The Sociology of Popular Culture
Curriculum guideline
The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:
- Lecture
- Small group exercises
- Class discussion
- Computer lab work
- Audio-visual materials
- Guest speakers
- Defining culture and popular culture
- Why should we study popular culture?
- Marxism and popular culture
- Post-structuralism, discourse, and popular culture
- Postmodernism and popular culture
- Feminist approaches to popular culture
- Representations of gender and sexuality in popular culture
- Representations of race in popular culture
- Representations of class in popular culture
- Production and consumption of popular culture
- Popular culture and consumerism
- Neoliberalism, globalization, and popular culture
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Define popular culture.
- Explain the difference between ‘high’ culture and ‘popular’ culture.
- Explain the social organization of popular culture.
- Summarize major sociological theories of popular culture.
- Compare various perspectives on issues of debate in the sociology of popular culture.
- Critically analyze conventional ideas about popular culture.
- Critically analyze representations of race, class, gender, and sexuality in popular culture.
- Explain the role of popular culture in reinforcing and challenging social inequalities.
- Explain the relationship between forms of popular culture and consumerism in society.
- Critically analyze the impact of globalization on popular culture in Canada and around the world.
Evaluation will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with Douglas College policy. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific criteria during the first week of classes.
Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.
An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:
| One mid-term exam | 30% |
| One annotated bibliography | 15% |
| One research project | 25% |
| One final exam | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
Students may conduct research with human participants as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans.
Examples of textbooks that may be used for this course include:
- Takacs, S. (2015). Interrogating Popular Culture: Key Questions. New York:Routledge.
- O’Brien, Susie and Imre Szeman (2013). Popular Culture: A User’s Guide. Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd.
- Danesi, Marcel (2012). Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc.
- Grazian, D. (2010). Mix It Up: Popular Culture, Mass Media, and Society. New York: W.W. Norton.
- Storey, John (2009). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. London: Pearson Longman.
- Storey, John (ed.) (2009). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader. London: Pearson Longman.
- Kotarba, Joseph and Phillip Vannini (2009). Understanding Society Through Popular Music. New York: Routledge.
- Becker, Howard S. (1982). Art Worlds. Berkley: University of California Press.