Popular Culture and Social Justice: An Introduction to American Studies
AMST 174
Spring 2022 not offered
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| Course Cluster and Certificates: 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: |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST)(EDST) |
Major Readings:
Sample reading list:
Bruce Burgett and Glenn Hendler, eds., KEYWORDS FOR AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES
Lisa Marie Cacho, SOCIAL DEATH: RACIALIZED RIGHTLESSNESS AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF THE UNPROTECTED
Nayan Shah, "POLICING PRIVACY, MIGRANTS, AND THE LIMITS OF FREEDOM"
Janelle Taylor, "SONOGRAPHERS AND THE MAKING OF THE PUBLIC FETUS"
Dean Spade, "UNDER THE COVER OF GAY RIGHTS"
Peter Singer, "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL"
Tobin Siebers, "WHAT CAN DISABILITY STUDIES LEARN FROM THE CULTURE WARS?"
Kim Tallbear, "NARRATIVES OF RACE AND INDIGENEITY IN THE GENOGRAPHIC PROJECT"
Ta-Nehisi Coates, "LETTER TO MY SON"
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Examinations and Assignments:
- Weekly Moodle posts
- In-class participation
- Midterm examination
- Final examination |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
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