Live Long and Prosper: Cultural Sociology and Star Trek

Catalog description

This class is an introduction to the way that sociologists study the cultural dimensions of the social world. Our overview of cultural sociology will draw in episodes from the Star Trek franchise. We will survey contemporary sociological approaches to analyzing culture; along the way, we will trace and discuss the way that culture and meanings are produced, disseminated, interpreted and used by social actors. We will investigate how cultural objects are produced in mass media industries, how social boundaries and social hierarchies (such as those based on gender, race and class) are created through the consolidation of cultural categories, and how social practices related to the consumption of cultural objects have become a central facet of life in modern societies. All levels of familiarity, with Star Trek and with cultural sociology are welcome.