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Cultural Studies Courses 2024-2025

Cultural Studies MA and PhD students must take CUST 802/902 (Cultural Studies Colloquium) plus four other courses including: 

1. at least two courses in CUST, one of which must be CUST 803 (Cultural Studies Past & Present), CUST 800 (Cultural Studies Theory), or CUST 801 (Critical Methodologies in Cultural Studies). 

2. two additional courses which may be chosen from CUST or selected from elective courses offered by other departments (scroll down to “Courses in Other Units” and visit the graduate studies section of each Department’s website.)

Please note: graduate students can only count 800-level courses towards their degree. If you want to take a 400-level course, you need to ask the instructor if they are willing to supervise a Directed Studies course to run in parallel. See below for guidance.

All courses are generally completed during the first year of study: two in the fall term + two in the winter term + CUST 802/902 which runs September to April. Course times and locations are listed in SOLUS.

Cultural Studies Courses

For all course times and locations, please log into SOLUS. 

CUST 802/902 Cultural Studies Colloquium (6.0 Units) Required Course.
This course is designed to acquaint graduate students with both current work in the field and various forms of professionalization, through a combination of research presentations and participatory workshops. Students are expected to attend regularly and complete some reflective writing activities. Grading is on a Pass/Fail basis.

CUST 803 Cultural Studies Past & Present (3.0 Units)
Our course wrestles with a question Stuart Hall once asked: “What is at stake” in doing Cultural Studies?  Is it an academic discipline with an agreed upon canon, historiography, set of methodologies and set of theoretical frameworks? How do its named origins shape disciplinary concerns?  How do artistic creation and political practice fit together?  What insights and disciplining effects are created by various approaches to questions of class, gender, race, sexuality, nation, body, performance, and political economy? What counts as culture? How have successive generations of scholars undertaken cultural study? How have they disrupted silences produced by canonization? These are some of the questions we’ll keep in mind as we read, write and talk this semester.

This course introduces students to the global and interdisciplinary scope of Cultural Studies research practices by surveying key debates, concerns, and texts that have shaped it over time. This includes readings by Stuart Hall, Hazel Carby, Audra Simpson and Carol Boyce Davies, to name a few. Assignments are designed for students to situate their research interests within relevant scholarly and historiographical fields.

CUST 805 Research Creation (3.0 Units)
This course is designed to support students whose intellectual approach combines creative and academic research practices. The course will value the development of knowledge and innovation through artistic practice, scholarly investigation, and experimentation. Please note that this course is offered primarily as a methods course for Research-Creation practitioners and the main method of evaluation is production of Research-Creation work. 
 
Research-Creation is a “mode of inquiry” and active engagement within experimental processes, “an event of doing research from inside a speculative middle” (Springgay). In contrast to working toward a finished research product of, for example, a monograph or an art object, Research-Creation produces multiple varied outputs with each component carrying equal weight. It is grounded in creative approaches, exploration, and diverse methodologies that experientially emerge through the doing of “theory/thinking” (Springgay).
 
Research-Creation is also often concerned with social justice. The perpetuation of biases, and inequitable social conditions are slippery and complex processes that unfold at many levels. Tackling discriminatory attitudes can be a murky endeavor requiring multi-pronged approaches, especially since these perspectives are embedded in the very tools that academia has historically attempted to address them with—that being western logics themselves. So, it is with different forms of knowledge creation and knowledge mobilization that we work to counter the hegemony of modern thought. To remediate such harms, we must struggle with our own deep seeded dependence on western imperialistic values, rational logics, and academic forms of knowledge validation. In this course we will approach Research-Creation from decolonial, feminist, anti-racist, critical disability, queer, and Indigenous perspectives.

CUST 892 McWorld in the Making: Capitalism, Consumerism, and the Commodification of Everything (3.0 Units)
In 1990 Barbara Kruger, translated René Descartes epistemological (and ontological) founding principle into a neoliberalism conceptual slogan: “I shop therefore I am.” Capitalism’s fantasy of unlimited growth and ideology of private accumulation has yielded a planet of unparalleled extremes of excess, waste, and want, teetering on the edge of mass extinction. Multi-disciplinary studies have documented the sociology, culture, politics, symbolism, economic and ecological consequences of rampant consumerism and metastatic commodification on, among many other topics, social relationships, artistic expression, health, work, ethics, emotions and the environment. Departing from readings of some of the classic works on commodities and consumerism (Marx, Veblen, Sombart, Baudrillard, Harvey) and key analysis of the imperialist structures upon which modern mass consumerism continues to rely (Mintz, Patel-Moore) the course explores cases studies of commodification and consumption from the perspective of history, anthropology, sociology, and the arts.

For all course times and locations, please log into SOLUS. 

CUST 802/902 Cultural Studies Colloquium (6.0 Units) Required Course.
Wednesday, 2:30-5:30pm (MacCorry B125)
This course is designed to acquaint graduate students with both current work in the field and various forms of professionalization, through a combination of research presentations and participatory workshops. Students are expected to attend regularly and complete some reflective writing activities. Grading is on a Pass/Fail basis.

CUST 800 Cultural Studies Theory (3.0 Units) 
This course introduces students to a range of major theoretical strains within Cultural Studies such as those associated with Marxism, feminism, postcolonialism, and visual, critical race, Indigenous, and queer studies. Students will learn to mobilize key conceptual vocabulary of foundational and emerging frameworks of the field.

CUST 801 Critical Methodologies in Cultural Studies (3.0 Units)
The field of Cultural Studies is characterized by a refusal to endorse a singular method or to conceive of and apply methodological tools as rigid, formal templates. This course explores how scholars choose, mobilize, and combine methods including field research, archival research, research-creation, and textual analysis. 

CUST 806 Topics in Indigenous Studies (3.0 Units)
This course will examine issues pertaining to Indigenous knowledge, traditions, cultures, histories, and experiences.

For course time and location, please log into SOLUS. 

CUST 850 Capstone Project (6.0 units)
In this workshop course, MA students will substantially revise or transform work from a previous Queen’s graduate course with the goal of publication or other dissemination, and produce a reflection on professional development activities pursued throughout the year.

CUST 894 Community-Based Practicum
This course is intended to support a student's MA or PhD research through organizational and social experience gained from involvement with relevant off-campus institutions, organizations, and community groups. A CS faculty member will oversee each placement in collaboration with a member of the relevant organization or group. (Equal to other one-term course offerings, the internships are expected to be the equivalent of 1.5 – 2.0 days of work per week for 12 weeks.) 

Further notes: 
Practicum “matches” must be arranged well in advance: students should contact CUST staff by June or July if they wish to do a practicum to confirm availability of supervisor, to consider suitable organizations or groups and liaisons within them, discuss appropriate ways to approach them, etc. We also generally advise a practicum take place in the winter or spring term, rather than fall, the student's first term in the program. 

In some cases students may be able to work with an organization they already know or participate in. In other cases they may need to locate a partner organization/group. In identifying potential matches, students should keep in mind that there is a risk that despite best intentions a practicum can be extractive and overly demanding for the host organization/group. In other situations a practicum may not offer much to the student – if, for example, the organization/group is too small or no liaison is available to mentor the student. A good match will provide rewards to and be manageable for both the student and the organization/group. Any preliminary conversation with a potential match should cover such issues as:

  • What would the student’s presence offer the organization/group?
  • Is there a person in the organization/group who has the capacity and desire to be the liaison or guide for the student?
  • Are there specific tasks or roles in the organization/group that a student could usefully do in a 12 week period?
  • What is the student likely to gain from working with this organization? 
  • What are likely scholarly frameworks or outputs for this practicum? 

Once an organization/group, a specific liaison within it, and a faculty supervisor are identified, both liaison & supervisor must indicate their agreement in writing before the student can be enrolled in the course. 

The student should meet with the supervisor and the community liaison no later than the first week of classes, ideally together. By the end of the third week of classes, the student must submit a syllabus to the Cultural Studies office, with indication of agreement from supervisor and community liaison.

The syllabus should include (not necessarily under these headings):

  • Name and contact information for both supervisor and community liaison
  • Mission statement, objectives, or nature of the organization/group
  • learning objective(s) of course 
  • an account of how they will be attained
  • plans or expectations on the part of the organization/group for the student’s roles, responsibilities, or outcomes, and how they will be facilitated and documented
  • a proposed reading list if appropriate 
  • a statement about how the course will be graded. Ordinarily the course would be evaluated partly on documentation of productive engagement with or contribution to the organization, and partly on a graduate-level reflection on the student’s learning that draws on relevant scholarly literature. It is highly recommended that the student journal throughout the practicum on activities, thoughts, and readings.

CUST 895 Agnes Etherington Practicum
This applied research internship in a professional art museum cultivates understanding of the capacity and disciplinary protocols surrounding research and public presentation of critical cultures within an institutional framework. The focus of the course is a defined research project developed in consultation with the supervising curator and contributing to the Art Centre’s exhibition program or collection development. Practicum students work on-site at the Art Centre 10 hours per week, with additional research hours required. For information on the curatorial direction of our contemporary art program, please refer to agnes.queensu.ca. Graduate students with relevant education and/or experience in visual and media art or art history in the Cultural Studies Programs at a Masters or Doctoral level are eligible to apply. Those interested should submit a letter of intent describing their goals and areas of interest, a CV and a transcript of their academic record. Admission will be based on interviews, and is contingent on identification of a research project aligned with student research interests and evolving gallery needs. Applications should be submitted well in advance of the desired semester, usually at the beginning of the previous semester to allow for planning. Practica may take place in the fall, winter or spring/summer semester.​  Please note that practicum courses must be arranged well in advance: do not wait until September.

The possibility exists for students to arrange an individualized Directed Studies course with a faculty member in order to conduct study of a research area not represented in seminars on offer. 

Please note that students should not assume that an instructor will be available to supervise a Directed Studies course, which is additional to required teaching. One scenario that may be workable in the absence of graduate courses in a particular area is for a student to enrol in a Directed Studies course with the instructor of a 400-level undergraduate seminar, which they would attend while completing graduate-level assignments as specified. 

Course codes are as follows:

CUST 990 Directed Studies I
CUST 991 Directed Studies II
CUST 890 Directed Studies I
CUST 891 Directed Studies II

Directed Study learning objectives and materials are often proposed by the student but must be reviewed and developed with the instructor. Like a graduate seminar, a Directed Study course proceeds via a series of meetings throughout the term, with expectations for assignments similar or analogous to those in graduate seminars.

A syllabus must be submitted to custgrad@queensu.ca by Week 3 of term at the latest. It must include

  • learning objectives of the course in the context of the student's research background and future plans
  • a proposed list of materials to be studied
  • a schedule for meetings (could be 12 as per regular course, but might be as few as 4 depending on rationale)
  • description of assignments/student responsibilities with weighting and deadlines
  • confirmation that both student and instructor agree to the terms presented. 

**with regret we note that we have not had the resources or demand to offer these courses since 2020. If they do interest you, let us know to aid in our future planning and discussion.**

Cultural Studies micro-courses devote 12 hours to exploring a particular method, moment, or phenomenon and are designed to help students extend theory to current issues, build scholarship, connect research with practice, and gather new tools. The courses are delivered in a condensed format and will be counted as a 1.0 unit course. Micro-courses are graded as pass/fail. For full time graduate students, there is no additional cost to take any of these courses. 

CUST 815 Skilling It

This course offers specialized in-depth instruction in topics related to Cultural Studies Methodology. Not offered in 2024-2025. 

CUST 816 Up Close

This course offers intensive consideration of a major book or work in any medium. Not offered in 2024-2025. 

CUST 817 Signs of the Times

This course offers intensive consideration of an issue or event of contemporary social, political and cultural relevance. Not offered in 2024-2025.

Courses in Other Units

We have curated a list of elective courses that may be of interest to Cultural Studies students – please note this list is not exhaustive, and a full list of courses can be found on each department’s website. The date and time that each course is offered is confirmed in mid-July and will then be available via the department website and in SOLUS. 

How do I register in a non-CUST course?

Step 1.  Identify the instructor for any non-CUST elective course that is of interest to you.  Students seeking electives should review the list below and explore other opportunities by reviewing the graduate websites for any departments of interest (i.e., the list below is not always comprehensive). Often, professors will be willing to take a CS student into their course if there is room, and if the student has the appropriate background.

Step 2.  Write to the instructor, by email, with a description of your goals and background, and ask if they will accept you into their course. Please note that the answer may not be certain yet, and may depend on enrollment numbers, but establishing the relationship is the first step.

Step 3.  Once you have approval, you will need to print and complete an Academic Change Form.  Once completed, you will need to sign the form yourself and arrange for it to be signed by (1) the course instructor and (2) your supervisor.  Return the completed, signed form to the Cultural Studies Office in B126B or custgrad@queensu.ca.

For a complete list, please visit the Department of Art History Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Department of Classics Website.

For a complete list, please visit the School of Computing website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Dan School of Drama and Music Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Faculty of Education Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Department of English Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Department of Film and Media Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Department of Gender Studies Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Department of Geography and Planning Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Department of Global Development Studies Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Department of History Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the School of Environmental Studies Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies Website.

For a complete list, please visit the Faculty of Law Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Department of Philosophy Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Department of Political Studies Website.

For a complete list, please visit the Department of Psychology Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the School of Religion Website. 

For a complete list, please visit the Department of Sociology Website.