Cross-Cultural Studies Concentration (CCST)
Director: Professor Clifford Clark
Associate Director: Professor James Fisher
Committee Members: Scott Carpenter, Clifford Clark, Michael Hemesath, Roger Jackson, Cherif Keïta, Beverly Nagel, Kathryn Sparling, Qiguang Zhao
This concentration has been created for American and International students interested in traveling and working abroad. It is designed to help students who are studying a particular area of the world (e.g., majors in area studies, languages, history, economics, political science, literature, anthropology, religion, etc.) to place that area in a broader, comparative, cross-cultural context by seeing how it participates in and is influenced by trans-national, sometimes global, dynamics and problems. It is also designed to attract international students, no matter what their major, who in coming to Carleton will experience a culture not their own, normally in a language not their own, and thereby have at least an experiential basis for comparative study.
The objectives of this concentration are: 1) by making comparisons explicit, to enable students to come to a sharper understanding not only of their own society but also of a society different from their own; 2) to bring together American and international students in a program of study and interaction that will prepare them to live and work productively in an unfamiliar area of the world; 3) to provide a forum for studying problems and issues that cut across traditional national or cultural boundaries, such as citizenship, ethnicity, linguistic grouping, etc. that tend to be excluded in traditional disciplines or area studies; and 4) to create an arena for faculty whose work focuses on different parts of the world to address common issues and problems in a comparative, collaborative framework.
First-year students interested in this program should enroll in the First-Year Seminar, Cross-Cultural Studies 100, Growing Up Cross-Culturally.
Once the concentration is fully established, each concentrator will be required to look at his/her area from three different perspectives: 1) in focused comparison with another culture, 2) in regional perspective, broadening the focus beyond national or conventional borders, 3) globally, in relation to some issue or problem affecting the future.
Language is fundamental to understanding other societies and therefore to the concentration. Each concentrator will have, at a minimum, completed the Carleton language requirement (or the equivalent) in the language of his or her focus area. Upper level language study is also encouraged.
When the concentration is fully organized, concentrators will normally take the First-Year seminar, the Sophomore Methods course (first offered in 2001-2002), four courses at the 200 level or higher selected from three groupings (regional courses which transcend national boundaries, comparative courses, and global issues courses which will be listed in next year's catalog), a colloquium for students returning from off-campus study, and a senior seminar (first offered in 2002-2003). American students will also participate in an approved international program (one term or full year), normally in an area where the language studied at Carleton by the student is spoken. (International students are exempt from this requirement since they already participated in a foreign culture).
Cross-Cultural Studies Courses
CCST 100. Growing Up Cross-Culturally From cradle to grave, cultural assumptions shape our own sense of who we are. This course is designed to enable American and International students to compare how their own and other societies view birth, infancy, adolescence, marriage, adulthood, and old age. Using children's books, child-rearing manuals, movies, and ethnographies, we will explore some of the assumptions in different parts of the globe about what it means to "grow up." 6 credits cr., S/CR/NC, RAD,ND, Fall—C. Clark, J. Fisher