This course offers an introduction to the history, background, and theoretical underpinnings of cultural studies. It explores the depth andbreadth of the underlying connections between gender, race, identity,media, and culture in a transnational context, using multi-theoretical, multi-cultural, and multi-methodological approaches. It explores a variety of topics, including the mediated framing of gendered identities(whether feminine, masculine, or queer), and the cultural influences behind social and political movements and trends.