Professor: Francois Proulx
Meets: Tuesdays 3:00pm - 4:50pm
Seminar on Marcel Proust's multivolume novel A la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time, 1913-1927). Readings include excerpts from each volume of the novel and related critical texts from approaches including genetic criticism, digital humanities, Jewish and queer studies, philosophy, art history, musicology, and cognitive theory. Taught in French; seminar discussions will be conducted in French or English; students from graduate programs other than French Studies are welcome to read the...
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Gopashis Biswas “G’Son”
G'Son is a PhD student in the Department of Communication. His interests traverse through social media, media effects, and political communication. His research dissects the consequences of affective...
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Faculty Affiliation
The Unit works with faculty across disciplines who engage with critical theory.
Can the Puerto Rican Parrots Speak?
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Caption
Image of Puerto Rican Parrot; photo courtesy of El Yunque National Forest
On November 7, 2023, the croak of a coqui greeted me as I entered the lecture hall for Ramón E. Soto-Crespo’s Modern Critical Theory talk, “Environmental Humanities and the Caribbean.”
According to Soto-Crespo, the coqui and the Puerto Rican parrot are only two of the animals who fill the soundscape in the El Yunque National Forest. Both animals are on the verge of being silenced due to deforestation.
In the 1940s and 50s, Puerto Rico switched gears from sugar cane monoculture to a manufacture-based industry that would generate more wealth for the nation. Such modernization, Soto-Crespo...
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Paul Un
Paul Un is a Ph.D. student in Political Science, studying international relations. He holds a B.A. in Government from the University of Puget Sound, and an M.A. in International Relations from the...
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Kei Kato
Coming from Japan, Kei (pronounced kay-ee) joined UIUC in 2023 as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geography and Geographical Science. His research interests lie at the...
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Politics, Knowledge & Evidence
This course will explore Political ideas and ideologies of evidence; Evidence and the politics of knowledge; Claims as evidence and evidence as knowledge; Knowledge and privilege; and Jurisprudential debates.
Law and Society
Professor: Jose Atiles
Meets: Wednesdays 1:00-3:50 pm
This course discusses major issues and debates in the fields of law and society and socio-legal studies. This course covers the theory and practice of legal and political institutions in performing several major functions at the local, national, and transnational levels, such as: allocating authority, enabling social control, defining relationships, resolving conflict, adapting to social change, and fostering social solidarity. In examining these functions, the course will assess the nature and limits of law, consider alternative...