CM 306 - Popular Culture in America

(3.00 cr.)

An upper-level introduction to the issues surrounding popular culture and approaches to studying contemporary popular culture. Students explore the ways in which consumers experience the popular arts and entertainment and the significance of popular culture as both a reflection of, and an influence upon, American attitudes, beliefs, expectations, hopes, and concerns. The course is taught as a colloquium in which various topics are introduced by the instructor and explored in class discussion. Emphasis is placed on primary source artifacts of contemporary American popular arts and techniques for analyzing their social and cultural implications. Other dimensions such as historical and cross-cultural comparisons, discussion of the industries that develop and distribute commercial entertainment and information, and various critical and evaluative theories are included. The goal of the course is to refine the students' abilities to read, evaluate, and synthesize materials from popular culture into their own interdisciplinary analysis.

Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring
Years Typically Offered: Annually

Interdisciplinary Studies: IU