COMM 100B

INTERPRETIVE STRATEGIES
PROFESSOR ELANA ZILBERG
WINTER 2015
T/Th 12:30-1:50
Peterson Hall 110
Office: Media Center and Communication Building (MCC)206
Office Hours: By appointment only on Wednesdays 10:00 - 12:00 and as needed.
Email: ezilberg@ucsd.edu
TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Christina Aushana (A10, A11)
caushana@ucsd.edu

Jamese Fort (A07,A09)

jmfort@ucsd.edu

David Gonzalez-Hernandez (A03, A08)

d10gonza@ucsd.edu

Jacob Hellman (A06, A12)

jhellman@mail.ucsd.edu

Ned Randolph (A04,A05)

egrandol@ucsd.edu

Yi Hong Sim (A01,A02)

yhsim@ucsd.edu

INTRODUCTION
In this course, we will examine the ways in which culture as a system of meanings,
representations, practices, and power relations is constantly and actively (re)made in
daily life through a broad spectrum of communication media visual, material and
spatial. In particular, we will consider how the categories of race, gender, class, and
nationality are themselves culturally constructed categories even as they function to
produce, sustain and transform culture. Employing the tools of cultural criticism and a
variety of interpretive strategies, students will learn to denaturalize or to make strange
the familiar and the taken for granted. The goal of this course then is for students to
develop a critical awareness or presence of mind about the cultural systems in which
we live and participate.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Required Reading and Viewing
The reading for this course is the backbone of our endeavor. It is not especially copious.
At an average of 50-60 pages per week, it amounts to less than 10 pages a day! The
reading, however, is at times difficult. Allot sufficient time and thought to keeping up. You
must complete reading assignments before sections and ideally before lectures.
1) Text
Sturken and Cartwright, Practices of Looking, 2nd edition. Available to buy at the
University Bookstore, for rent on Amazon, and on reserve at Geisel Library.
2) Course Reader (CR)
Available through University Readers http://www.universityreaders.com/students/ (Tel:

800.200.3908, email: orders@universityreaders.com). Several copies of the reader will

be placed on reserve at Geisel Library. See TED announcements for ordering
instructions.
3) TED
In an effort to keep costs down for students, a portion of the readings have been placed
on our TED course website.
4) Documentaries and Films (AV)
All documentaries and films will be placed on reserve at the Video and Film Library in
Geisel Library after class screenings. They will also be available to stream. Both are an
integral part of the course and should be taken as seriously as all other course
components.
Lectures and Discussion Sections
Attendance in both lectures and discussion sections is required and will be
indispensable to your success in this course. Attend faithfully. Their will be no
unexcused absences from sections. Unaccounted for absences have consequences. If
you do not inform or make prior arrangements with your T.A., your section grade will
drop by a point for every section you miss. Your section participation and any other work
your TA assigns in section will constitute 25 points of your grade.
Prepare for lectures and discussion by reading carefully and by thinking about what you
have read. In lecture as well as section, you are encouraged to raise questions not only
about course material, but how it applies to current events and to your life. Pay attention
to the way in which newspapers, magazines, television, films, popular music, popular
debate, and political controversy intersect with and/or distill course issues and
incorporate your observations and questions in written and spoken work where relevant
and appropriate.
Use of Electronic Devices
Please note that all cell phones, PDAs, and similar devices must be turned off during
class. Laptops and tablets may only be used during lecture for note taking and web
queries relevant to the lecture. Laptops and tablets may NOT be used for email, social
networking, or other coursework during lecture.
Assignments
There will be three short take-home assignments in this class, each worth 25 points.
Assessment
The final grade will be determined as follows:

Assignment #1
Assignment #2
Assignment #3
Section

25%
25%
25%
25%

Due Thursday, February 5th

Due Thursday, February 26th
Due Tuesday, March 17th

All assignments must be turned in on the due date indicated on the syllabus. You will
lose a grade point for each day that an assignment is late. This means, for example, that
if you get an A on an assignment that is two days late, your grade will drop to a B+
Incompletes will only be given for valid and documented medical or legal reasons (e.g.
court appearance). There will be no exceptions to this policy.
In managing this class the professor and teaching assistants will function as a team and
will consult regularly with each other on all matters concerning the class. In particular,
they will use identical criteria in grading student assignments and will make every effort
to ensure that grades assigned are scrupulously fair and reflect the quality of the work
concerned. Due to this process of consultation and the use of uniform grading criteria,
teaching assistants have complete authority in all actions that they undertake regarding
the course, and the professor is unlikely to rescind any of their decisions.
Grading Scheme for Assignments
Students sometimes ask, when they do not receive an A for written essays, what was
missing, what did their instructor expect. The following rubric is meant as a loose
descriptive aid to understanding your grade, not a grading guideline. Please note that A
means excellent (see criteria). B is good, C good enough.
A=Excellent
Projects awarded A grades tend to offer depth of analysis, interpretation, and/or insight in a
creative manner with a strong thesis or framing of concepts, and bear a well documented
relationship to the course materials. The A project is usually well organized or well designed.
The thesis is well supported by concepts and issues drawn from class materials. A assignments
offer description and analysis of the points made and examples used to make them. Projects
awarded an A grade usually integrate themes, issues, and concepts from readings, screenings,
and discussions in comprehensive and detailed ways that make a point or raise ideas. Quotes
and ideas from sources are used in a manner that goes beyond re-statement of another
authors claims. All direct quotations are cited and their meaning in the context of the project is
explained rather than left to stand on their own for the reader to determine. Any use of audio or
visual material is carefully thought through in terms of design, composition, and juxtaposition
with other forms (such as writing). Design and organization of the project are thoughtfully
worked through and communicate effectively in a manner that adds interest to the project.
Creativity is a strong feature of the A project! Very important for A assignments: Creativity is
evident in concept or thesis, and/or in the research or technical design of the project. Attempts
to push boundaries with creative form outside the traditional essay style are to be rewarded,
even if these projects are less clear than conventional styles of presentation. Assignments that
are very competently done but do not offer a new insight or say anything new beyond what the
materials themselves offer are in the B range.
B=good
Projects awarded B grades offer complete and accurate review of ideas, themes, and issues in
course materials with insights offered at a general level of understanding. Arguments and ideas
are thoughtful, well supported by course materials that are properly cited, and made in an
organized manner. Some B projects have strong features of A projects without the full
complement of features. For example, some B projects are insightful and creative but do not

use course materials with depth and careful discussion or clear linking and careful
interpretation. Other B projects are impeccably organized and clear but do not offer new insights
or interpretations beyond describing those found in the course materials.
C=good enough
Projects awarded C grades demonstrate comprehension of the class materials but do not offer
and adequately support a thesis, analysis, or insight beyond what is found in the course
materials. In some cases arguments are not fully developed and supported with either the
writers own statements or with quotations or discussions of ideas from the class materials. In
some cases C papers introduce good, sound ideas, insights and concepts but are not well
designed, well organized, or well supported with discussion about course materials. In some
cases C papers are good but too far off the topic of the assignment. In some cases C papers
cite source materials but restate what they say without elaboration or without making a unique
thesis or point.
D=unsatisfactory
Projects awarded D grades do not provide evidence of adequate engagement with course
materials, miss important issues or points within the range of the thesis identified in the project,
or misunderstand the readings and course materials. In some cases projects awarded a D do
not contain a thesis that pertains to class materials or do not engage the project assignment.
F=fail
Projects awarded a grade of F demonstrate no evidence of engagement with course materials.
A grade of F may be awarded for the class in the event of 7 or more absences regardless of
ones project grades. Attendance is a mandatory feature of the class. See requirements outlined
in this document above.
Academic Integrity
You are required to observe university regulations regarding academic integrity. This
means no student shall engage in any activity that involves attempting to receive a grade
by means other than honest effort; for example:

No student shall knowingly procure, provide, or accept any unauthorized material that
contains questions or answers to any examination or assignment to be given at a
subsequent time.
No student shall complete, in part or in total, any examination or assignment for another
person.
No student shall knowingly allow any examination or assignment to be completed, in part
or in total, for himself or herself by another person.
No student shall plagiarize or copy the work of another person and submit it as his or her
own work.
No student shall employ aids excluded by the instructor in undertaking course work or in
completing any exam or assignment.
No student shall alter graded class assignments or examinations and then resubmit
them for re-grading.
No student shall submit substantially the same material in more than one course without
prior authorization.
No student shall sign attendance sheets for another student, or ask someone else to

sign in for her/him. Any plagiarism will result in a grade of F for the assignment or exam,
will be reported to the Academic Integrity Office, and may result in an overall course
grade of F. To view the UCSD Academic Integrity Statement, visit:
https://students.ucsd.edu/academics/academic-integrity/ai-and-you.html Maintaining
Academic Integrity: Students agree that by taking this course all required papers will be
subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of
plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the
Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such
papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the terms of use agreement posted
on the Turnitin.com site.
Disability Accommodations
The professor is dedicated to making this course as accessible to all students as
possible. If you require accommodations or services for disabilities, please communicate
with the Professor immediately and register with the Office of Students with Disabilities
(OSD) in order to obtain a current Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter. This
letter is required for eligibility for requests. Receipt of AFAs in advance is necessary for
appropriate planning for the provision of reasonable accommodations. OSD Academic
Liaisons also need to receive current AFA letters.
For additional information, contact the Office for Students with Disabilities:

858.534.4382 (V)
858.534.9709 (TTY) - Reserved for people who are deaf or hard of hearing
osd@ucsd.edu
http://disabilities.ucsd.edu

CLASS SCHEDULE
INTRODUCTION: KEY CONCEPTS
1.1

January 6

Culture and Power

1.2

January 8

Williams, Raymond (1977) Culture, 11-20, Hegemony, 108-114, in Marxism and Literature.
CR
Hall, Stuart (1993) The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power in Formations of Modernity,
Stuart Hall and Bram Gieben eds., Cambridge: Polity Press, 185-203. CR
Recommended
Foucault, Michel, "Lecture Two: 14 January 1976, in Power/Knowledge, ed. Colin Gordon,
Pantheon, 1980, 92-108. CR
I. VISUALITY
a. Image
2.3

January 13

PR: Sturken and Cartwright (2009) Ch. 1 Images, Power and Politics, 12-32, and Ch. 2
Viewers Make Meaning, 69-75t. TEXT
Hariman and Lucaites (2002) Performing Civic Identity: The iconic photography of the flag
raising on Iwo Jima," in Quarterly Journal of Speech, 88:4, 363-392. TED
b. Stereotype
2.4

January 15

Mitchell, In Living Color, in What do pictures want? 294 308 CR

Barthes, "Myth Today," in Mythologies, trans. Annette Lavers. Hill and Wang, 2012, 217-231. CR
Hall, Spectacle and the Other, in Representations, 254-264. TED
Goodwin, Truth, Justice and Videotape, in Inside the L.A. Riots, Institute for Alternative
Journalism, 1992. CR
Film: Bamboozled

c. Gaze
3.5

January 20

Sturken and Cartwright, Ch. 3 The Gaze and the Other, 111-136. TEXT
Fanon, The Fact of Blackness in Black Skins, White Masks,109-117. CR
Hall, Contesting a Racial Regime of Representation, in Representation, 269-275. TED
3.6

January 22

Sturken and Cartwright, Ch. 3 Modernity: Spectatorship, Power and Knowledge,

93-104 TEXT
hooks, Oppositional Gaze, in Black Looks,115-132 CR
Recommended
hooks, and Representations of Whiteness, Black Looks 165-178 CR
d. Surveillance
4.7

January 27

Sturken and Cartwright, Ch. 3 Discourse and Power" 104b-111t

Foucault, Docile Bodies" and "Panopticism," 206-213 CR
4.8

January 29

Guest Lecture: Professor Kelly Gates

Sturken and Cartwright, Ch 9 "Images as Evidence," 355-364t

Gates, The Cultural Labor of Surveillance, 1-17 TED
Recommended
Gates, The Work of Wearing Cameras, TED
Take-Home Assignment # 1 (Due Thursday, February 5th)
II. MATERIALITY
a. Dress
5.9

February 3

Cosgrove, The Zoot-Suit and Style Warfare, History Workshop Journal 18 (Autumn 1984): 7791.TED
Recommended:
Miller, Daniel (2010), Why Clothing is not Superficial, in Stuff, Cambridge: Polity Press, 12-41
TED
Film: Zoot Suit

5.10

February 5

Joan Wallach Scott, "Symptomatic Politics: The Banning of Islamic Head Scarves in French
Public Schools," in French Politics, Culture & Society, Vol. 23, No. 3, (Winter 2005), 106-127.
TED
b. Built Environment
6.11

February 10

Phoebe Schroeder Kropp, Citizens of the Past in Radical History Review, Issue 81, Fall 2001,
35-60. TED
Recommended
Massey, Plaza de las Tres Culturas, City Worlds, eds. Doreen Massey, John Allen and Steve
Pile, Routledge, 1999, 100-109. CR
6.12

February 12

Anna McCarthy, "The Front Row Is Reserved for Scotch Drinkers": Early Television's Tavern
Audience in Cinema Journal, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Summer, 1995), pp. 31-49 TED
c. Landscape
7.13

February 17

Guest Lecture: Professor Gary Fields

Mitchell, Imperial Landscapes, in Landscape and Power, Landscape and Power, ed. W. J. T.
Mitchell, University of Chicago Press, 1994, 5-34. CR
d. Plastic
7.14

February 19

Guest Lecture: Dr. Kim De Wolff

Freinkle's, Matter out of Place, in Plastic: A toxic love story, 115-139 TED
Recommended
De Wolff, Current Collections: Material Encounters on a Plastic Beach, 1-9 TED
Take-Home Assignment # 2 (Due Thursday, February 26th)
III. MOBILITY
a. Flows
8.15

February 24

Gupta and Ferguson, "Beyond 'Culture': Space, Identity and the Politics of Difference," Cultural
Anthropology, Vol. 7. No. 1, February 1992, 6-23 . TED

Appadurai, "Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy," Theory, Culture,
Society, 295-310. TED
8.16

February 26

Larkin, Indian Films and Nigerian Lovers, Africa: Journal of the International African Institute
67.3 (1997): 406-440.TED
Film: T-Shirt Travels
b. Friction
9.17

March 3

Zilberg, Fools Banished from the Kingdom, American Quarterly 56.3 (September 2004): 759779.TED
Recommended
Zilberg, Troubled Corner, City & Society 14.2 (2002): 31-56. CR
9.18

March 5

Guest Lecture: TBA

Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Ways of Staring in Journal of Visual Culture 2006, 5:173-190

TED
10.19 March 10
Serlin, Disability, Masculinity, and the Prosthetics of War, 1945 to 2005, in The Prosthetic
Impulse: From a Posthuman Present to a Biocultural Future; Marquard Smith and Joanne Morra,
eds. MIT Press, 2006 155-183. CR
Lindeman and Cherny, Communicating in and Through Murderball, in Western Journal of
Communication, vol. 72, no. 2, April-June 2008, pp. 107-125.TED
10.20 March 12
Film: Murderball
Take-Home Assigment # 3 due on Tuesday, March 17th by 2:30 p.m.

READINGS BY LOCATION
1. TEXT
Sturken and Cartwright, Ch. 1 Images, Power and Politics, and Ch. 2 Viewers Make
Meaning
Sturken and Cartwright, Ch. 3 The Gaze and the Other
Sturken and Cartwright Ch. 3 Modernity: Spectatorship, Power and Knowledge
2. PRINT RESERVES (PT)
Sturken and Cartwright, Practices of Looking
3. COURSE READER (CR)
Williams, Culture, and Hegemony
Hall, The West and the Rest"
Foucault, "Lecture Two
Mitchell, In Living Color
Barthes, "Myth Today," in Mythologies, 215-31 (16) CR
Goodwin, Truth, Justice and Videotape"
Fanon, The Fact of Blackness
hooks, Oppositional Gaze"
hooks, Representations of Whiteness
Foucault, Docile Bodies" and "Panopticism"
Massey, Plaza de las Tres Culturas
Mitchell, Imperial Landscapes
Zilberg, Troubled Corner
Serlin, Disability, Masculinity, and the Prosthetics of War"
4. TED
Sturken and Cartwright, Ch. 1 Images, Power and Politics, and Ch. 2 Viewers Make
Meaning"
Hariman and Lucaites, Performing Civic Identity"
Hall, Spectacle and the Other in Representations
Hall, Contesting a Racial Regime of Representation in Representations
Gates, The Cultural Labor of Surveillance
Miller, Why Clothing is not Superficial
Cosgrove, The Zoot-Suit and Style Warfare.
Scott, "Symptomatic Politics"
Kropp, Citizens of the Past
McCarthy, "The Front Row Is Reserved for Scotch Drinkers"

Gupta and Ferguson, "Beyond 'Culture'"

De Wolff, Current Collections"
Freinkle's, Matter out of Place
Appadurai, "Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy"
Larkin, Indian Films and Nigerian Lovers

10

Zilberg, Fools Banished from the Kingdom"

Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Ways of Staring
Lindeman and Cherny, Communicating in and Through Murderball

11