Name: _______________________________________________
California State University, Northridge
Fall 2008
English 313: Popular Culture
Instructor: Ian Barnard <http://www.csun.edu/~ib5991>
Office Hours in ST 834: W 3:30-5:30 p.m., and by appt.
Email Office Hours: ian.barnard@csun.edu
Student Learning Outcomes:
You will
1. Understand and engage with current scholarly debate about popular culture in a
variety of media
2. Understand and engage with the history of popular culture studies, and various
scholarly methodologies of engaging with popular culture
3. Develop nuanced critical and/or creative analyses of popular culture
texts/genres/media/artists and their audiences
4. Understand the political and other stakes in teaching, studying, creating, and
consuming popular culture in a global context
Required Texts:
Doty, Alexander. Making Things Perfectly Queer: Interpreting Mass Culture.
Eminem. The Marshall Mathers LP. (CD.)
Radway, Janice. Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature.
Roth, Eli, dir. Hostel. (DVD.)
Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. 4th ed.
Course Requirements and Grade Distribution:
1. Collaborative oral presentation:
2. 5 WebCT Discussion posts:
3. Mini-Ethnography:
20%
50%
30%
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
9993- 90- 87- 83- 80- 77- 73- 70- 67- 63- 60- 0100% 98% 92% 89% 86% 82% 79% 76% 72% 69% 66% 62% 59%
Participation
Since this is a discussion-based course, I expect you to read/view all assigned texts
carefully and critically, and participate vigorously in class discussions, including small
group workshops. Obviously you need to be prepared for class in order to participate
effectively, and you cannot participate effectively if you miss class, arrive late for class,
or leave class early. I expect you to attend all class meetings (including online classes, if
applicable). If you miss more than two class meetings, your final course grade will be
adversely affected due to your inability to participate effectively in the class.
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Collaborative Oral Presentation
You will work in a collaborative group of about 5 class members to develop an oral
presentation in response to one of the three prompts below. Your presentation should
include time for questions and discussion (be ready to solicit discussion if class members
don’t ask questions). The presentation should last about 15 minutes (including
discussion). Each group member must be an active participant in the preparation and
execution of the presentation, though all group members don’t need to speak during the
presentation. I will give you time in class to meet with your group members, but you will
also need to meet outside of class to prepare and practice your presentation. In addition,
each group will have a conference with me to get feedback on your presentation ideas.
Each group must bring six copies of a one page typed summary of your presentation
plans to the conference (I will deduct points from your presentation score if you don’t
bring this handout to your conference). I’ll post your presentation score and evaluation
on WebCT the class period after your presentation. My evaluation of your presentation
will be based on the quality of your ideas, how well you present your material, how well
your group members work together, and how well you handle discussion/questions.
1. Using as models Doty’s text, our in-class discussion of Wallace and Gromit: The
Curse of the Were-Rabbit and other texts, and the sample student projects,
develop a queer reading of a popular culture text or queer a popular culture text.
Popular culture texts might include contemporary films, television shows, singers,
comic books, etc. You should show/explain the purpose or significance of what
you are doing, and the presentation should demonstrate your understanding of the
debates around queer theory and popular culture. If you are presenting a queer
reading of a text, be sure to support your reading with examples from your text.
2. Using our discussion of Hostel as an model, present an analysis of a popular
contemporary horror film. Your presentation should demonstrate your
engagement with scholarly debates around contemporary horror films. You
should show brief clips from your chosen film to support your analysis.
3. Using our discussion of Eminem and other rap artists as a model, present an
analysis of a contemporary rap song, album, or artist. Your presentation should
demonstrate your understanding of scholarly engagement with rap music. You
should play brief excerpts from your song/album/artist to support your analysis.
WebCT Discussion Posts
The discussion posts are designed to enable you to reflect on and write about course
materials before class, get a sense of how your colleagues are responding to the materials,
dialogue with other class members about the readings, and help you develop your oral
presentation and mini-ethnography. The posts also help me to prepare for class meetings
by indicating what members of the class find interesting, difficult, or problematic about
the material.
I will evaluate Discussion Posts #1-4 (excluding the Creative Project option) using the
rubric below, and will award you a score out of 10 for each discussion post. I will not
write comments as part of the evaluation, but we will discuss sample discussion posts in
class in order to help you to improve and evaluate your posts. Since discussion posts
serve as preludes to class discussions, I deduct points for late posts.
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Position Papers
 are your opportunity to assert a position on/comment on/analyze/respond
to/articulate your difficulties with a text before class discussion and to see how
other members of the class have responded to the text; focus on articulating a
position about a point rather than merely writing a stream of consciousness
response to the whole text
 may be informal, but should be thought-out and revised
 should make specific references to the text(s) you are discussing
 don’t have to be authoritative; may reflect your ambiguities, ask questions, or
identify problems you have with the texts
 should not merely summarize the texts
 should be 250-500 words each
Responses to Colleagues’ Position Papers/Responses
 give you the opportunity to engage with other class members’ responses to class
texts and to generate dialogue about your own responses
 should be thoughtful and substantial
 should each be at least a paragraph long
 if you are agreeing with someone, try to do something other than merely repeating
their point or saying that you agree with them
How to Post:
1) Log on to the class web page at <https://webteach.csun.edu>
2) Click the “Discussions” button on the left of the page
You may use the “Main” discussion heading any time during the semester (anonymously
if you wish) to discuss issues related to the course, pose questions, refer class members
to other resources, reflect on class texts and discussions, etc. Note that WebCT email is
sent to your CSUN email account. If you don’t check this account, be sure to forward
your CSUN email.
Discussion Post # 1: Position Paper (develop some genuine questions you have about the
Horkheimer and Adorno essay) due by 11:59 p.m. on 9/1; Responses to at least two
group members’ Position Papers and/or Responses due by 11:59 p.m. on 9/2. Please do
not use your Position Paper to complain about the authors’ writing! You might want to
try asking a series of questions, each question building off the previous one.
Discussion Post # 2: Position Paper (discuss the ideas in the assigned reading from Doty
that you find most compelling/interesting; support your discussion with specifics from
the assigned reading) due by 11:59 p.m. on 9/15; Responses to at least two group
members’ Position Papers and/or Responses due by 11:59 p.m. on 9/16.
Discussion Post # 3: Position Paper (discuss any aspect of the assigned reading from
Radway) due by 11:59 p.m. on 11/3; Responses to at least two group members’ Position
Papers due by 11:59 p.m. on 11/4.
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Rubric for WebCT Discussion Posts 1-3
0-5
6
7
8
9
failing
weak
satisfactory
good
superior
Position paper
Position
Position
Position
Position
and/or
paper may
paper makes paper is
paper is
responses may
only
some solid
generally
focused and
be incoherent or summarize
points about fluent and
welloff-topic or
the text or
the text,
makes an
written;
woefully short
only address though may argument
makes
and
the text or
ramble or
with
thoughtful,
underdeveloped. prompt
treat too
support.
welltangentially many
Responses
developed
or may
different
engage with points
seriously
ideas
class
supported
misread the superficially; members’
with
text or not
support is
posts; may specific
back up
sporadic and only
evidence.
claims with writing is
sporadically Responses
any support; uneven.
expand on
engage
writing is
Responses
or develop
thoughtfully
weak.
do address
class
with class
Responses
points
members’
members’
are
brought up
posts.
posts and
undeveloped by class
with the
or fail to
members but
text; expand
engage with may go off
on or
class
on tangents
develop
members’
or not add
class
posts.
anything to
members’
class
posts.
members’
posts.
10
outstanding
Position
paper is
focused
and
strikingly
written;
makes
insightful,
welldeveloped
points
supported
with
specific
evidence.
Responses
engage
critically
with class
members’
posts and
with the
text;
expand on
or develop
class
members’
posts.
Discussion Post # 4: Position Paper (discuss the connections you see between Radway’s
book and Chapter 7 of Storey’s text) OR Creative Project (create a critically-informed rap
song or romance novel chapter or script/scene for/from a horror film; your creation
should demonstrate your understanding of theories of popular culture and should include
a one paragraph explanation of why you have created the particular text that you have)
due by 11:59 p.m. on 11/17; Responses to at least two group members’ Position Papers
and/or Responses and/or Creative Projects due by 11:59 p.m. on 11/18.
Discussion Post # 5: Post a complete draft of your mini-ethnography by 11:59 p.m. on
12/1; respond to your assigned group members’ drafts by 11:59 p.m. on 12/2 by
answering the questions listed in the workshop guidelines below. I will evaluate this
discussion post on the completeness of the draft and the specificity and quality of your
feedback to group members using the workshop guidelines.
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Workshop Guidelines
Discuss the following questions. Don’t just give yes/no answers. Give specific examples
to support your points, and specific revision suggestions.
1. What is the strongest aspect of the mini-ethnography? What is the weakest?
2. Does the mini-ethnography fulfill the assignment? Explain.
3. Does the mini-ethnography have a thesis (whether explicit or implicit)? If so,
what is the thesis? Could the thesis be improved? How? If the mini-ethnography
doesn’t have a thesis, suggest a possible thesis.
4. How well developed is the mini-ethnography? Are all points fully explained? If
points could be more fully developed, explain which ones and say how they might
be more fully developed. Has anything important been left out? Is any material
irrelevant to the mini-ethnography’s main focus?
5. Does the author give an indication of the significance or wider implications of the
research? If so, explain what these are. If not, suggest how the author might do
this.
6. How well are sources used? Did the author do enough research? Are sources
cited appropriately and is the format of the bibliography correct? If not, give
specific revision suggestions.
7. How well is the mini-ethnography organized? If its parts don’t follow from one
another, explain how they might be reordered.
8. How effective is the mini-ethnography’s title? What about the introduction and
conclusion? If they are effective, explain why. If not, explain why not, and give
specific revision suggestions.
9. What are the two most important revision suggestions you have for this miniethnography?
Mini-Ethnography
Using Radway’s text as a model, develop an individual or collaborative miniethnography in any medium about the consumers of a particular popular culture
genre/text/icon/trend/figure. No two mini-ethnographies may be on the same topic. As
with Radway’s audience, assume that your readers/viewers are interested in your topic,
though they may not be experts on it, and are not necessarily members of this class. You
will need to do field work to research a significant number of subjects (who should not all
be people you know); you will also need to find out and engage with what has been
written on the topic as you develop your mini-ethnography. Try to develop a complex
and nuanced view of your subjects and of popular culture. You might find yourself (as
Radway does) resisting common assumptions about your subjects; or you might find
yourself ultimately agreeing with these assumptions; or you might develop a mix of these
two positions. In any case, don’t just say what is obvious about your subjects; have
something interesting to say about them. Be sure that your mini-ethnography has a thesis
and is not merely a description of your subjects or a series of unconnected points about
them (though, as with Radway’s book, your thesis might only be apparent by the end of
your mini-ethnography). Cite sources appropriately. This assignment is designed to
encourage you to practice the three highest orders of Bloom’s taxonomy of learning
skills--application, analysis, and synthesis--as you reflect critically on our class texts and
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discussions, and on your own work throughout the course. You will receive peer
feedback on a draft of your mini-ethnography before you post the final version.
Course Policies:





Disability Issues: Please see me early in the semester if you require academic
accommodations based on a documented disability.
Email: I usually acknowledge all email messages within 24 hours. If you email
me but don’t get a response, I haven’t received your email. Feel free to email me
concerning any questions you have about the course or about your work. Be sure
to include a salutation, signature, and appropriate subject heading in your email
message. Do not email your assignments to me for feedback; I’d be happy to
discuss your work with you in person.
Recording Of Classes: I do not permit recording of class sessions.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a contested and context-specific topic. We will discuss
effective ways of using sources and issues around plagiarism in class.
Laptops in Class: Since many of the course resources are on WebCT and the
internet, I encourage you to bring your WiFi-enabled laptop to class if you have
one.
Some Other Resources:
Boyd, Todd. Am I Black Enough for You? Popular Culture From the `Hood and Beyond.
---. The New H.N.I.C.: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip-Hop.
Clover, Carol J. Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film.
Domaille, Kate. The Horror Genre.
Forman, Murray, and Mark Anthony Neal, eds. That’s the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies
Reader.
Freccero, Carla. Popular Culture: An Introduction.
Grant, Barry Keith. The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film.
hooks, bell. “Gangsta Culture--Sexism, Misogyny: Who Will Take the Rap?” and “Ice
Cube Culture: A Shared Passion for Speaking the Truth: bell hooks and Ice Cube
in Dialogue.” In Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations.
Johnson, Steven. Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today’s Pop Culture is Actually
Making Us Smarter.
Potter, Russell A. Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip-Hop and the Politics of Postmodernism.
Pough, Gwendolyn D., et al, eds. Home Girls Make Some Noise: Hip Hop Feminism
Anthology.
Rose, Tricia. Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America.
Strinati, Dominic. An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture.
Tomasino, Anna. Discovering Popular Culture.
Wood, Robin. “The American Nightmare: Horror in the 70s.” In Hollywood From
Vietnam to Reagan... And Beyond.
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Tentative Schedule
Wednesday, 8/27/08
 Introduction to the course: definitions of popular culture; debates about popular
culture; popular culture in the K-12 classroom
 Discuss syllabus
 In-class writing
 Watch and discuss Madonna music video(s)
 Reading strategies
Homework:
 Read Horkheimer and Adorno, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass
Deception” (on WebCT)
 WebCT Discussion Post #1
Wednesday, 9/3/08
 Discuss reading and WebCT Discussion Post #1
 Introductions
 In-class debate on Horkheimer and Adorno
Homework:
 Read Storey Chapter 1, pp. 124-28, and Chapter 9
 If you have a WiFi-enabled laptop, bring it to class
Wednesday, 9/10/08
 Politics and popular culture: South African sitcoms and soap operas
 Discuss reading and Storey website
 Discuss sample WebCT discussion posts
 Introduction to Alexander Doty’s Making Things Perfectly Queer
Homework:
 Read Doty Introduction, Chapter 1, and Chapter 3
 WebCT Discussion Post #2
Wednesday, 9/17/08
 Synthesis and assessment
 Discuss reading and WebCT Discussion Post #2
 Assign presentation
Homework:
 Read Doty Chapter 2, Chapter 5, and Afterword (Chapter 4 optional)
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Wednesday, 9/24/08
 Discuss reading
 Discuss sample student projects
 Presentation preferences
Homework:
 Read Storey Chapter 5
Wednesday, 10/1/08
 Discuss reading
 Watch and discuss Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
 Assign presentation groups
Homework:
 Watch Hostel
 Bring a review of a horror film to class
 Read Storey Chapter 6
Wednesday, 10/8/08
 Discuss the horror film genre and reviews
 Discuss Hostel
 Meet with presentation group members
Homework:
 Read articles by bell hooks (on WebCT)
 Read BBC article on Nas (on WebCT)
 Listen to The Marshall Mathers LP
 Bring a rap song to class
 Work on group presentation
Wednesday, 10/15/08
 Discuss readings
 Listen to and discuss rap music
 Mid-semester evaluations of course
 Work on group presentations
Homework:
 Work on group presentation
 Prepare handout for conference
 Read Storey Chapter 2
Wednesday, 10/22/08
 Group conferences in ST 834 (bring 6 typed copies of your handout)
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Homework:
 Work on group presentation
 Read Storey Chapter 4
Wednesday, 10/29/08
 Group oral presentations (7)
 Introduction to Janice Radway’s Reading the Romance
Homework:
 Read Radway Chapters 2, 3, and 1 (Introduction optional)
 WebCT Discussion Post #3
Wednesday, 11/5/08
 Discuss reading and WebCT Discussion Post #3
 Assign mini-ethnography
 Discuss mid-semester evaluations of course
Homework:
 Read Radway Chapters 4-6 and Conclusion
 Bring two ideas for your mini-ethnography
 If you have a WiFi-enabled laptop, bring it to class
Wednesday, 11/12/08
 Discuss reading
 Discuss Radway Appendices
 Work on mini-ethnography: topics, research question, sources, gathering data
 Discuss sample mini-ethnographies
Homework:
 Read Storey pp. 105-24
 WebCT Discussion Post #4
 Work on mini-ethnography
 Bring Radway to class
 Bring two secondary sources for your mini-ethnography to class
Wednesday, 11/19/08
 Discuss reading and WebCT Discussion Post #4
 Feminism, advertising, Disney, pornography
 Work on mini-ethnography: sources, conclusions, thesis, formatting, organization
Homework:
 Work on mini-ethnography
 Read Storey Chapter 8 (Chapter 3 optional)
10
Wednesday, 11/26/08
 No Class
Homework:
 Work on mini-ethnography
 Read Storey Chapter 8 (Chapter 3 optional)
 WebCT Discussion Post #5
 Bring your mini-ethnography draft and the responses to your draft to class or
bring your WiFi-enabled laptop
Wednesday, 12/3/08
 Group workshops on mini-ethnographies
 Discuss reading
 Discuss zines
Homework:
 Work on mini-ethnography; post revision as an attachment on WebCT by 5 p.m.
on 12/10/08
 Bring party supplies
Wednesday, 12/10/08
 Informal short presentations on revised mini-ethnographies
 Course synthesis/rupture
 Party
Notes: