HISTORY 166: POPULAR CULTURE Spring 2018 Instructor: Dr. Scott Lupo Location: BRH 214 Time: MW 12:00-1:15 p.m. Office Phone/Location: BRH 217/ 278-5323 E-mail: lupo@csus.edu Office Hours: Mon/Wed 11:00-11:50 a.m.; Thurs. 4:00-5:50 p.m. Catalog Description: Focuses on entertainment and everyday life in America from the beginnings to the present. Enhances the students understanding of how popular culture reflects and shapes the larger issues and institutions of American life. GE Category: Area E, Understanding Personal Development Course Description: This course traces the historical development of entertainment and everyday life in American history. It will enhance students understanding of how popular culture reflects and shapes the ways in which individuals perceive and understand their own identity and behavior in society. It examines external forces, particularly the media and the arts, and their effect on human development. The course also examines popular culture broadly and investigates how it is embedded in American institutions and tradition. It further encourages students to critically examine they ways in which they receive, perceive and express cultural messages. Area E Learning Goals: Students will demonstrate an understanding of academic content knowledge regarding self-development as a physiological, social and/or psychological being; Students will critically examine prior or current experiences or behaviors from their own lives in response to real world physiological, social, and/or psychological contexts (may be evident in self-assessment, reflection, or creative work); Students will apply skills and knowledge regarding development of the self to differing situations, such as real world challenges, and/or to make connections across perspectives. Area E Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to identify their own perspective and make connections/comparisons across perspectives; Students will be able to plan, monitor, and assess their own learning; Students will be able to set personal and/or professional goals. Couse-Specific Learning Objectives: In this course students will demonstrate an understanding of the following: A working definition of what popular culture is (as opposed to high or genteel culture, for instance) and how it developed in the United States from colonial times to the present
2 The role of popular culture in shaping an individual s identity over the course of a lifespan in relation to physiological, psychological and social context. How popular culture is often targeted to audiences with age-specific content (i.e. Disney films and advertisements that sell to children); the ways that popular culture serves as a resource for both creating and coping with frustrations stemming from unfulfilled desire throughout life (i.e. cult of beauty, youth, and wealth present in popular film). Popular Culture as expression of cultural dominance and/or cultural subversion; how popular culture may serve as an venue for cultural critique by marginalized outsiders (i.e. 1950s Youth Culture and Rock and Roll or African-American artists and Rap) but how these same expressions may also be re-shaped by corporate interests to facilitate mass marketing and to enhance profit; thereby creating a opening for new subcultures to challenge or re-interpret these dominant (and popular) forms. The multi-faceted nature of American popular culture; in particular how it is experienced/expressed in music, film, video, literature, and even in religion and politics and how it influences personal development and behavior. How many Americans -- representing diverse experiences -- have contributed to popular expressions of culture in the United States; in particular the contributions of women and African-Americans. The relationship between the expansion of a consumer-oriented economy after 1815, and the development of American popular culture; especially the rise of the culture of consumption that developed after World War II. Required Texts: Cullen, Jim, ed. Popular Culture in American History. Second Edition. Marling, Karal Ann. As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s. Jeffords, Susan. Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era. CLASS CALENDAR ---------------------------------------- Week of Jan 22 Lecture/ Discussion Topic Introduction to Popular Culture The Nature of History and Historical Writing
3 Popular Culture Defined Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Popular Culture Introduction, The Worldwide Web of Popular Culture, pp. 1-9. Jan 29 Feb 5 Feb 12 Feb 19 Colonial Culture Cultural Transmission in British North America Popular Reading in the Colonial Era Chapbooks and Captivity Narratives Outside Reading (handouts): Excerpts from the Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (1682) The Early and Mid-Nineteenth Century The Republic of Virtue: Ideals vs. Actual Behavior The Market Revolution and American Values in Transition The Stage: William Shakespeare in America Chapter 1, New News pp. 11-35. Chapter 2, The World of the Stage, pp. 37-66. The Late Nineteenth Century Minstrel Shows and Racial Identity Dime Novels, Masculinity, and Sport Popular Representations of the American West Chapter 3, The Racy Appeal of the Minstrel, pp. 67-88. Chapter 4, Western Values, pp. 91-113. The Turn of the Twentieth Century Amusement parks and Human Oddities Commercial Entertainment and Inter-generational Conflict New Immigrants and Motion Pictures Chapter 5, Moving Images, pp. 115-138.
Feb 26 Popular Representations of Culture in the 1920s The Professionalizing of Advertising Flappers, Fundamentalists, and Conceptions of Moral vs. Immoral Behavior Automobile, Romance, and Independence The Harlem Renaissance Chapter 6, Waves of Selling, pp. 139-181 4 March 5 March 7 Popular Culture during the Great Depression and World War II Popular Politics: FDR and the New Deal Popular Media and Cultural Mores During Depression and War The Development of a Celebrity Culture Chapter 7, The Firmament of Stardom, pp. 183-215 MIDTERM EXAM WEDNESDAY MARCH 7 Bring Blue (or Green) Book March 12 The Early Postwar Era, 1945-1963 Cold War hysteria Materialism, Suburbia, and Consumption Images of Women in Visual Culture Chapter 8, Seeing Television, pp. 217-239. Reading from Marling: Read As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s MARCH 19-23 March 26 SPRING BREAK MARCH 19-23 NO CLASS The Early Postwar Era, 1945-1963 continued Critics of the Consumer Culture Rebel Without a Cause and American Popular Culture Reading from Marling: Read As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s Movie: In-class presentation of Rebel without a Cause
April 2 April 9 April 16 April 23 Social Unrest and Cultural Production in the 1960s The War in Vietnam and Social Unrest Space in the Popular imagination Popular Music and Political Values Reading from Marling: Read As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s Video Presentation Video to Be Announced Once the Dust Settled: The 1970s and a Thing Called Postmodernism Nixon, Watergate, and the evolving political culture Popular music, Fashion, and Taste Evolving Ideas of Gender Southern culture becomes Popular Culture The Increasing Influence of Theory Reading: Read Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era Video: Video to Be Announced It s All Image Now: Ronald Reagan and the 1980s Ronald Reagan: The Actor as Politician Expressions of Masculinity and Femininity in Popular Movies Staging Reality in a Postmodern World Reading from Jeffords: Read Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era Chapter 9, Rapping Hip-Hop, pp. 241-259. Other Reading: Ernest Sternberg, The Economy of Icons (handout 4 pages) Popular Representations of Culture in the 1990s The Promotion of Diverse Cultural Expressions Bill Clinton and Popular Politics Popular Music, Movies, and Fashion Reading from Jeffords: Read Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era 5
Chapter 19, Tangled Web, pp. 261-277. 6 April 30 May 7 May 9 2000 and Beyond : Conspiracy Theories, Alien Visitations, and Other Contemporary Manifestations of Popular Culture Conspiracy Theories and Societal Paranoia Alien Visitations and Abductions What does it all mean? Finding explanations Reading/Video: To Be Announced The End: Visions of Apocalypse in American Popular Culture The Prevalence of Apocalyptic Thought and How it Informs Behavior Secular and Religious Apocalypses Manifestations of Apocalypse in Popular Culture The Social and Psychological Challenges of Living in an Apocalyptic Age Other Reading: Daniel Wojcik, Approaching Doomsday: The Contours of American Apocalyptic Belief (handout) SUMMARY PAPER DUE NO LATER THAN THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON WEDNESDAY MAY 9. LATE PAPERS OR ELECTRONIC COPIES ARE NOT ACCEPTED. COURSE POLICIES Attendance: Attendance is expected, and you should not come to class late. If you need to miss a class meeting, the absence should be cleared with the instructor since attendance will be taken into account when determining your final grade in the course. No "benefit of the doubt" (i.e. the rounding up of borderline grades such as 89.5, 79.5 etc.) will be extended to the final grades of students with unexcused absences, or to students who fail to contribute to course discussion. More than three unexcused absences could affect your final grade in the course. Class Participation: You are expected to contribute to class discussion throughout the course, and your participation in discussion is 10% of your course grade. Failure to partake in discussion or to fulfill assignments from the texts will result in a reduced grade for the course.
Grades: Your final grade in the course is determined by: 7 1. The completion of all assigned reading 2. The completion of one in-class exam 3. One 7-10 page paper (double-spaced with standard margins and font) or two-book reviews 4. The completion of a take-home Summary Paper 5. Participation in class discussion All assignments must be completed in order to receive a passing grade in the course. Percentages are distributed as follows: Midterm 30% 7-10 page paper (or two book reviews @ 15% each) 30% Summary Paper 30% Class participation 10% The final course grade is determined by obtaining an average of your performance on the exam, Summary Paper, writing assignment, and class participation. The grading scale is as follows: 100-93%=A 92-90%=A- 89-87%=B+ 86-83%=B 82-80%=B- 79-77%=C+ 76-73%=C 72-70%=C- 69-67%=D+ 66-63%=D 62-60%=D- 59 and below=f Midterm Examination: The Midterm Exam will be writing intensive (essay, short answer, identification). The instructor will announce the structure of an upcoming exam in advance. Each exam will include material from both the lecture and the texts. It is essential for you to regularly attend lectures, participate in class discussion, and complete all assigned reading when preparing for the Midterm exam. You should not miss the exam. If you are absent on the day the exam, that absence must be excused by the instructor. An unexcused absence for the day of the exam will result in failure of the course since completion of all course requirements is a prerequisite to receiving a passing grade in the course. A person with an excused absence who misses an exam has two options: (a) take the missed exam within one week after absence or (b) increase the percentage of the comprehensive final to compensate for the missed exam(s). In order to receive an excused absence for an exam, you must present clear evidence that an
excused absence is warranted. 8 The Writing Assignment students have two options when completing the course writing assignment: (A) A 7-10 page paper: This assignment is worth 30% of your grade and is due no later than April 23. Late papers will not be accepted. Requirements are as follows: (a) you must select a specific issue for investigation (broadly conceived topics such as women in 1950s popular culture or Andy Warhol s Life are not acceptable). (b) your paper should focus on the critical analysis of a primary source (a piece of art, a CD excerpted memoirs of a noted individual, an episode of a television sitcom etc.) in which you demonstrate the relationship between the source and its historical context; (c) you must support your analysis of the primary source through the use of at least three secondary works (books or journal articles related to your topic and written by scholars -- you may use the texts for the course only if they relate specifically to your topic). Possible topics include a literary analysis of Jack Kerouac s On The Road, gender roles during the 1950s as exemplified by an episode of Leave it to Beaver, or the nature of the disco craze of the 1970s as evidenced by a specific song or group. Papers must be from 7 to 10 typed pages in length (standard margins and font), and include either endnotes or footnotes documenting the sources. While you may choose a topic that interests you, instructor approval is required. A brief written proposal (guidelines will be given in class) of the intended topic is due no later than March 5. Late proposals are not accepted, and you may not change your topic after final approval has been granted. OR (B) Alternatively, in lieu of a research paper, students may complete two book reviews (of roughly 3 double-spaced pages each) of two of the course texts, Karal Ann Marling's As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s and Susan Jefford's Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era. Each review will be worth 15% of your grade (for a total of 30%). Guidelines for the book reviews will be given in class, but the first review is due no later than March 14 and the second review is due no later than April 23. With instructor approval you may substitute one of the course texts with a book of your choice (covering a topic in American popular culture). The Summary Paper: This is a take-home analytical paper based on the readings and material covered in class lectures. No library research is required. The question(s) to be addressed in the summary paper will be distributed well in advance of the due date. The final date for which the
summary paper will be accepted is Wednesday May 9. Further details will be given in class. The Summary Paper is worth 30% of the course grade. Policy on Academic Dishonesty: Evidence of a student cheating on an exam or plagiarism (passing another's work off as one's own) in the case of the writing assignments will result in failure of the course. All cases of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Student Conduct Officer in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. Learning Assistance Statement: If you have a documented disability and verification from the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities (SSWD), and wish to discuss academic accommodation, please contact the professor as soon as possible. It is the student s responsibility to provide documentation of disability to SSWD and meet with a SSWD counselor to request special accommodation before classes start. SSWD is located in Lassen Hall 1008 and can be contacted by phone at (916) 278-6955 (voice), (916) 278-7239 (TDD only) or via email at sswd@csus.edu. 9