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Purpose, Philosophy, and Practice
Drawing from a range of theories, practices, and methods, Cultural Studies researchers investigate values, cultural processes and objects, economic and social relations, institutions and identities.
What distinguishes Cultural Studies from other approaches to the study of culture is its recognition that no single disciplinary approach can get at the complexity of cultural forms.
Necessarily self-reflexive, Cultural Studies draws upon a range of methods and critical theories. It offers opportunities to break down conventional divisions between academia and activism, between theoretical critique and cultural production. Cultural Studies scholars make deliberate choices in bringing together appropriate combinations of object of study, method, and theoretical framework. Research-Creation, Community-based Research, and/or Indigenous knowledge frameworks are central to many projects in our program.
The format of Cultural Studies theses varies accordingly. While many students write a monograph-style thesis with a sustained argument, others present their work in a portfolio format, in which components in different modes, media, and/or voices complement each other and may reach towards audiences outside academe. All theses must clearly describe and discuss their research questions, academic contexts, and reasons for choice of format and approach, and specify the results and their implications for academic research.
Comprising over 100 distinguished faculty from over 20 disciplines, Cultural Studies at Queen's is committed to a diversity of students and faculty and to the global expertise that they bring to the cultural and academic fields.
Cultural Studies at Queen’s aims to create an intellectual environment that combines a high level of academic scholarship and meaningful engagement with cultural and political issues relevant in local and global contexts. It is our expectation that awareness and analysis of class, race, and gender, alongside other axes of social difference and inequality, will pervade all teaching and research conducted in our program.
Financial Support
The Cultural Studies Program offers support for each full-time student during the first two years of the master's program and the first four years of the doctoral program. Financial support is derived from university scholarships and research and teaching assistantships.
Applicants are encouraged to apply for the national and provincial awards listed elsewhere in this calendar.
Language Requirements
In cases where a language other than English is deemed necessary to a student’s research, the supervisory committee may require the student to pass a language test or otherwise demonstrate proficiency before defending their thesis proposal.
Faculty
Co-Directors
Brison, J., Varadharajan, A.
Professor
Adams, M., Benard, J., Brison, J., Burfoot, A., Cameron, L., Cockfield, A., Davies, C., Epprecht, M., Fachinger, P., Fort, T., Goebel, A., Graham, N., Green, M., Guenther, L., Hosek, J., Jessup, L., King, S., Kymlicka, W., Lahey, K., Little, M., Lord, S., Mackenzie, S., McKegney, S., McKittrick, K., McNeil, D., Murray, L., Naaman, D., Pegley, K., Rewa, N., Rogalsky, M., Salverson, J., Sismondo, S., Smith, G., Smith, M., Stephenson, J., Walker, C., Walker, M., Weldemichael, A., Wilmott, G., Zaccagnino, C.
Associate Professor
Aiken, S., Aziz, S., Bertrand, K., Bolden, B., Brook, J., Caron, C., Davies, J., Dhavernas, C., Haidarali, L., Hand, M., Hill, E., Husain, A., Inkel, S., Jull, J., Kibbins, G., Lind, S., MacDonald, E., Mennell, J., Mollers, N., Morcom, L., Morehead, A., Morgensen, S., Moriah, K., Palomares Salas, C., Pande, I., Pappano, M., Power, E., Reyes, M., Rivera, M., Robinson, D., Rutherford, S., Salah, T., Salzman, A., Shulist, S., Tolmie, J., Varadharajan, A., Vorano, N., Wallace, M.
Assistant Professor
Airton, L., Amarasingam, A., baba, b., Brule, E., Cordoba, D., Hall, R., Healey, J., Jacobson, K., Kennedy, J., Kukreja, R., Lawford, K., Lefort-Favreau, J., Legoas, J., Lovelace, R., Manning, D., Menotti, G., Moriah, K., Mosurinjohn, S., Na, A., Pelstring, E., Prouse, C., Renihan, C., Savoie-Bernard, C., Sen-Choudhury, A., St. Amand, I., Tienhaara, K., Tomac, A., Vena, D., Waisvisz, S., Xavier, S., Zaiontz, K.
Adjunct Faculty
Boutilier, A., Chalfant, E., de Szegheo Lang, T., Maynard, S., Robinson, I.
Programs of Study
Cultural Studies offers graduate training leading to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. Applications are accepted under the general regulations of the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.
Courses
Not all courses are offered each year. Note that CUST 815, 816 and 817 are micro courses for 1.0 credit units. CUST 802/902 is a non-credit course. All other courses are 3.0 credit units, except CUST 850, 898, 899 and 999 which are 6.0 credit units.
CUST 800 Cultural Studies Theory
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. Three term-hours. Winter.
CUST 801 Critical Methodologies in Cultural Studies
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. Three term-hours. Winter.
CUST 802 Cultural Studies Colloquium
This course is designed to acquaint MA students with both current work in the field and various forms of professionalization, through a combination of research presentations and participatory workshops, including the Individual Development Plan or its equivalent. Students are expected to attend regularly and complete some reflective writing activities. Grading is on a Pass/Fail basis. Fall and Winter terms.
CUST 803 Cultural Studies Past & Present
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 the field over time. Fall.
CUST 804 Community-Based Research
As cultural producers, activists, and/or researchers, Cultural Studies students interact with various communities within, beyond, and on the margins of the academy. This course engages with the theoretical, political, practical, personal, and institutional challenges and opportunities of community-based research. Three term-hours. Not offered 2024-2025.
CUST 805 Research-Creation Methodologies
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 expression, scholarly investigation, and experimentation. Three term-hours. Fall.
CUST 806 Topics in Indigenous Studies
This course will examine issues pertaining to Indigenous knowledge, traditions, cultures, histories, and experiences. Three term-hours. Winter.
CUST 807 Settler Colonialism and Incarceration
A critical examination of issues raised by the intersection of settler colonial and carceral power. Three term-hours. Not offered 2024-25.
EXCLUSION: PHIL-821
CUST 815 Skilling It
This course offers intensive instruction in a method or skill important within Cultural Studies. One term-hour. (1.0 credit units.) Grading is on a Pass/Fail basis. Not offered 2024-25.
CUST 816 Up Close
This course offers intensive consideration of a major book or work in any medium. One term-hour. (1.0 credit units.) Grading is on a Pass/Fail basis. Not offered 2024-25.
CUST 817 Signs of the Times
This course offers intensive consideration of an issue or event of contemporary social, political and cultural relevance. One term-hour. (1.0 credit units.) Grading is on a Pass/Fail basis. Not offered 2024-25.
CUST 850 Capstone Project
In this workshop course, 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. This course is graded on a Pass/Fail basis. Six term hours. (6.0 credit units). Spring.
EXCLUSION: Students accepted into the 2-year thesis-based MA (CUST 899).
CUST 890 Directed Studies I
Directed study under the guidance of a faculty member in an area of the instructor’s expertise.
CUST 891 Directed Studies II
Directed study under the guidance of a faculty member in any area of the instructor’s expertise.
CUST 892 Special Topics I
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. Fall.
CUST 893 Special Topics II
(3.0 Units.) Not offered 2024-25.
CUST 894 Directed 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.)
CUST 895 Agnes Etherington Art Centre Practicum
Internship in a professional art museum environment offering insights into collection research and development and an understanding of curatorial projects from conception through research and public presentation phases.
CUST 898 Master's Essay/Minor Project
CUST 899 Master's Thesis/Project
CUST 902 Cultural Studies Colloquium
This course is designed to acquaint PhD 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. Fall and Winter terms.
CUST 990 Directed Studies I
Directed study under the guidance of a faculty member in an area of the instructor's expertise.
CUST 991 Directed Studies II
Directed study under the guidance of a faculty member in an area of the instructor's expertise.
CUST 999 Ph.D. Thesis or Project