Media & Popular Culture

Catalog description

This course will examine the organization of contemporary media and popular culture from a variety of sociological perspectives. Particular attention will be paid to the production and consumption of popular music, talk shows, and sporting events. There will be discussion on how fads spread through society, how our identities are shaped by and mediated through popular culture, and why the media focuses so much attention on seemingly mundane events. This class will examine how recent technological changes influence how we consume popular culture. We will utilize discussions of Nike, Netflix, Starbucks, videogames, nightlife in Philadelphia, Shakespeare, and digital gambling to understand how popular culture is organized.