When we speak of "popular culture" what exactly are we talking about? How does it relate to "mass culture," "folk culture," or "high culture"? Is something "popular culture" merely because it is consumed in large quantities, or does the label "popular" refer to a particular style of production, reception, or participation? This course will assume a critical stance toward American popular culture asking about the origins of both the category and the media that convey it. We will begin by surveying the emergence and democratization of "leisure time" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As wages rose and work hours diminished, what sorts of "amusements" were available to fill this "leisure time," who took advantage of these amusements, and how did they do so? Once the historical foundation is established, we will investigate contemporary examples of popular culture with an emphasis on "consumption," broadly conceived. Topics will include: consumer culture (advertising), fan culture (Elvis), food culture (cultural history of food) and "cannibalism" (depictions of cannibalism as a means of critiquing consumer culture). The course will be reading and writing intensive.

Evaluation will be based on 10 on-line discussion postings, one group research project, and two exams.

• David Nasaw, Going Out: The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements;
• Erika Doss, Elvis Culture
• Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation
• A selection of readings available in the COURSE MATERIALS Folder of the Blackboard site for this course (http://blackboard.okstate.edu)

Participation: Students are expected to attend every class and participate actively in class discussions, both real and virtual. Participation determines borderline grades and eligibility for extra credit!

On-Line Discussion Postings: Over the 15 weeks of this course, you must post 10 brief responses to comprehension questions about assigned readings. You may decide which 10 assignments to respond to out of the 15 available, but you may submit only one response each week. The questions will be posted in the DISCUSSION BOARD section of the Blackboard (http://blackboard.okstate.edu), and your responses should also be posted there (do not email them to me or submit them in hard copy). THESE ASSIGNMENTS WILL ALWAYS BE DUE BEFORE CLASS ON THURSDAYS. There will be no late postings accepted. Each assignment will be worth ten points, and together they will comprise 10% of your course grade (100 pts.). These are easy points so don't forget about them! Students with excellent attendance (3 absences or less) may earn up to 20 extra credit points by posting two additional messages (though you still may submit only one response per week).

Group Research Project: In groups of three, you will research and present an in-depth analysis of a form of American popular culture of your choosing. You may focus on a particular medium, "fad," trend, reception practice, or critical term (such as "ideology" or "gender" or "commodification") related to popular culture in the US, and your goal is to enlighten the rest of us about its history, forms, functions, and importance. Use Nasaw, Doss, and Schlosser as models for this project. The project may take any final shape that you wish (for example, you could build a website, write a collaborative paper, write/perform a skit, create a photo essay, make a movie, etc.). There will be three portions to the assignment: a written proposal (50 pts.), an oral presentation (50 pts.), and the project itself (200 pts.). In total, the assignment will be worth 300 points, and will comprise 30% of your course grade. All grades for this assignment will be collective (that is, every member of the group will receive the same grade), so it behooves you to work together closely and consistently to achieve the best outcome for all. See the ASSIGNMENTS folder on Blackboard for full details.

Exams: There will be one mid-term and one final exam in this class. The exams will consist of identifications, short-answer responses, and/or essay questions and will cover the course readings, lectures, media and discussions in equal measure. Check the course schedule to determine the exam dates. There will be a study guide offered for each exam; it behooves you to use these. Make-up exams will be given only in cases of documented emergency and only if I am notified of said emergency well before the scheduled date and time of the exam. If you contact me after you miss an exam, I will be unable to help you, and you will receive a grade of zero. The exams will be worth 300 points each, and together will comprise 60% of your course grade.

Academic Honesty: All work you turn in for this class must be your own work. Incidents of plagiarism and/or cheating on exams will result in a failing grade for the assignment. Any more egregious violation (turning in someone else's paper as your own, for example) will result in a failing grade for the course. Consult OSU's Office of Academic Affairs for more information on the University's new, more stringent Academic Integrity policy.

Special Needs and Disabilities: Please feel free to contact me with any special needs that you may have related to a physical or mental disability; I'll be happy to work with you to accommodate your needs. NOTE: If you have a disability, physical or otherwise, you must register with the appropriate liaison in the Student Disability Services Office (315 Student Union; 744-7116)

On-Line Discussion

10%

(100 points)

A=90-100%

Group Project

30%

(300 points)

B=80-89%

Midterm Exam

30%

(300 points)

C=70-79%

Final Exam

30%

(300 points)

D=60-69%

Total

100%

(1000 points)

F=59% or less

8/22

Introduction: Introducing Popular Culture

Screening: Stuart Hall Representations

8/24

Read:

Nasaw, Going Out (Chaps 1-4, pp. 1-46)

8/29

The History of Popular Entertainment II: Fairs and Other Spectacles

Read:

Nasaw, Going Out (Chaps 5-9, pp. 47-103)  

8/31

The History of Popular Entertainment III: Picture Shows

Read:

Nasaw, Going Out (Chaps 10-12, pp. 104-153)

Screening: Samples of early cinema: actualités, spectacles, & early narrative forms

Back

9/5

Nasaw, Going Out (Chaps 12-14, pp. 154-204)

9/7

9/12

Culture and Social Identity: Race in Popular Culture

Read:

Stuart Hall, "The Whites of Their Eyes: Racist Ideologies and the Media"

Screening: Ethnic Notions

9/14

Screening: Ethnic Notions, cont.; Birth of a Nation; "Race Films"

Back

9/19

Read:

*Jack Solomon, "Brought to You Buy: The Signs of Advertising"
*Roland Marchand, "The Parable of the Democracy of Goods"

9/21

The Processes and Effects of Advertising

Read:

*Susan Bordo, "Never Just Pictures"
*Jackson Katz, "Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity"

Screening: Selections from: Killing Us Softly, Merchants of Cool

Back

9/26

Can Mass Culture Be "Popular" Culture: The Question of Consumption

Read:

*John Fiske. "Commodities and Culture."

Screening: Barbie Nation

9/28

All-Consuming Obsessions: Fan Culture

Read:

Doss, Elvis Culture (Chap. 1, pp. 1-32)

10/3

Doss, Elvis Culture (Chaps. 2-3, pp. 33-114)

Group Project Proposals Due

10/5

Doss, Elvis Culture (Chaps. 4-5, pp. 115-212)

Screening: Various Elvis Films

10/10

Fall Break: No Class

10/12

Mid-Term Exam

Back

10/17

10/19

The Culture of Food Consumption: Some History

Read:

*Diane Ackerman, "The Social Sense"
*Margaret Visser "Fingers"
*Octavio Paz "Hygiene and Repression"

10/24

Commodification of Consumption: History of American Food Culture

Read:

*Harvey Levenstein, "The Perils of Abundance: Food, Health & Morality in Am."
*Harvey Levenstein, "The Golden Age of Food Processing"

10/26

Fast Food and American Culture

Read:

Schlosser, Fast Food Nation ("Introduction" + Chaps. 1-2, pp. 1-58)

Back

10/31

11/2

11/7

Schlosser, Fast Food Nation (Chaps. 8-10, pp. 169-254)

Screening: Super Size Me

11/9

Schlosser, Fast Food Nation (Epilogue + Afterword, pp. 255-290)

Screening: Super Size Me

Back

11/14

Read:

*Robin Wood, "Return of the Repressed"
*Carol Clover, "Her Body, Himself"

Screening: Clips illustrating horror film dynamics (nothing too gross!)

11/16

*Noel Carroll, "Horror Today"
*RHW Dilliard, "Night of the Living Dead"

11/21

Drafts of Group Projects Due: In-Group Peer Review

11/23

Class Canceled for Thanksgiving Holiday

Back

11/28

Screening: Land of the Dead

11/30

Screening: Land of the Dead

12/5

Group Presentations

12/7

Group Presentations