Anthropology 302 - Anthropology and Popular Culture: Subcultures in the Digital Age
Spring 2016
Instructor:
Email:
Krista-Lee Malone
kmalone@uwm.edu
R 5:30pm – 8:10pm
Mitchell 191
Office hours: R 3:15 pm – 5:15 pm
Sabin 395 (inside the main anthro office)
Required Materials
1. Course Reader from Clark Graphics (2915 N. Oakland Ave.)
2. Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It, by David M.
Ewalt
3. Internet access on a device with speakers and/or headphones will be necessary for completion of
some assignments. In addition to articles, there will be YouTube videos and podcasts assigned.
Please keep this in mind if going to the library or another public place to study.
Course Introduction
Due to its history of immigration and emphasis on individuality, the USA is more overtly and selfconsciously diverse than many other parts of the world. Even so, there is still a sense of mainstream
culture, be it national, regional, religious, or popular, however complex and provisional. While this
mainstream culture provides a sense of identity for many, it does not appeal to everyone, and a myriad
of subcultures flourish. With digitally networked technologies constituting a ubiquitous part of life for
many Americans, explicitly or implicitly, the bar for access to many of these groups has lowered. This
does not mean, however, that all of these subcultures are broadly accepted, as many of them are deeply
misunderstood by outsiders. This misunderstanding has lead to friction, fear, and bullying just to name a
few of the problems faced by group members, particularly in certain regions (as Mary Gray explored in
her book Out in the Country). The technologies of the digital age have drastically changed the way many
of these groups appear to both insiders and outsiders, and have contributed to the formation of new
groups. This course aims to shed light on these activities, both to increase our understanding of them on
their own terms but also to increase our understanding of culture writ large. In the process, we often find
that the marginal is not as new or alien as it may first appear.
Course Description
This is a class on Geekdom. The subcultures covered in this course are divided into three categories:
Living, Dreaming, and Playing. Each category represents the theoretical framework for that part of the
course. “Living” will cover the worlds of online dating and digital content creators. These groups –
increasingly becoming more mainstream – are turning to the Internet for work, love, and the
presentation of self, however as we will see, though the tools have become digital, the methods are not
as novel as one might expect. “Dreaming” looks at steampunk, Trekkies, comics, anime, and hackers.
This category represents a reimagining of the past, present, and future of our society in ways that are
artistic, activist, and subversive. “Playing” covers digital gaming, geek bars, tabletop gaming, and
cosplay (costume play). These groups are often more than hobbies to those involved, and participation
requires specialized knowledge, vocabulary, and networks to which only insiders have access. What
draws all of these categories together is that the people who partake of these activities identify
themselves in part through this participation, while often also identifying themselves against mainstream
culture.
Assignments, Grading & Requirements
1.
2.
3.
4.
Class participation – in-class discussions and activities – 25%
Blogging* – (see description below) – 35%
Final Project** – (see description below) – 40%
Note: Students should expect to devote 9 hours to this class each week – approximately 3 hours
in class, 3 hours on the readings & web content, 1 hour with the blog assignment, and 2 hours on
the final project.
Schedule
Date
1/28
Theme
Intro
Topic
Subcultures, the Internet, and Blogging
Readings
Blogging Heroes Intro & Ch. 9
Digital Creators:
Podcasts, YouTube, Twitch
TPN UWM Podcast;
1 Twitch stream
2/11
On-line Dating/The Lifestyle
Online Dating & Mating
2/18
Theory Wrap Up: Across the Digital Border
2/25
Trekkies
Digital Anthro. Intro
Star Trek Fandom as a Religious
Phenomenon
We Are Anonymous Ch. 1 & 27
The World of Anime Fandom in
America (Mechademia)
2/4
Living
3/3
Dreaming
3/10
Hackers
Anime/Comics/Steampunk
Spring Break
(Review dreaming readings.)
3/24
Dreaming
3/31
4/7
Theory Wrap Up: Utopic & Dystopic Visions
(Digital) Gamers
Playing
LARP/Tabletop Gaming
4/14
Cosplay/Geek Bars
4/21
Theory Wrap Up: The “Value” in Play
4/28
5/5
5/12
Conclusion
Class wrap-up
Waiting for the End of the World:
Apocalyptic Identity
DKP: The Economics of Power
Gamers
Of Dice & Men;
D&D podcast
PAX & tech podcasts
Parlaying Value: The Forms of
Capital in Virtual Worlds
final presentations
University Policies
For information on university policies that pertain to students, please go to the following page:
http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/SyllabusLinks.pdf
*Blogging assignment – This class will have a group blog. Each student will be required to write two
posts (10% each) and comment on three posts (5% each). You can comment on any post you want, but
posts will be assigned. One of the posts will be a reflection on the readings of that week’s class, and the
other will be on a specific event, webpage, or example of the subculture discussed that week. Guidelines
and restrictions, as well as individual assignments will be discussed the first day of class
Posts and comments should be treated with the seriousness of turning in a paper or a graded D2L
discussion thread. Why then are you being asked to make assignments in a publically available blog?
Blogs are an increasingly important part of our world, used by newscasters, academics, politicians,
students, and so many more. Anyone can start one and so there are thousands, not of all equal quality.
Although writing a blog post can be like writing a paper in some ways, in other ways it is not. Because
this assignment is a blog, as opposed to a paper, you will be forced to think about certain aspects of
writing differently. Who is your audience? Is this interesting to anyone besides me? How can I fit all of
this information into a post that is not tldr?
*Final project – Each student is required to participate in one event of one of the subcultures covered in
this class (or an approved alternative) and present their findings to the class. Grades will be based up a
paper version of this presentation and the presentation itself.
Extra Credit – There are 2 ways to get extra credit for this class. Extra credit can count for up to 3% of
your final grade. You can only do it once.
1. Come to class in costume on either the anime day (3/10) or the cosplay day (4/18). To receive full
credit for this you must be in costume and come up to the front of class to show off and explain your
costume to the class. To receive full credit you must tell the class where the character is from, what is
the character like, how you put the costume together, and why you chose it.
2. Write a blog post over spring break. You can write about any of the topics covered in the first half of
the semester (as long as your post isn't repeating what someone else has already posted) or it can be on
something we didn't cover in class, but is related to subcultures in the digital age. Please avoid topics
that will be covered in the 2nd half of the semester (because there will be another opportunity for extra
credit posts later). The same rules and formatting as the regular post assignment apply here.