Academics

Cultural History

 

Dana Howell (Cultural History and Eurasian Studies)

Human experience is expressed through cultural performances, such as rituals and tales, visual and performing arts, memoirs and historical accounts, tourist displays and public games. To understand any of these, we need to understand the sources (whether literary, visual, historical document, etc.) in the context of their creation and use. Claims of "tradition" are no different than claims of invention and innovation: they express views of human action that tell us where and how to look at a cultural performance. Cultural history involves discovering how people view their history and how history is part of identity.

Studying history is studying cross-culturally. Understanding contemporary society requires a reach into history. Imagination is essential, as is care with sources, which are other people’s voices. It is those voices that are compelling to a historian or student of culture and society.

Studying culture is inherently an interdisciplinary activity. Cultural history draws on methods and materials from various fields, such as history, anthropology, folklore studies, media and other visual and performing arts. Students can create Plans in Cultural History with foundation work in other areas of the curriculum, supplemented by some introductory work in cultural history courses. Most Cultural History Plans are interdisciplinary.

Eurasian Studies

"Eurasia" and "Eurasian studies" are the terms used today for the societies of the former Soviet Union and the former Soviet bloc (Eastern Europe). This is an enormous area with great diversity, from Slavic cultures of Eastern Europe to indigenous cultures of Siberia to the "Silk Road" cultures of Central Asia. With the collapse of the USSR, these societies gained political independence and international interest (not least for natural resources and strategic locations). Their cultures are not new, nor are they alike in this post-Soviet era. They do share a legacy of socialism and strong responses to their Soviet experience, including nationalism, Islamic revival, nostalgia for social order, even interest in a reconstituted USSR. It is now possible for students to study the languages of Central Asia, the Caucasus, and other post-Soviet areas, and it is also possible to do internships, field studies, and study-abroad programs. Many of these areas were restricted for foreigners during Soviet rule, and new access is creating new opportunities, new scholarship and new cultural creations.

Starting Points (Basic and Introductory Courses)

Cultural History

Reporting From the Frontline (SSC420)
To know the wider world, we depend upon the "news." Headlines and visual images in the media shape our view of many societies. Reports from war zones are especially powerful, conveying urgency, danger, and excitement, as war reporters take risks in foreign lands to "bring back the story." We grant them authority as eyewitnesses and explorers, and see their accounts as descriptive, not inventive. How should we "read" the news? In this course, we’ll discuss the creation of the news as popular narrative, cultural images conveyed by news stories, and the role of war reporters as contemporary adventurers. We will look at war reporting from the conflicts in Iraq and the Balkans, cultural studies of foreign correspondents and prejudice in the media, films which feature war reporters, and an example of "attack" journalism related to terrorism. We’ll also consider how the conventions of traditional narratives of adventure and quests may apply to the shape of the news and our views of reporters.

From Ritual to Spectacle (SSC257)
An exploration of ritual cross-culturally, including family rituals and rites of passage, seasonal rituals, political rituals, and public games. Topics will include ritual process and ritual time, participation and spectatorship, the nature of carnival and festival, and the creation of new rituals. Historical and contemporary examples will be drawn primarily from the rituals of the Fall season (such as Halloween, national elections, the World Series, and the events of the college semester). One paper will involve a short field study, another library research for a cross-cultural or historical study.

Travelers’ Tales & Tourism (SSC398)
"Comes over one an absolute necessity to move," D.H. Lawrence wrote, "And what is more, to move in some particular direction." Traveling has always been part of human life, but how did it become a form of entertainment or leisure? Tourism today is one of the largest industries in the world; what is its impact on the way we organize societies, create and present our cultural identities, and envision the world of others? In this course, we’ll explore the history of travel for pleasure, the nature of tourist experiences, the tales we tell of travel, and the ways people are changing their lives in response to tourism – in cultural displays, social interactions, and commercial ventures like theme parks, packaged tours, television contests, and public stories of life as an accessible adventure.

Eurasian Studies

Soviet Era Through Film and Memoir (CDS434)
The Soviet era represents a great social experiment, only recently abandoned. This course is an introduction to Soviet society and post-Soviet reaction, using memoir, film, and current studies to discuss the passage from early revolutionary radicalism to Stalinism to the end of the Cold War and contemporary "normalcy" and nostalgia.

Russian Empire and the Caucasus (SSC372)
Since the fall of the Soviet Union ten years ago, the Caucasus has been in the news: as an area of "separatist" wars in Chechnya, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan; as a focal point of Islamic revival and resistance, supported by other Muslims of the Middle East; as the home of the oldest Christian nations in the world, and the "wall" between Europe and Asia, which made it a battleground for imperial powers – and the site of the first genocide of the twentieth century against the Armenians; as a center of the post-Soviet "mafias," political terrorism, human rights issues, and perhaps most significantly for the West, of new oil riches in the Caspian, a source of dispute between four post-Soviet republics, Iran, and western oil companies (the capital of Azerbaijan has been called "the new Dodge City" of "the wild east"). Even archeologists make the news with new evidence of "Noah’s flood" in the Black Sea, with nearby Mt. Ararat the traditional landing site of Noah’s Ark. Considered the most culturally diverse area in the world, an ancient as well as modern crossroads, the Caucasus region is contested territory. It is the site of Russia’s longest war and greatest orientalist, imperialist "romance." In this course we’ll examine the history of Russia’s involvement in the Caucasus, with a focus on the continuing (200-year) conflict in Chechnya, and varying perspectives on the issues of the Caucasus today.

Along the Silk Road: An Introduction to Central Asia (CDS524)
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, five new states appeared on the map in Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Created as Soviet socialist republics, they are now pulled between East and West, as Muslim countries hosting western oil companies and U.S. troops for the conflict in Afghanistan and, possibly, Iraq. Some say the Americans represent the latest of a long series of great empires built on the sands of Central Asia, like those of Alexander the Great, the Mongols, Tamerlane, the Russians, and the Soviets. In the midst of these empires lay the ancient Silk Road between China and the West, with the great oasis cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, surrounded by the largest nomadic societies in the world. This course is an introduction to the history and cultures of Central Asia, from ancient to contemporary times, with special attention to the cultural influences of the Silk Road, the impact of great nomadic conquests, and the questions of nationalism and identity in Central Asian societies today.

Pursuing Interests (Intermediate and Thematic Courses)

Cultural History

Romanticism, Nationalism, Nativism (SSC280)
Why are we fascinated by fairy tales? Why do we see some cultures as more "natural" than others? How do we make a "common culture" across lines of social difference? Why (and how) do we escape two of our most valued creations, individualism and technology? Why do we prefer a theme park to a city, a miniature to "the real thing?" What do these questions have in common? This course will explore nineteenth and twentieth century ideas and practices related to tradition and cultural identity, including Romantic views of nature and society, the search for cultural roots and the idea of "folklore," political uses of traditional culture, fascination with spiritualism and the occult, and the persistence of Romanticism in contemporary cultures (e.g., the New Age movement). A pre-Plan/early Plan seminar, with substantial student projects (on issues in any culture). (Intermediate)

Research Seminar in Cultural History (CDS533)
A seminar for students doing research projects in cultural history; the semester’s work will include discussion of research design and the creation of substantial papers, with individual conferences and presentations to the seminar group. (Advanced)

Modernism (CDS532)
A seminar exploring some of the major works and directions of "modernism," focusing on the visual and performing arts in Europe and Russia during the decades before and after World War I. We will consider the proposition that modernism is a "hybrid of irrationalism and technicism" which lent itself, even contributed, to the rise of fascism. (Intermediate)

Spirits and Social Disorder (SSC386)
An exploration of the relationship of revenants and terrestial problems. We’ll consider the role of kinship, ritual, and sense of social dis-ease, with primary attention to Japanese and East European traditions, and to the early European films of "the uncanny" (German Expressionist and Danish). Serious readings, weekly writing, no night meetings. (Introductory)

Telling the Tale (SSC449)
An exploration of tales in tradition and in social performance, with discussion of the elements of successful performances, enduring narratives and their sources, the significance of transformational figures, and uses of traditional tales in contemporary society. (Intermediate)

Eurasian Studies

East-West Thinking
An exploration of ideas of "East" and "West" in Eurasian cultures that see themselves as standing between, or belonging to, both worlds. "Orientalist" approaches will be countered with regional voices. The focus may be Russian, Balkan, or Caucasian. The material will include history, literature, film and visual arts.

Romance of the Caucasus (SSC 291)
"In Europe we are but parasites and slaves, but to Asia we shall come as masters," Dostoyevski wrote. The Russian empire (and USSR)found its southern limits in the region of the Caucasus mountains,an area of some of the world’s oldest cultures and greatest cultural diversity. Rather than master these "Asians," Russianswere inspired by the fierce resistance of the mountain people and the beauty of the land. Russian writers and artists, from Pushkin and Tolstoi to Pasternak, have drawn on the Caucasus as a site of adventure and mystery. This course will explore this Orientalist fantasy and offer an introduction to this region of "holy war"( including the recent Chechen war), ancient cultures, and contemporary nationalism.Course materials will include literature, film, history, and anthropology.

Cultural Politics of Socialism and Post-Socialism
An exploration of the dynamics of culture in socilist and post-socialist societies, with a focus on public culture and constructions of cultural identity. Topics will include: utopian ideas and revolutionary time; uses and abuses of public space in mass rituals, visual propaganda, monuments and other cultural re-landscaping; cultural nationalism and internationalism; the roles of intellectuals and artists (visual, performing, and literary) in creating and disputing socialist identity; and post-socialist views of the legacy of the socialist era. Core readings on Soviet/post-Soviet (USSR and Eastern European) societies will be integrated with readings on individual student projects, which may focus on these or other socialist/post-socialists societies. Individual projects may include an art component along with an analysis. Prerequisite: Some coursework in history, politics, culture, or arts.

Literary Voices of the Soviet Era (HUM1145)
Though the arts of the Soviet era are often equated with "socialist realism" independent voices survived through the creation of lasting works of literature. Writers responded to the historical events of their time – from revolution to Stalinist terror, to the siege of Leningrad in World War II, to the "sovietization" of the countryside – with satiric, poetic, and nationalist narratives. We will read stories by Babel, Solzhenitsyn, and Chukovskaia, a memoir by Lydia Ginzburg, a nostalgic novel of Siberia by Valentin Rasputin, and one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita. Our focus will be on literary art as an expression of historical experience and cultural tradition. (Introductory)

Good Foundation For Plan

Cultural history is a varied field, and Plans could be rooted in different areas. The key to doing history is "considering the source," i.e., understanding the nature of the source and its context. The skills that are needed are strong reading, clear writing, and critical thinking. (Other analytic skills may be needed for Plans involving the visual or performing arts, and these Plans are usually co-sponsored.) With these foundational skills, a Plan can be "started" in the Junior year.
In Eurasian studies, some area-studies foundation is needed, though co-sponsored Plans (in literature, visual arts) can build on foundation in that field.

Research Interests