This course examines the media created environment that surrounds us. We will examine the
relationship of popular culture to elite and folk culture. Our approach will be historical. We
will examine the effects of the rise of a mass audience, a consumer society, and the
development of the structures of mass media on the development of popular entertainment. We
will examine continuities between the minstrel show, vaudeville, radio, and television
programs. We will use rhetorical theories such as symbolic interactionism to explore the power
of mass mediated images on the popular mind.
Students will develop a critical perspective on popular culture through an understanding of the
social and technological forces driving it. Students will become familiar with rhetorical
analysis of cultural productions such as television programs, or mass mediated spectacles such
as the Super Bowl. Students will understand the arguments and evidence for and against the
charges that popular culture produces anti-social behavior.
Class attendance is strongly encouraged. In order to maximize the benefit of the class, you must be present and actively participate through doing the readings in advance of class and asking and answering questions. You are young adults and capable of making your own decisions and living with the consequences. There is no separate grade based on attendance. However,
all the tests will include questions based on the lectures
and student reports. If you are not present, you may lose points on the test due to your inability to answer
the questions.
Oral
presentations must be given on the date assigned. Ten points will be subtracted for each class day late.