Cultural Studies

Welcome to the Cultural Studies Department

Cultural Studies situates culture as a site of power struggles between competing systems of representations and the ways of life that they support. Our methods of study are critical: not only exposing the ideological dimension of culture but also exploring its radical political potential.

Our faculty members specialize in feminist and queer studies, critical race theory, film and media studies, postcolonial studies, psychoanalysis, Latino/a studies, and more. The CGU Cultural Studies Department is distinguished by offering both an MA and PhD in Cultural Studies. The department offers several concentrations, including Media Studies and Museum Studies, which are unique for their combination of a strong emphasis on cultural theory and hands-on practical experience. Students in the program can also choose to specialize in such transdisciplinary concentrations as American Studies, Early Modern Studies, or Hemispheric & Transnational Studies.

Instruction in Cultural Studies is carried on in seminars. Classes are small and each student’s program individually designed. Students have considerable input in the design of their courses of study, including choice of concentrations and minor fields.

Because many students enter the program from other disciplines, the department offers a variety of introductory courses in addition to advanced-level courses. Students are required to take courses in research methodologies appropriate to their interests in Cultural Studies: possibilities include ethnographic field research methods, visual research methods, oral history, archival studies, digital humanities, and film or literary theory and analysis.

Chair: David Luis-Brown
831 N. Dartmouth Avenue • Claremont, CA 91711 • 909-621-8612 • Fax 909-607-9587