AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE—Spring, 2005

Professor Allen Woll
Robeson Library 298 (6670/6671)
awoll@camden.rutgers.edu

If you would like a general introduction to the course, see:  Jim Cullen, The Art of Democracy

For information on library research resouces, go here:  http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~still/popcult.htm

January 19	Introduction
January 26	Clifford Geertz, “Deep Play, Notes on the Balinese Cockfight” Walter Benjamin, “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
February 2	No class
February 9	Michael Kammen, American Culture, American Taste
February 16	Levine, Highbrow, Lowbrow
February 23	Solvit, River of Shadows
March 2	Susan Douglas, Listening In
March 9	Popular Culture, Censorship, and the Movies:                                 Doherty, Pre-Code Hollywood                                 Black, Hollywood Censored Couvares, Movie Censorship and American Culture
March 23	Thomas Doherty, Cold War, Cool Medium
March 30	Scott McCloud, Reinventing Comics and Understanding Comics Bradford Wright, Comic Book Nation See also: http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/zot/heartsandminds.shtml (“Hearts and Minds”) http://www.zark.com/front/comics.html
April 6	Mark Grant, The Rise and Fall of the Broadway Musical
April 13	John Leland, Hip, the History
April 20	Henry Jenkins, Textual Poachers
April 27	Paul Starr, The Creation of the Media (Critical Paper Assignment)

Short papers on the readings will be announced two weeks in advance.  Class participation will be evaluated both in terms of quantity and quality.