Culture Jamming & Creative Media Activism

In this course we will study the practice of cultural resistance in the US after the Cold War, focusing mainly on creative media activism (culture jamming, subvertising, hashtag campaigns, etc.) directed against consumer capitalism. Discussions will be informed by critical theory (Adorno, Ahmed, Jenkins) and will explore fiction film (Fight Club), artwork (Banksy, Rodríguez-Gerada), and activist campaigns (Adbusters). Which cultural resistance strategies have worked well and why? How have corporations and the government responded to them? Students will craft their own culture jams and, as a group, work on a creative media activist campaign.