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PrincetonUniversity |
Program in European Cultural StudiesEuropean cultural studies(ECS) is a program tailored for those students who want to combine topicspolitical philosophy and literature, history and anthropology, art and politics, or any mix of disciplines that works best to illuminate the study of European culture. ECS occupies a point of intersection where different disciplines meet to interpret "culture," a word that might mean either "high art" or "popular taste." ECS is concerned with the interpretation of culture in the broad sensethe attempt to understand not merely great works of literature and the fine arts but also the way ordinary people make sense of their lives. Different approaches to culture might converge around a particular city, like Paris, Vienna, or Rome, or they might address the question of how medieval peasants or a sixteenth-century miller thought about the origins of the world, the subject of a seminar on the "History of Mentalities." Some of the courses we have offered in recent years have included: Journalism and Culture, Literature and Photography, Intellectuals and Politics, Avant-garde and Dictatorship in the Soviet Union, and Books and Their Readers. As a course of study, ECS functions as the equivalent of a "minor" for students majoring in a wide variety of disciplines. It gives them a chance to work outside the boundaries of conventional departments like history, English, politics, and economics, and to work closely with professors from several corners of the campus. Most ECS courses are run as seminars and are taught by professors based in different departments. ECS gives students the opportunity to overcome some of the anonymity of the big departments while experimenting with interdisciplinary modes of study. ECS also helps create a sense of community among students interested in European culture with annual trips to special exhibitions and events. ECS students also participate in a junior colloquium and a senior thesis seminar. In order to receive a certificate at graduation, students must have taken either ECS 209 Introduction to Cultural Interpretation, or the humanistic studies series, HUM 216&endash;219, and two other 300- or 400-level ECS courses. ECS 209 is usually team-taught by a humanist and a social scientist. At times the focus of that course might be on how different theories of culture approach the subject; at others, how literature can be a vehicle for approaching contemporary political theory. In addition, ECS students must participate in the junior work group, which meets once or twice during their junior year, and take part in the senior thesis writers' colloquium, an informal seminar designed to help with thesis-writing. They are not required to write a thesis in a topic related to European cultural studies. Anyone interested should contact the program manager (mjreilly@princeton.edu), or fill out an application in the ECS Office (58 Prospect) by the time course cards are due in the spring.
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