Name: _______________________________________________
California State University, Northridge
Fall 2007
English 313: Popular Culture
Instructor: Ian Barnard <http://www.csun.edu/~ib5991>
Office Hours in ST 834: M 3:30-4:45, T 3-4, W 3:30-4:15, 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:
Course Reader.
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.)
Strinati, Dominic. An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. 2nd 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 paper 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
Each class member will work in a collaborative group 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, all groups
will meet with me in class to get feedback on their presentation plans. I will 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, to get a sense of how your colleagues are responding to the
materials, to dialogue with other class members about the readings, and to help you to
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
guidelines listed below, and the following three criteria: level of engagement with the
assigned material and with colleagues’ responses; insightfulness of comments and
questions; quality of writing. I 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 will 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
 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
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 (discuss what you find difficult to understand about
the Horkheimer and Adorno essay) due by 11:59 p.m. on 9/2; Responses to at least two
group members’ Position Papers and/or Responses due by 11:59 p.m. on 9/3. Please use
your Position Paper to try to figure out the source of difficulties, not to complain about
the authors or their writing! You might want to try asking a series of questions, each
question building off of the previous one, as a way of developing your discussion of your
difficulties with the text.
Discussion Post # 2: Position Paper (what do you see as the strength’s of Doty’s
argument? the weaknesses? support your discussion with specifics from the assigned
reading) due by 11:59 p.m. on 9/16; Responses to at least two group members’ Position
Papers and/or Responses due by 11:59 p.m. on 9/17.
Discussion Post # 3: Position Paper (discuss any aspect of the assigned reading from
Radway) due by 11:59 p.m. on 10/28; Responses to at least two group members’ Position
Papers due by 11:59 p.m. on 10/29.
Discussion Post # 4: Position Paper (discuss the connections you see between Chapters 45 in Strinati and Radway’s text) OR Creative Project (create a critically-informed
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popular culture text--e.g., a song, video, story; your creation should demonstrate your
understanding of theories of popular culture and could include a brief discussion of why
you have created the particular text that you have) due by 11:59 p.m. on 11/11;
Responses to at least two group members’ Position Papers and/or Responses and/or
Creative Projects due by 11:59 p.m. on 11/12.
Discussion Post # 5: Post a complete draft of your mini-ethnography by 11:59 p.m. on
11/24; respond to your assigned group members’ drafts by 11:59 p.m. on 11/26. I will
evaluate this discussion post on the completeness of the draft and the quality of your
feedback to group members, using the criteria listed in the workshop response guidelines.
Each response should be about 250 words long.
Mini-Ethnography
Using Radway’s text as a model, create an individual or collaborative mini-ethnography
in any medium about the consumers of a particular popular culture
genre/text/icon/trend/figure. You will need to do field work to research on a significant
number of subjects (who should not all be people you know) and 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 a 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 miniethnography has a thesis and is not merely a description of your subjects or a series of
unconnected points about them. 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
discussions, and on your own work throughout the course. You will receive peer
feedback on a draft of your mini-ethnography before you turn in the final version.
Course Policies:
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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.
Some Other Resources:
Boyd, Todd. Am I Black Enough for You? Popular Culture From the `Hood and Beyond.
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---. 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.
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.
Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction.
Tomasino, Anna. Discovering Popular Culture.
Wood, Robin. “The American Nightmare: Horror in the 70s.” In Hollywood From
Vietnam to Reagan... And Beyond.
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. 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.
6. How well is the mini-ethnography organized? If its parts don’t follow from one
another, explain how they might be reordered.
7. 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.
8. What are the two most important revision suggestions you have for this miniethnography?
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Tentative Schedule
Tuesday, 8/28/07
Introduction to the course: debates about popular culture; popular culture in the K-12
classroom
Discussion of syllabus
In-class writing
Watch and discuss Madonna music video(s)
Homework:
Read Horkheimer and Adorno, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass
Deception” (in Course Reader)
WebCT Discussion Post #1
Tuesday, 9/4/07
Discuss reading and WebCT Discussion Post #1
In-class debate on Horkheimer and Adorno
Homework:
Read Strinati Introduction, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2
Tuesday, 9/11/07
Discuss reading
Politics and popular culture: South African sitcoms and soap operas
Discuss sample WebCT discussion posts
Homework:
Read Doty Introduction, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2
WebCT Discussion Post #2
Bring Course Reader
Tuesday, 9/18/07
Discuss reading and WebCT Discussion Post #2
Assign presentation
Discuss sample student projects
Homework:
Read Doty Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Afterword
Tuesday, 9/25/07
No class
Homework:
Read Doty Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Afterword
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Tuesday, 10/2/07
Discuss reading
Watch and discuss Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Assign presentation groups; meet with group members
Homework:
Watch Hostel
Bring a review of a horror film to class
Work on group presentation
Tuesday, 10/9/07
Discuss the horror film genre and reviews
Discuss Hostel
Meet with presentation group members
Homework:
Read articles by bell hooks in Course Reader
Listen to The Marshall Mathers LP
Bring a rap song to class
Work on group presentation
Tuesday, 10/16/07
Discuss readings
Listen to and discuss rap music
Mid-semester evaluations of course
In-class group conferences on presentations
Homework:
Work on group presentation
Tuesday, 10/23/07
Group oral presentations
Discuss mid-semester evaluations of course
Homework:
Read Radway Introduction and Chapters 1-3
WebCT Discussion Post #3
Tuesday, 10/30/07
Discuss reading and WebCT Discussion Post #3
Assign mini-ethnography
Homework:
Read Radway Chapters 4-6, Conclusion, and Appendices
Work on mini-ethnography
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Tuesday, 11/6/07
Discuss reading
Work on mini-ethnography
Homework:
Read Strinati Chapters 4-5 (Chapter 3 optional)
WebCT Discussion Post #4
Work on mini-ethnography
Tuesday, 11/13/07
Course evaluations
Discuss reading and WebCT Discussion Post #4
Work on mini-ethnography
Homework:
Read Strinati Chapter 6 and Conclusion
Work on mini-ethnography
Tuesday, 11/20/07
Discuss reading
Work on mini-ethnography
Homework:
Work on mini-ethnography
WebCT Discussion Post #5
Tuesday, 11/27/07
Group workshops on mini-ethnographies (bring your paper draft and responses)
Discuss zines
Homework:
Work on mini-ethnography; post on WebCT by 3 p.m. on 12/4/07
Bring party supplies?
Tuesday, 12/4/07
Present mini-ethnographies
Course synthesis/rupture
Party?
Notes: