FMMC/AMST 0355 - Theories of Popular Culture

Professor Jason Mittell, Axinn 208, 443-3435

Office Hours: Mon 11-12 / Wed 1:30-2:30 / or by appointment at http://meetme.so/JasonMittell

Class Meetings: T/Th 11:00am - 12:15pm, Axinn 104

Tues 7:30 - 10:30 pm, Twilight Auditorium

This course introduces a range of theoretical approaches to study popular culture, exploring the intersection between everyday life, mass media, and broader political and historical contexts within the United States. We will consider key theoretical readings and approaches to studying culture, including ideology and hegemony theory, political economy, audience studies, subcultural analysis, the politics of taste, and cultural representations of identity. Using these theoretical tools, we will examine a range of popular media and sites of cultural expression, from television to toys, technology to music, to understand popular culture as a site of ongoing political and social struggle.

Learning Goals:

• Gain familiarity with major theoretical approaches to the study of popular culture, viewing the development of theory as part of a historical dialogue
• Develop critical reading skills for dense theoretical writings
• Learn to apply various theoretical approaches to examples of popular culture, using appropriate methodologies and effective writing
• Foster a critical perspective on popular culture that balances critique and appreciation

Note that this syllabus is a living document that will change throughout the semester – always consult the online version for the latest information.

Required Texts & Readings - Books available at Middlebury College Bookstore:

Will Brooker, Using the Force: Creativity, Community and Star Wars Fans (New York: Continuum, 2002).

John Storey, Cultural Theory & Popular Culture: An Introduction, 6th edition (Routledge, 2012). [CTPC]

Carl Wilson, Let's Talk About Love: Why Other People Have Such Bad Taste, expanded edition (New York: Bloomsbury, 2014).

Note: It is the student’s responsibility to get access to a copy for assigned readings. All books are on reserve and easily available at online bookstores.

Other required readings will be available via Moodle. Screenings will be required for this course each Tuesday night; if missed, it is up to each student to make arrangements to screen the required materials at the library before Thursday’s class.

Course Requirements:

This is a College Writing course, meaning that there will be a significant amount of writing required throughout the semester. If you do not complete all of the essays, you will not pass the course:

Essay #1 – Judging Pop Culture

Essay #2 – Analyzing Pop Culture

Essay #3 – Audience Analysis

Revision of Essay #2 or #3

Final Essay

Reading Responses

Grades will also factor students’ participation reflecting work both in-class and online.

Assignment details will be on the course Moodle website throughout the semester.

Reading Responses:

The majority of readings for this course are scholarly articles and chapters. To help you develop the skill of being able to identify and engage with scholarly arguments, you will write short reading responses throughout the semester. Each week, you will write a response, of at least 300 words, to one article in that week’s readings. They may be on any assigned articles or chapters except for those marked in the syllabus with ** (note that chapters from John Storey’s book cannot be the primary topic for a reading response, but you should feel free to refer to Storey when discussing other articles). Responses must be posted to Moodle by 8 am the morning of the class meeting for which the article is assigned. You will not receive credit for late postings of reading responses unless you have been absent from class for an excused reason and have made specific arrangements with Professor Mittell. You may choose which days and articles you will write about, but you must have submitted at least 10 responses by the end of the semester to receive full credit for this assignment. You may not write more than one response for the readings assigned for any one day, even if there are multiple articles.

Reading response papers should accomplish two basic goals: they should briefly summarize the argument(s) of the chosen reading and give you a chance to respond intellectually to this argument. The first paragraph should be an abstract of the essay, summarizing at least one main point and argument from the reading. The second paragraph should connect the reading to your own thoughts, to other examples, to previous readings, to screenings, or other elements related to the course. Responses that simply summarize a reading without exploring any of your own thoughts will be graded down. Responses that discuss interesting issues that emerge from the reading are encouraged, but you must tie these thoughts to the readings and your summary of the argument, not just launch into a tangent. These responses are not “thought journals,” but they should provide you an opportunity to present your own reaction to these issues in written form. Writing style and form is important, so be sure to take time to edit and proofread responses, although your writing style may be more informal than the more formal essay assignments – as long as you seriously engage with the relevant issues.

Reading responses will be posted to discussion threads that are visible to the entire class, and students are expected to read and comment on each other’s responses. Each week’s response forums will be assessed out of a potential 6 points: a reading response can get up to 4 points, while comments on each other’s posts can gain additional points up to a total of 6. The final reading response grade will be out of a potential 60 points.

Class Participation & Attendance:

You are expected to attend all class meetings on time, having done the readings, thought about the material, and prepared the necessary assignments. Attendance will be regularly taken, but it is the individual student’s responsibility to attend class in order to gain the most from their education. If a student misses a class, it is up to them to find out what they missed from their classmates and make-up the necessary material. Your final grade will be lowered one mark (B becomes B–) for each unexcused absence in excess of two. If you know that you will be absent from class or screenings, please contact Professor Mittell as soon as possible to make necessary arrangements and avoid penalties.

The class participation component of your grade will reward students who actively participate in class, meet with the professor outside of class, and otherwise demonstrate their engagement with the material. Likewise, this grade will be used to downgrade students who are clearly disengaged with the class or fail to uphold their end of the course policies.

Grades:

You will be graded based on the following scale, using a 4.0 scale on all assignments:

• A (4.0) indicates truly excelling on assignments, demonstrating mastery of the material and significantly surpassing the expectations of the assignment.
• B (3.0) indicates above-average work, clearly achieving the course goals and completing all assignments in a strong fashion.
• C (2.0) indicates satisfactorily meeting the course requirements in an adequate fashion.
• D (1.0) indicates not achieving course goals and not adequately meeting expectations.
• F (0.0) indicates dramatically failing to meet course goals and course expectations.

Submitting Work:

Late papers are highly discouraged, as they throw off schedules for both student and professor. If you must hand in any assignment later than the deadline, please contact the professor in advance as soon as the situation becomes apparent – together arrangements can be made, often without penalties. If a paper is not turned in on time without making advance arrangements with Professor Mittell or a Dean’s excuse, the paper will be penalized by one mark (e.g. an A- becomes a B+) for each day of lateness.All papers should be submitted via Moodle as an attached .doc or .rtf file format document. Please do NOT slip papers under the door to Professor Mittell’s office.

Cutting You Some Slack:

College is one of the few situations in life where the expectations are clearly laid out and the consequences for meeting or missing those expectations is transparent. The grading system and workload has been designed to be as fair and straightforward as possible, allowing students to choose how to prioritize the class versus other obligations or interests. However, there may be times that things become challenging and you want to ask for some leniency. One time per semester, students may request to be cut some slack, resulting in a more flexible attitude toward grading or other policies. Simply write on an assignment, or send an email describing the request, with the phrase “please cut me some slack” - Professor Mittell will adjust his expectations accordingly. Slack cannot be requested after a grade has been given, nor will it apply toward honor code violations.

Academic Dishonesty:

All work you submit must be your own and you may not inappropriately assist other students in their work beyond the confines of a particular assignment, in keeping with the Middlebury College Honor Code. All papers and exams must include the statement of the Honor Code along with the student’s name (as a digital signature) in order to be graded. There is a no-tolerance policy for academic misconduct in this course! The minimum penalty for academic misconduct will be a failing grade (F) for the course – further academic and disciplinary penalties may be assessed. The definitions of plagiarism and cheating used in this course are consistent with the material in the College Handbook, Chapter V.

Course Policies:
Any student with a disability or who otherwise needs accommodation or assistance should make arrangements with Professor Mittell as soon as possible. If you know that you will have conflicts due to athletics or other college activities, you must notify Professor Mittell in advance and arrange to make up missed work – athletic absences are not excused and it is the student’s responsibility to make all arrangements.

Email is Professor Mittell’s preferred mode of communication (besides face-to-face conversation!), generally checking regularly during the work week – if you email him asking for a response and do not receive one within one working day (M-F), assume that your email may not have been received. Office voicemails will typically be answered less promptly. Please do not call Professor Mittell at home.

Printing & Computer Use Policy:
Writing assignments for this course are submitted via the course website, with no printing required. Many readings are online – students are welcome to print or not print at their choosing, with the understanding that students should take notes on electronic readings either via digital annotation or separate notebook or word processing file. You should bring assigned readings to class each day, either via paper or on a laptop screen. Feel free to use laptops throughout all class meetings except during screenings, where the light from the screen can disrupt the viewing experience. If you are on your laptop, you are expected to engage with course materials, not free-range surfing the web, checking email, Facebook, etc. Students who do not demonstrate engaged presence in class, whether via digital distractions or otherwise, will be penalized in the course participation grade, or even asked to leave class in extreme instances.

Course Schedule

February 10 – Introduction to Popular Culture

SCREENING – The Joe Schmo Show 2, “On with the Schmo” (2004) - PN1992.77 .J64 v.2 2009D 

High Fidelity (2000) – PN1997.H4556 A1 2000D

February 12 – Culture & Civilization Tradition

READINGS: John Storey, CTPC, Ch. 1 – 2**

Matthew Arnold, “Culture and Anarchy”

Dwight Macdonald, “Theory of Mass Culture”

February 17 – Culturalism

READINGS: John Storey, CTPC, Ch. 3**

Raymond Williams, “The Analysis of Culture”

Lawrence Levine, ”William Shakespeare and the American People”

SCREENING – The Joe Schmo Show 2, “A Bottle of Red, A Bottle of White” (2004) –

PN1992.77 .J64 v.2 2009D

My Darling Clementine (1946) – PN1997.M888 A1 2007D

February 19 – Semiotics & Structuralism

READINGS: John Storey, CTPC, Ch. 6**

John Fiske, ”Surfalism & Sandiotics: The Beach in Oz Culture”

Tom Streeter, “Semiotics & Advertising” online tutorial **

Guy Deutscher, ”Does Your Language Shape How You Think?”

February 24 – Structuralism & Myth

READINGS: Roland Barthes, “Myth Today”

Will Wright, “The Structure of Myth & the Structure of the Western Film”

WRITING:    Essay #1 due via Moodle before class 2/24

SCREENING – The Joe Schmo Show 2, “The Crisis” (2004) - PN1992.77 .J64 v.2 2009D

Casablanca (1942) – PN1997.C352 A1 2008B

Feb 25 – EVENT: Ryan Koo ’03 discusses “How to Be a Filmmaker / Entrepreneur,” 4:30pm, Axinn 232

February 26 – Marxism & Frankfurt School

READINGS: John Storey, CTPC, Ch. 4**

Karl Marx & Fredrich Engels, “The Ruling Class and the Ruling Ideas”

Theodor Adorno & Max Horkhiemer, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception”

Herbert Schiller, “The Corporation and the Production of Culture”

March 3 – Ideology

READINGS: Louis Althusser, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses”

Jean-Louis Comolli & Jean Narboni, “Cinema / Ideology / Criticism”

Robert Ray, “The Culmination of Classic Hollywood: Casablanca”

SCREENING – The Joe Schmo Show 2, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (2004) –

PN1992.77 .J64 v.2 2009D

Tootsie (1982) – PN1997.T62 A1 2008D

March 5 – Hegemony & Post-Marxism

READINGS: Tony Bennett, “Popular Culture and the ‘turn to Gramsci’”

Stuart Hall, “Notes on Deconstructing the Popular”

Deborah Holdstein, “Tootsie: Mixed Messages”

EVENT:  Style Wars screening with director Henry Chalfant, 3/5, 4:30pm, Dana Auditorium

March 10 – Negotiation

READINGS: Stuart Hall, “Encoding/Decoding”

Christine Gledhill, “Pleasurable Negotiations”

David Morley, “Theories of Consumption in Media Studies”

SCREENING – The Joe Schmo Show 2, “Porked and Beans” (2004) - PN1992.77 .J64 v.2 2009D

Die Hard (1988) – PN1997.D489 A1 2007B

March 12 – Case Study: Die Hard

READINGS: Susan Jeffords, “Hard Bodies: The Reagan Hero”

Paul Cohen, “Cowboys Die Hard”

John Fiske & Robert Dawson, “Audiencing Violence”

March 17 – Realism & Popular Culture

READINGS: Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility”

Nick Couldry, “Teaching Us to Fake It”

Allison Hearn, “Hoaxing ‘The Real’”

SCREENING – The Joe Schmo Show 2, “Requiem for a Frog” (2004) - PN1992.77 .J64 v.2 2009D

Animal House (1978) – PN1997 .A45 A1 2008D 

March 19 – The Politics of the Carnivalesque

READINGS: Mikhail Bakhtin, “Carnival & Carnivalesque”

Kathleen Rowe, “Pig Ladies, Big Ladies”

Priscilla Meddaugh, “Bakhtin, Colbert, and the Center of Discourse”

WRITING: Essay #2 due before class 3/19

March 22-29 – Spring Break

March 30 – EVENT: Linda Williams, “On The Wire: Serial, Television, Melodrama,” Axinn 232, 12:15pm

March 31 – The Cultural Studies Paradigm

READINGS: Gilbert Rodman, “Cultural Studies: What It Is”

Will Brooker, Using the Force, Preface - Ch. 7

WATCH ON OWN:  Star Wars (1977) - PN1997.S65956 A1 2004D

Star Wars Uncut (2009)

SCREENING – The Joe Schmo Show 2, “Cruiser” (2004) - PN1992.77 .J64 v.2 2009D

George Lucas In Love (2000) – PN1997.G4323 A1 2000D

The People Vs. George Lucas (2011) – reserve

April 2 – Researching Audiences

READINGS: Will Brooker, Using the Force, finish book

Joke Hermes, “Audience Studies 2.0”

Jonathan Gray, “New Audiences, New Textualities”

WRITING: Proposal for Final Research Paper due before class 4/2

April 7 – Feminism & Popular Culture

READINGS: John Storey, CTPC, Ch. 7**

Lana Rakow, “Feminist Approaches to Popular Culture

Judith Butler, “Bodily Inscriptions, Performative Subversions”

SCREENING – The Joe Schmo Show 2, “T.J. Needs T.P.” (2004) - PN1992.77 .J64 v.2 2009D

Barbie Nation (1998) – NK4894.3.B37 B475 2007D

The Simpsons, “Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy” (1994) - PN1992.77 .S58 v.5 2004D

Superstar: Karen Carpenter Story (1987) – online

April 9 – Case Study: Barbie

READINGS: Lynn Spigel, “Barbies without Ken”

Mary Desjardins, “The Incredible Shrinking Star”

Michael Idov, “This is not a Barbie Doll”**

April 14 – Race & Representation

READINGS: John Storey, CTPC, Ch. 8**

Stuart Hall, “New Ethnicities”

Richard Dyer, “White”

SCREENING – The Joe Schmo Show 2, “Finale” part 1 (2004) - PN1992.77 .J64 v.2 2009D

Bamboozled (2001) – PN1997.B25744 A1 2001D

April 16 – Identity and Intersectionality

READINGS: bell hooks, “The Oppositional Gaze”

Victoria Piehowski, "'Business as Usual': Sex, Race and Work in Spike Lee's Bamboozled"

Bamboozled Symposium (transcribed in readings folder)

WRITING: Essay #3 due by Moodle before class 4/16

April 21 – Poststructuralism and Discourse

READINGS: review Storey, CTPC, pp. 128-135**

Michel Foucault, “Truth and Power”

Chris Weedon, “Feminism & the Principles of Poststructuralism”

Stuart Hall, “On Postmodernism and Articulation”

SCREENING – The Joe Schmo Show 2, “Finale” part 2 (2004) - PN1992.77 .J64 v.2 2009D

Twin Peaks, “Pilot” (1990) – PN1992.77 .T88 2007D

The Simpsons, “Simpsons Spin-off Showcase” (1994) - PN1992.77 .S58 v.8 2006D

April 23 – Postmodernism

READINGS: John Storey, CTPC, Ch. 9**

Jean Baudrillard, “The Precession of Simulacra”

Jim Collins, “Television and Postmodernism”

Fredric Jameson, “Postmodernism & Consumer Society”

April 28 – Taste and Popular Culture

READINGS: Carl Wilson, Let's Talk About Love, p. 1-163

Choose 5 of the responses to Wilson to read, plus his Afterword (281-296)

LISTEN ON OWN: Céline Dion, “Let's Talk About Love”

SCREENING – Almost Famous (Bootleg Cut) (2000) – PN1997.A3248 A1 2001bD

April 30 – Politics of the Popular

READINGS: John Storey, CTPC, Ch. 10**

Pierre Bourdieu, “Distinction & The Aristocracy of Culture”

John Fiske, “The Popular Economy”

Marco Roth, “Too Much Sociology” (in Let’s Talk About Love)

Lester Bangs, “Astral Weeks” **

May 5 – Videos of Real Violence

READINGS: John Fiske, "Los Angeles: A Tale of Three Videos"

Lilie Chouliaraki, "Ordinary Witnessing in Post-Television News"

SCREENING – The LEGO Movie (2014) - PN1997.2.L4456 A1 2014B

May 7 – Opening Up Our Toolbox

No readings - everyone contribute to Moodle discussion about The LEGO Movie

WRITING: Revisions of essay #2 is due by class on 5/7; if revising essay #3, it's due by 5/15.

Final Research Essay due by noon, Friday, May 15

Graduating seniors absolutely MUST hand in papers on time (and preferably early)!