MEDS 272 - Critical Approaches to Media and Popular Culture

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as SOCI 272) From television and cinema to hip hop stars and YouTube stars to billboard ads and pop up ads, popular media is a ubiquitous facet of social and cultural life. It is also one that often seems so natural or trivial as not to warrant serious sociological analysis. The goal of this course is to introduce students to classic perspectives on popular culture and media, and to evaluate their relevance in both historical and contemporary contexts. We attend not only to the content of pop culture but also to the political economy of mass media and its relationship to other social institutions of the family, education, health care, and government. In doing so, we consider a broad range of genres including sitcoms, reality television, disaster films, professional sports, video games, podcasts, karaoke, mash-ups, and selfies as well as and the role of various axes of social difference such as race, class, gender, and sexuality. Through writing, discussion, podcasts, and presentations, students practice developing and supporting arguments regarding the role of popular culture in our lives. John Andrews.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS