Can popular culture move us to act differently in the world? Do ideas stick because people want them to, or because pop culture can’t or won’t imagine alternatives? Might pop culture make manifest, by making visible, the potential for different futures? This module asks students to think seriously about the relationship between the world and the popular stories we tell about it. We’ll explore how texts intended to entertain, shock, comfort, or enchant can also spark new ideas, reflect past and present experiences, or speculate about other possibilities. The module is theory led, with a series of case studies drawn from twentieth and twenty-first century popular culture. We will refer to a range of critical approaches to popular culture and culture studies, including topics such as ideology and representation, commodity, intimacy, activism and protest.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Discuss and debate critical approaches to pop culture, demonstrating understanding of a range of relevant theoretical perspectives;
Read and analyse pop culture texts as situated and active agents in culture;
Show knowledge and understanding of the historical and theoretical relations between pop culture and society;
Respond to pop culture reflectively or visually in theoretically assured ways.
Assessment
37089-01 : 1,000 Word Reflective Writing OR Poster : Coursework (25%)
37089-02 : 3,000 Word Essay : Coursework (75%)