This course examines various forms of popular culture including media, subcultures, art, and consumer culture. We will begin the course with an examination of the definition of popular culture and how cultural texts, artifacts, and behavior come to be seen as popular. Then we will focus on sociological theories that will guide our understanding of popular culture.

Popular culture has a profound impact on the lives of many people in different social groups – we know our favorite songs by heart, we watch and rewatch our favorite series, we consume videos and podcasts. In this course, we’ll examine various forms of popular culture for their aesthetic, political, and sociological content. We will begin the course by examining the definition of popular culture and analyzing how texts, artifacts, and behavior come to be seen as popular. We’ll then address and criticize the hegemonic role of American popular culture from a comparative perspective, and we’ll take into consideration its reception and effects on different communities. The course will be taught through a multidisciplinary, multimedia, and intersectional approach, and popular culture will be explored in a wide rage of expressions – from melodramas to TV series, from true crime podcasts to queer icons, and more. Together with our case studies, we will focus on different sociological theories that will guide and inform our understanding of the materials. Some of our guiding questions will be: what makes something “popular”? How is “popular culture” defined alongside (and sometimes against) “culture”? Why are some forms of popular culture thought of as lowbrow, unsophisticated, trashy? How are structures of power inequalities reproduced or challenged through popular culture? Can popular culture be a space for resistance?

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Requirements class fulfills