CAST 300/301
Situated Research and Practicum
Fall 2009
Professor Christopher Rivera
Tuesday 9-10:50 am
Office 141D King
Office Hours: Tuesday 11-1pm
Thursday 10-12pm
E-mail: christopher.rivera@oberlin.edu
Kailey (Ky) Kawolics,Teaching Assistant
E-mail: kkawolic@oberlin.edu
"Close Readings in/of Everyday Life"
Situated Research is a qualitative methods course that uses community-based learning pedagogies as a
way to reflect on and critically engage with issues of power, ethics, institutions of power, participatory
research, and the production of knowledge. This field-based course explores the experiential and
analytical aspects of qualitative research through the study of institutional practices and social
interaction, with particular attention to issues of gender, race, sexuality, and class. It is also a course that
invites students into a deeper engagement with the larger Oberlin and Lorain County communities and
brings together scholarship, community service, and community-based research in order to reflect on the
ethics, challenges, and methods that influence the creation and articulation of institutions. Both CAST
300 and CAST 301 (the practicum) are required for all Comparative American Studies majors.
In this interdisciplinary methods course students will be exposed to the concepts of textuality and
intertextuality that are not limited to solely that which is written. The concept that a text exists in
various discursive forms will be the foundation of this class. The primary methodological
approach will be to analyze and “close read” various literary and cultural productions to
understand the deeper meanings / subtexts available. The experiences and interactions in various
community-based organizations will also be treated as texts to be used to help students learn the
skills of close readings and to engage with different methodological issues emerging from this
approach. Visual and auditory texts will also be employed to teach students a nuanced way to
interact and analyze both on an impromptu (verbal) level and over extended periods of time in a
written format. The main question that will guide this course will be “How does an innovative
cultural analytic tool, like close reading in/of everyday life, make visible processes of
racialization, sexualization, and gendering that have been naturalized by research methodologies
accredited within the social sciences and the humanities?”
Literary Texts
Theoretical Texts
Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street.
El Saadawi, Nawal. Woman at Point Zero.
Feinberg, Lesile. Stone Butch Blues.
Morrison, Toni. “Recitatif.”
Rodriguez, Richard, Brown: The Last Discovery of America
Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera
Pérez, Emma. The Decolonial Imaginary
Sandoval, Chela. Methodology of the Oppressed.
Excerpts online:
Film:
Case, Sue-Ellen. “Towards a Butch-Femme Aesthetic”
Chancer, Lynn S. “Feminism and Sadomasochism: Regarding
Sadomasochism in Everyday Life”
Babbit, Jamie. But I’m a Cheerleader
Berliner, Alain. Ma vie en rose
D’Emilio, John. “Capitalism and Gay Identity”
Halperin, David M. “Is There a History of Sexuality”
Lorde, Audre. “The Use of the Erotic”; “The Master’s Tool Will Never
Dismantle the Master’s House”; “Age, Race, Class and
Sex: Women Redefining Difference”
Rich, Adrienne. “Compulsory Heterosexuality”
Scott, Joan W. “The Evidence of Experience”
Sedgwick, Eve K. “The Epistemology of the Closet”
Evaluation for 300
Attendance and Active Participation 15%
Close Reading Papers 45%
Research Draft 10%
Research Paper 30%
Evaluation for 301
Attendance and Participation 25%
Reflection Journals 60%
Annotated Bibliography 15%
Course Goals:
1) to think critically about issues of method, methodology and epistemology by completing an
original close reading research project
2) to understand ethical issues and power relations in cultural research, especially in relation to
race, class, gender, and sexuality
3) to articulate the role of critical interdisciplinary studies in higher education, social policy, and
activist movements
4) to develop an analysis of advocacy research, the politics of non-profit social service institutions,
as well as educational institutions
5) to link theories of intersectionality to research design and methodology
6) to explore issues of accountability and collaboration in community-based research
7) to become more aware of what northeast Ohio might teach us about the central concerns of the
CAS major
CAST 300 Written Components:
Close Reading Papers that engage the convergence of class readings and articulations of
intersections of class discussions will be required six times throughout the semester. They are to
be between 4-6 typed pages. The only set due date is of Close Reading Paper #1. However
students must hand in 3 papers before fall recess and 3 after. Student must do 3 papers on
primary texts and 3 on secondary sources. I will drop the lowest grade however all must be
completed. You cannot skip one and count that as your lowest grade.
Annotated Bibliography is expected with at the minimum of ten outside sources. The citations
should appear in the MLA format and include a full paragraph length summary of the main
points of that article AND another full paragraph on how you see it as formative to developing
your analysis for your purposed project.
Research Draft will be handed in at least five weeks before the final research paper is due. It
must be at least 5-7 pages in length and cannot be turned in until after the annotated
bibliography. It is a draft of the research paper thus it must contain a thesis and your analysis
must be clearly developing at this stage.
Research Paper will be handed in a week after our final class meeting (12/15/09). It must be 12
to 15 pages in length and show progression from the draft handed in prior. You must engage the
questions I pose on your drafts and demonstrate mastery of your topic.
Note that NO LATE Papers will be accepted.
CAST 301/Practicum Assignments:
Attendance (30%) Each student is required to spend 5-10 hours weekly in her/his placement. The time
you spend at your field site is determined, in large part, by the number of credit hours you have chosen
for the practicum component, although you may choose to spend more time than is required at your
fieldsite if you choose to do so. You must arrange a placement by September 15th and you must
attend weekly. Each student is responsible for 10 weeks of fieldwork over the course of the semester.
And you are required to make up for missed time, even in the case of excused absences.
Reflection Journals (60%) Due online in Blackboard each Friday by Noon as of September 18th.
Once you begin working at your chosen fieldsite, each of you will be required to make journal
reflections. Taking, writing and circulating journal reflections are a central requirement to this course
and will be the basis for your final close reading paper. While there are clearly important concerns
about the writing of these journals (issues of power, representation, and textuality, to name a few), this
course is premised on the notion that there is value in close documentation and reflection of your
experiences with these community-based organizations. In order to facilitate this methodological
enterprise, each student is required to make daily reflections, at least 3 pages for each day at your
placement. As they are reflections, they are allowed to contain emotional responses. However always
couple any emotional component with a meta-critical analysis of the situation / power structure that
caused such feelings. I will read and provide critical feedback on your journals on a weekly basis, with
the goal of helping each of you improve your analytical abilities, expand your close reading of cultural
interactions, and to help you utilize your journal reflections in order to develop the central critique for
your final research paper. There will be required meetings to discuss journals with students individually.
NB: If you fail to turn your reflection journals in a timely fashion, you may not receive comments
on them and they may not be accepted towards your grade.
HONOR CODE: The policies described in the Oberlin College Honor Code apply to this class.
Written work must include proper citations and must be the product of your own work. You are also
required to include the following statement on all written assignments: "I affirm that I have adhered to
the Honor Code in this assignment." If you have any questions about how to cite sources properly or
about the Honor Code, please feel free to approach me. For more information on the Honor Code, see
http://new.oberlin.edu/students/policies/honor
STUDENTS NEEDING EXTRA ASSISTANCE: Please speak with me if you need disability-related
accommodations in this course. Student Academic Services is also an important resource for students
needing academic assistance. Please contact Jane Boomer, Coordinator of Services for Students with
Disabilities, Peters G27, extension 58467.
Course Schedule1
Part I: Strategies and Responses from Ethnic / Sexual Margins
Week 1 Tuesday September 1 Introduction: Close Reading Activities +
Week 2 Tuesday September 8 “Recitatif” + Woman at Point Zero
Close Reading
Paper #1 Due
Week 3 Tuesday September 15 “Feminism and Sadomasochism” + All Lorde readings
Week 4 Tuesday September 22 Film: But I’m a Cheerleader
Week 5 Tuesday September 29 Methodology of the Oppressed
Week 6 Tuesday October 6 The House on Mango Street
Week 7 Tuesday October 13: The Decolonial Imaginary
Complete Meetings
Week 8 October 20 Fall Recess
Part II: Transgressing Physical and Ideological Borders
and Boundaries
Week 9 October 27
Borderlands/La Frontera
Annotated Bibliography Deadline
Week 10 Tuesday November 3 Film: Ma vie en rose
Research Draft Deadline
Week 11 Tuesday November 10 Stone Butch Blues
Week 12 Tuesday November 17 “Is there a History of Sexuality” + “The Evidence
of Experience” + “Capitalism and Gay Identity”
Week 13 Tuesday November 24 Brown: The Last Discovery of America
Week 14 Tuesday December 1 “Towards a Butch-Femme Aesthetic” + “Epistemology
of the Closet” + “Compulsory Heterosexuality”
Week 15 Tuesday December 8 Course Recap and YouTube activities
RESEARCH PAPER DUE TUESDAY DECEMBER 15
1
Please do not forget that as of 9/18/09 your electronic journal reflections are to be posted on Blackboard by 12
noon every Friday.