New Course: Transnational Feminist Theory

Professor Ayu Saraswati in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) has graciously agreed to cross-list her course in transnational feminist theory with AMS. The course is now available under AMS 696 as well as WGSS 696, and is open to graduate and undergraduate students alike.

The AMS program has been at the forefront of the so-called "transnational turn" in American Studies, and our faculty and graduate students are among a growing number of scholars in the field who do not restrict their research to within U.S. borders. Dr. Saraswati's course is an outstanding opportunity for AMS majors or grad students with transnational interests to gain critical skills in feminist theory.

The course description reads:

In this interdisciplinary course students will critically “read” various films (i.e., Bend it Like Beckham), novels (i.e., Lucy), music productions (i.e., Madonna within the context of transnational MTV network), and various key texts in globalization and transnational studies (i.e., High Tech and High Heels in the Global Economy) to explore the effects of transnational circulations of people, ideas, and objects on: (1) the formation of gendered, racialized, sexualized, and nation-based subjects; (2) the pattern of gender-based consumption and production in global economy; (3) the construction of gendered urban space; (4) the gendered construction of “affects” (emotions); and (5) the creation of various transnational feminist movements. Throughout the semester, students will work toward writing a publishable journal article, a conference paper, or other forms of theorizing.