Popular Culture

3 credits · Undergraduate

(1.5 hrs Lecture | 1.5 hrs Seminar/Discussion) This course examines the construction of social reality through the dynamics of popular culture. Course material focuses on North American popular culture in an increasingly globalized context. Topics include the history and politics of high and low culture, cultures of consumerism, advertising, public space, identity and popular culture, subcultures and countercultures, culture jamming, postmodern strategies of representation, and political activism in popular culture. Note: Students who obtained credit in the former SOC-3209(6) may not receive credit for this course. Requisite Courses: SOC-1100 or SOC-1101 or ENGL-2145 or WGS-2260. (Declared Majors in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications or the UW/RRC Joint Communications Degree/Diploma may have the requisite waived by obtaining permission of the Sociology Department Chair) [prerequisite(s)].