policy work, education or corporate settings.
Ann Hetzel Gunkel
Director of Cultural Studies, Associate Professor of Cultural Studies & Humanities,
Humanities, History, and Social Sciences
