This course introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors.
As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors. Whether you cheer on a sports team, or go wild at a concert; whether you wait in line for the latest blockbuster, or binge all the episodes of a hit show overnight, popular culture plays a huge role in our lives. But while we might proudly wear the jersey of our favorite team or post selfies from the crowd of a music festival, some of the pop cultural things we enjoy we do so in secret as though they are "guilty pleasures." But what makes something a guilty pleasure? How does shame play into our consumption of culture? Why are we embarrassed about the things we love? This course will use the work of prominent cultural critics to establish an understanding of popular culture in relation to more dominant cultures and hierarchies of taste. We will examine the material manifestations of popular culture in the form of fan productions, and question what our consumption patterns reveal about the workings of social, economic, and gender hegemonies. Students in this course will have the freedom to focus their research on a pop cultural object of their choice.
Bofang Li