I  created this introduction to my  courses as a video,  so students could gain some knowledge of my classes and cultural  studies  approach.  Please watch this video before the first class.  Since my areas of expertise are postcolonial studies with a regional focus on southern Africa and Near Eastern diaspora,  the textbook for this course will highlight these regions, especially the areas that I  lived, researched, and returned to northern Iraq and South Africa. If you would like to purchase the course text in advanced, it is often less expensive on  amazon.com, in new or used form. Also, the video highlights the programs in social justice that I am engaged  with overseas and in Seattle.