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Reading Schedule
Reading Schedule
Readings subject to change. This website schedule reflects the most up to date version and supersedes print syllabus
Week 1 - Building the Syllabus/Class Norms
1/18​
No readings this week, but you should:
-Read through the class website and syllabus carefully
-Sign-up for Office Hours Meeting
(up to three students can sign up per time-slot. E-mail me if you need to propose an alternative time).
-Sign-up for class announcements (bottom of homepage)
In Class:
Go over syllabus \ Syllabus working groups
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Due:
Sign up for office hours meeting by Sunday
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Week 2 - What is Popular Culture?​
1/23-1/25
John Storey CTPC, Ch. 1
***Our text book has a companion review website that you might find useful in checking your understanding of each chapter***
Linda Holmes. A Few Notes on Pop Culture Writing. NPR
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Reviews of Hallmark Christmas Movies
- Cassie Belek for The Washington Post
- Todd VanDerWerff for VOX
- Zachary Jason for Slate
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In Class:
Exploring ideology through Hallmark Movies
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Week 3 - Mass Culture Theory
1/30-2/1
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WATCH: A Face In The Crowd. Available for rent on YouTube, Amazon, Google
Maloney, Courtney (1999). The Faces in Lonesome’s Crowd: Imagining the Mass Audience in A Face In The Crowd. JNT: The Journal of Narrative Theory. 29.3.
John Storey CTPC, Ch. 2
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Reply All: Episode 86 -Man of the People
https://gimletmedia.com/episode/86-man-of-the-people/
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In Class:
How to close read a text
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Week 4 - Marx and The Frankfurt School
2/6-2/8
John Storey, Ch. 4
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Theodor Adorno, 'On Popular Music,' 1941
Pop Matters- Adorno for Pop Critics
The Verge - K-Pop Takes America
Watch:
"What is Marxism" - 8 bit Philosophy
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Adorno - Philosophy of Life
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In Class:
Clips from MTV's TRL and
applying theory to close readings
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Week 5- Culturalism and Cultural Studies
2/13-2/15
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​John Storey, Ch 3, Ch 7 just 145-157
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Bobo, Jacqueline. The Color Purple: Black Women as Cultural Readers. 1995
*Sturken, M. & Cartwright, L. (2009). Viewers make meaning. In Practices of looking: An introduction to visual culture . pp. 52-62; 72-89.*
Hua Hsu: Stuart Hall and the Rise of Cultural Studies, The New Yorker. 2017.
Week 6-Post-Modernism
2/20-2/22
John Storey, Ch. 9
Soukup, C. (2010). I Love the 80s: The pleasures of a postmodern history. Southern Communication Journal, 75(1), 76-93.
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The Atlantic - The Meta, Innovative Genius of Community
The Huffington Post -Jane the Virgin
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Week 7 - Foucault, Butler, and Queer Theory
2/27-3/1
John Storey, Ch. 6 133-138 and Ch. 7 167-172
Salih, Sarah. (2002) "On Judith Butler and Performativity."
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The Ringer - The Perfectly Postmodernism Reality TV of Rupaul's Drag Race
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The Cut - It's Judith Butler's World
Week 8 - Gender, Mulvey, and Feminist Theory
3/6-3/8
John Storey, Ch. 5, 109-111 and Ch 7, 140-145
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Henderson, Felicia D. "The culture behind closed doors: issues of gender and race in the writers' room." Cinema Journal 50, no. 2 (2011): 145-152. **
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Hilary Negroni, Ch.1, pg 17-29 in Feminist Film Theory and Cleo from 5-7
Time - 700,000 Female Farmworkers Stand with Hollywood
Variety- Women on Broadcast TV
Esquire - My Experience on Charlie Rose Went Beyond Sexism
In Class:
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Clips from Community, I Love the 80s, and Jane the Virgin
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In Class:
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Clips from Rupaul's Drag Race and Paris is Burning
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Thursday:
Meet in podcast groups to discuss readings/screenings and record practice sound file.
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In Class:
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In Class:
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Introduce and discuss final podcast project
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Week 9 - Race and Representation
3/13-3/15
John Storey, Ch. 8
Richard Dyer . “The matter of whiteness.” In White. 1998.
(just read pages 1-17)
Kristen Warner, Intro to The Cultural Politics of Colorblind TV Casting. Routledge, 2015.*
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The LA Times - Authenticity in Casting - From 'Colorblind' to "Color Conscious'
Carvel Wallace, "Why Black Panther is a Defining Moment for Black America." New York Times Magazine.
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In Class:
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Clips from Hamilton, Jesus Christ Superstar,
and Cinderella
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Due: Turn in podcast possible topics, group member roles, and podcast reflection.
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Week 10 - Class, Taste, and Bourdieu
3/27-3/29
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Selections from Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. 1984.
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"Upgrading the Situation Comedy" from Newman, M. Z., & Levine, E. (2012). Legitimating television: Media convergence and cultural status. Routledge.
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Vulture - Cristela Isn't as Good as its Star
AV Club - Aziz Ansari Proves He Can be more than a bit character
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Vulture - Master of None is Your Next Great TV Love
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In Class:
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Cristela and Master of None
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Go over final paper in-depth.
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Week 11 - The Lego Movie
4/3-4/5
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In cl​ass, we'll watch The Lego Movie in preperation for the review and final next week.
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Week 12 - ​ Review and Final
4/10-4/12
Tuesday:
In class review -- applying theory to the Lego Movie.
Pass out take home final.
Thursday:
Final due.
Review and discuss final.
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Week 13 - Podcast Project
4/17-4/19
Paper Outline Peer Reviews
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Week 14 - Podcast Project
4/24-4/26
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Final group check -ins
Week 15
5/1 - Last Day of Class
Optional - play rough cuts of podcasts in class for extra credit.
Course reviews
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