Christina D. Owens received her PhD at the University of California, Davis in 2014. Her interdisciplinary expertise lies at the intersection of transnational American Studies, Japanese studies, and media studies. Articles based on her immersive fieldwork with U.S. migrants living in Japan have been published in the journals American Studies and New Global Studies. She has also published multiple peer-reviewed articles about transnational American Studies pedagogy and teaching.
Professor Owens is from rural South Carolina and came to FSU after teaching interdisciplinary courses in California, Ohio, and New York (at UC Davis, Miami University, and Vassar College). She joined the FSU Honors Program faculty in 2018.
Outside of work, you will find Dr. Owens enjoying post-punk shows at music venues around Tallahassee, shopping at Railroad Square, and walking her papi-huahua Chibi at local parks.
America Abroad - IDH 3113 This course explores histories of U.S. presence abroad by focusing on a variety of cultural texts (e.g. films, journalism, political cartoons, theater, and television, etc.). We will follow a semi-chronological order, examining different eras and types of U.S. presence abroad – from military and diplomatic interventions to tourist and expatriate experiences. By analyzing and contextualizing cultural texts that depict these different histories students will reflect on how ideas about the U.S.’s place in the world have changed across time.
Feminism and Globalization - IDH 3403 By focusing on the roles that domestic workers, factory workers, and sex workers play within the global economy, this course engages feminist debates about ethics, globalization, and the challenges of transnational activism. Our course readings will focus on ethnographic research, which uses immersive fieldwork, participant observation, and interview methods. To help narrow and sharpen our in-class discussions, our shared case studies will be about workers from Asian countries. These are global issues, however, and student writing projects may explore dynamics in any part of the world.
Youth Subcultures - IDH 3402 This course examines multiple subcultures -- from punk rock to hip hop and beyond – to query how they are embedded within their specific sociohistorical contexts, indexing not only intergenerational difference but also changing race, gender, sexuality, and class relations. Whether represented as resistant trendsetters, deviant delinquents, or hoodwinked ingénues, subcultural youth have produced social and personal meaning out of their engagements with particular styles, fandom activities, and community formations. Through course readings, independent research, and oral presentations to classmates, students will learn collaboratively about a variety of subcultural engagements while also strengthening their oral communication skills.
Global Japan: From War to Wario - IDH 3128 This course introduces Honors students to interdisciplinary scholarship within Japan Studies by situating the country within the context of globalization. Specifically, we will engage readings about twentieth and twenty-first century Japanese culture, media, and society, paying attention to how ideas about belonging, difference, and community have shaped lived experiences, cultural discourses, and sociopolitical realities.