MEDIA AND CULTURE (ZUR 436)
PROFESSOR ELAVSKY


MAKING SENSE OF CULTURE TODAY
¡Poland is trying to rewrite history with this controversial new holocaust law
¡'Black Panther' crushes box office records in opening weekend
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WHY THEORIZE AND ANALYZE?
¡Theory
¡a framework or set of ideas that transcends the individual example, but that cannot be proven
¡the “right answer,” vs. exploring how any given theory helps provide insights and new ways of
understanding; theory as part of an ongoing process of discovery, not an absolute progression
toward truth
¡theory as a tool to be put into practice, not an object of study on its own (academia)
¡no single theory can explain everything about a text; critics need a range of theoretical tools
and approaches to be able to answer specific questions and address particular analyses (often in
dialogue with other theoretical frameworks)
¡What can we learn about our world at a deeper level?
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¡Goals
¡be inspired to rethink cultural objects/texts/meanings
¡come away from this cass with more awareness about your own underlying frameworks and assumptions
used when you consume (and produce) culture

CULTURAL THEORY
¡Culturalism,
¡Marxism;  Frankfurt School
¡Structuralism/Poststructuralism,
¡Postmodernism,
¡Postcolonialism,
¡Identity Politics,
¡Critical Sociology/Practice Theory
¡Ideology
¡Semiotics
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CULTURE, IDEOLOGY, AND SYMBOLIC MEANING
¡Culture/Popular Culture:
¡A general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development
¡A particular way of life
¡Works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity (signifying practices)
¡Ideology
¡A systematic body of ideas articulated by a particular group of people
¡A masking, distortion, or concealment (false consciousness/power relations)
¡Form/Texts (signification)
¡Connotative operations
¡Material practice (“practice” of everyday life)
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GROUPS
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¡Bečáková, Klára; Čížová, Iveta; Filanová, Petra – week 4
¡Mikešová, Marianna; Skopalová, Markéta; Kříž, Jan – week 4
¡Hornová, Pavlína; Havlík, Tomáš; Skalická, Veronika – week 5
¡Yalvacli, Volkan; Ryšavá, Monika; Forethová, Monika - week 6
¡Fiero, Alana Rose; Poledníková, Hana; Hambálek, Tomáš – week 7
¡Kubicová, Tatiana; Žiaranová, Monika; Bořutová, Martina – week 8
¡Chumchalová, Markéta; Singer, Jan; Vaisová, Michaela – week 8
¡Soto Castro, Yessenia Lizbeth, Fašalek, Patricija; Martinková, Helga – week 9
¡Holotíková, Tereza; Spoustová, Martina; Weinlichová, Markéta – week 10
¡Kovářová, Veronika; Tichá, Radka; Daňková, Aneta – week 10
¡Pichaničová, Petra; Chroustová, Aneta; Vyklická, Jana – week 11
¡Valentíková, Martina; Krošláková, Laura; Sittová, Barbora – week 12
¡Ševčíková, Kateřina; Reisiglová, Michaela; Fuente Robles, Marina Inmaculada – week 12
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ASSIGNMENT FOR NEXT WEEK
¡Meet with your group for coffee/beers
¡Introduce yourself
¡Introduce yourself (where you are from, why you are here, what you hope to get from this course)
¡Your favorite cultural/media interests/dislikes
¡Discuss your previous engagement with cultural theory/media analysis
¡Map our your approach to your presentation (who is doing what)
¡Deposit your 3 page summary online (HW vault) by 3.3.2018
¡everyone writes a page about your groupmates; one document (include an outline of your approach)
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DETAILS
¡Syllabus
¡Readings/Schoology
¡Introductions – Boris Rafailov
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