ZURb1220 Media and popular culture

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2022
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Iveta Jansová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Kateřina Kirkosová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. et Mgr. Kateřina Kirkosová, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 12:00–13:40 AVC
Prerequisites
Interest in the topic and willingness to participate in the seminar discussions.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 1/20, only registered: 1/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 35 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The aim of this course is to acquaint students with the basic concepts of cultural studies and learn how to apply them to diverse products of popular culture including computer games, music videos, Hollywood films, bestselling novels, subcultural styles, etc. In the first part of the course, the course presents the historical context of thinking about culture, its products, and layers. We will explain the terminological and conceptual differences between folk culture, mass culture, mascult, and midcult, kitsch, cultural industry, and popular culture and demonstrate them through works of the Frankfurt and Birmingham school proponents. We will discuss the common starting points of both schools (Marxist inspiration for studying culture) and time-dependent differences between them (the influence of poststructuralism on the partial reorientation of the second generation of Birmingham school). Starting from this robust, yet contextually and theoretically instructed basis, we will focus on the key concepts as well as the analytical constructs of cultural studies. Special attention is paid to both the production and reception practice of encoding and decoding cultural products. The course is composed of a combination of lectures and seminars: both discussions over presented concepts and their practical application is regarded as important. Crucial is the active approach of students in the seminar discussions.
Learning outcomes
After successful completion of the course the student will be able to: Distinguish between different ways of historical and actual thinking about popular culture. Explain terms such as folk culture, mass culture, cultural industry, mascult and midcult, kitsch and popular culture, to understand their key definition elements and application limits. Use key concepts of cultural studies for critical reflection or analysis of popular culture products encountered in both the normal user and research analyst. Write a basic analysis of popular culture product in the form of a professional text. Demonstrate the importance of studying culture as an integral part of everyday life, as a space for discursive negotiation of cultural and wider social standards, values and policies.
Syllabus
  • Course syllabus:
  • 1. Introduction - lecturers, students, and the course
  • 2. From folk to popular culture: historical recapitulation of conceptualization of culture.
  • 3. Exploiting and Banalizing Culture Industry: Frankfurt School.
  • 4. Emergence of popular culture: Birmingham School.
  • 5. Mythology, discourse, and politics of representation: Poststructuralist approaches to exploring the popular culture.
  • 6. Ideology, hegemony, articulation: conforming status quo in popular culture
  • 7. STUDY WEEK
  • 8. Active audiences, reading popular culture (encoding/decoding and "ethnographic turn" in studying audiences)
  • 9. Intersectional identity: ethnicity, orientalism, (cultural) racism
  • 10. Intersectional identity: gender and sexuality
  • 11. Subculture, fandom, lifestyle.
  • 12. Resistance and its inscription in hegemony: patriarchy, capitalism, postfeminism
  • 13. Oral exam in a form of group discussions
Literature
  • Crenshaw, Kiberle. 1991. „Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color.“ Pp. 1241‒1299 in Stanford Law Review, 43(6).
  • Hall, Stuart ([1973] 1980): 'Encoding/decoding'. In Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (Ed.): Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, 1972-79.London: Hutchinson.
  • Connell, Raewyn – Messerschimdt, James W. 2005. „Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the Concept.“ Pp. 829-859 in Gender and Society, 19(6).
  • STOREY, John. Cultural theory and popular culture : a reader. Fourth edition. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2009, xxi, 671. ISBN 9781405874212. info
  • BARKER, Chris. Cultural studies : theory and practice. Edited by Paul E. Willis. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2008, xxiv, 525. ISBN 9781412924160. info
  • WALTON, David. Introducing cultural studies : learning through practice. Edited by Brian Longhurst. London: SAGE, 2008, x, 323. ISBN 1405858435. info
  • MUGGLETON, David. Inside subculture : the postmodern meaning of style. First published. Oxford: Berg, 2000, viii, 198. ISBN 9781859733523. info
  • STRINATI, Dominic. An introduction to theories of popular culture. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 1998, xviii, 301. ISBN 0415124700. info
  • FISKE, John. Reading the popular. Repr. London: Routledge, 1997, xi, 228. ISBN 041507875X. info
  • TURNER, Graeme. British cultural studies : an introduction. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 1996, vi, 258. ISBN 0415129303. info
  • SARUP, Madan. An introductory guide to post-structuralism and postmodernism. 2nd ed. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1993, xiii, 206. ISBN 0820315311. info
  • HEBDIGE, Dick. Subculture. The Meaning of Style. London: Routledge, 1991, 208 pp. Vyd. 2. ISBN 0-415-03949. info
Teaching methods
Lecture, seminar, presentation and discussion, teamwork.
Assessment methods
For passing the course students need to: attend, be active in seminars and pass the oral exam in a form of group discussions
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2022/ZURb1220