Popular Culture and Social Justice: An Introduction to American Studies
AMST 174
Fall 2018 not offered
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| Course Cluster: Animal Studies, Disability Studies, Queer Studies, Sustainability and Environmental Justice |
This course explores the interlocking histories of popular culture and social justice in the 20th- and 21st-century United States, with particular focus from mid-century to the current moment. By focusing on the ways in which social justice movements and ideologies have utilized and been informed by trends in art, film, television, music, and commercialism, we will interrogate critical concepts in the field of American studies, such as citizenship, belonging, difference, and equality. Topics covered will include feminism(s), antilynching, civil rights, labor and poverty, pro-choice, disability rights, queer liberation, leftism and countercultures, environmentalism, and animal rights.
Questions addressed will include, How has popular culture both advanced and hindered the progress of social justice movements? How has the idea of "social justice" changed over time? Which groups are included? What aims are articulated? How has the media portrayed and influenced social and political problems, and how has the rise of new media (from radio to television to the Internet and beyond) created new spaces for debating power and inequality? |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS AMST |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST)(EDST) |
Major Readings:
Excerpts from (samples):
Carol J. Adams, THE SEXUAL POLITICS OF MEAT: A FEMINIST-VEGETARIAN CRITICISM
Bruce Burdgett and Glen Hendler, eds., KEYWORDS FOR AMERICAN STUDIES
Lisa Marie Cacho, SOCIAL DEATH: RACIALIZED RIGHTLESSNESS AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF THE UNPROTECTED
Karen Dubinsky, BABIES WITHOUT BORDERS: ADOPTION AND MIGRATION ACROSS THE AMERICAS
Richard Goldstein, HOMOCONS: THE RISE OF THE GAY RIGHT
Jasbir Puar, TERRORIST ASSEMBLAGES: HOMONATIONALISM IN QUEER TIMES
Janelle Taylor, THE PUBLIC LIFE OF THE FETAL SONOGRAM
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Examinations and Assignments:
In class participation, 25%; Moodle posts, 20%; midterm examination, 25%; final paper, 30%. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Attendance |
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