The goal of this course is to introduce students to basic terms and concepts of cultural theory (culture, popular culture, identity, stereotypes, otherness, power relations, center and margin, postcolonial theory, polysystems theory in literature and culture, etc.) as well as to explore what makes and defines culture of a certain space or community of people who are a constituent part of that culture i.e. that cultural space. In the seminar part of the course, the students will be offered an opportunity to analyze various examples from literature, music, film and television (Croatian and American, global and omnipresent) and, on the basis of the developed theoretical framework determine what happens with a culture when it, in a sense, steps out of its national limits i.e. when a culture (domestic or foreign) meets some other culture and thus exposes itself to the perspectives of the other. The focus of the course will be put on the issues of prejudices and cultural stereotypes, representativeness and identification i.e. issues of perception and reception of a culture about itself and the others.

Bhabha, Homi. Location of Culture. New York i London: Routledge, 2004. Print.

Culler, Jonathan. Literary theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.

Hall, Stuart. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage, 2012. Print.

Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: an Introduction. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2006. Print.

Zohar, Itamar Even. “The Position of Translated Literature within the Literary Polysystem.” Translation Studies Reader. Ed. Lawrence Venuti. London i New York: Routledge, 2007. Print.

Casanova, Pascale. The World Republic of Letters. Trans. M. B. DeBevoise. Cambridge, London: Harvard University Press, 2004. Print.

Damrosch, David. What is World Literature? Princeton, Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2003. Print.

Rivkin, Julie and Michael Ryan (ed). Literary Theory: An Anthology. Malden, Oxford, Carlton: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Print.

Storey, John (ed). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: a Reader. Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited, 2006. Print.

1. Class Attendance: mandatory 70% attendance is required;
2. Seminar Assignments: in-class presentation and seminar paper;
3. A minimum of 35% of the grade should be acquired through regular course activities: seminar assignments and two midterm exams

1. Course activities: seminar assignments; Midterm Exam 1 (written), Midterm Exam 2 (written)
2. Final Exam (oral)

Grading Scale:

Failure (1) – 0 do 49,9%

Satisfactory (2) – 50 do 64,9%

Good (3) – 65 do 79,9%

Very Good (4) – 80 do 89,9%

Excellent (5) – 90 do 100%

Final Grade Calculation:

1. a) In-class Activities – 70%

     1) Seminar Assignments – 20%

     2) Midterm 1 – 25%

     3) Midterm 2 – 25%

b) Final Exam – 30%