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ENG 6102: Popular Culture

Fall 2019 | Tuesday, 2:00 – 5:00 pm

 Instructor: Myoung-Sun Song, Ph.D.

 Email: mssong@sogang.ac.kr

 Office hours: By appointment only @ J 905. Please sign-up via SAINT.

Course topic

Methods in understanding popular culture

Course description

Popular culture—whether in the form of media, television, film, music, fashion,

comics, sports, video games, or the Internet—is an inseparable part of our everyday
lives. What is “culture”? What is “popular culture”? This course examines the
sociocultural role and influence of popular culture as text, taste, and value. What
does popular culture (re)present about us as individuals and society at large? How
do we position ourselves as producers, consumers, audiences, participants, and fans
of popular culture? How do notions of power, ideology, and representation
manifest in popular culture? What does popular culture tell us about gender, race,
ethnicity, class, sexuality, and (national) identity? How does popular culture travel?
Ultimately, why and how is popular culture important? We will answer these
questions by exploring the various methods in analyzing popular culture. Methods of
research include semiotics, socio-historical analysis, ideological analysis, political
economy, feminist methods, queer methods, ethnography & participant observation,
interviews & focus groups, and the internet & new media.

Course format & requirements

The first hour of the seminar will be spent on outlining and overviewing each
method, including the strategies, benefits, and limitations of each approach. The
remainder of the class will be spent on workshopping the weekly writings. This is a
writing-heavy and discussion-heavy course.

1. Weekly writings (60% = 12 * 5% each)

 All weekly writings (maximum 800 words) must be submitted each Monday
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by 4 pm in my mailbox at the department office (J 828). All essays must include

a title, word count, and a list of references. Please format your writing to either
MLA or APA style. Revise thoroughly for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Double space and staple your work. Failure to follow these guidelines will lower
your grade.

 You must also upload your paper to the 열린게시판 on Cyber Campus by the
same Monday @ 4 pm. Please make sure to print and read your peers’ weekly
writings before coming to class on Tuesday.

2. Research proposal (20%)

 Your final paper for this course is a research proposal on a topic of your choice
in relation to American popular culture (maximum 2,500 words, including
references). Your research proposal will be due in class on December 10,
2019. It should include a title, background and rationale, research question(s),
research methodology, plan of work, and references. On that day, students will
give a 15 to 20-minute presentation of their research proposal.

3. Class participation (20%)

 Active participation—both listening AND speaking in class—is required.

Providing constructive feedback during the weekly writing workshops is a
critical part of your participation for this course. Tardiness and absences will
affect your participation grade. I am aware that some students may be a little
shy about speaking in public, please do not hesitate to come and see me if you
are having difficulty participating.

Course policies

1. Attendance

 Following the Sogang FA Policy, more than four unexcused absences will result
in an automatic F for the course. Being more than ten minutes late, leaving
early, or missing a substantial amount of class time will also be counted as an
unexcused absence. Three lates are counted as one unexcused absence. If there
is a valid documented medical or family emergency, this must be communicated
to the instructor in a timely manner.

2. Late assignments

 All assignments must be completed and submitted on time. Unless there is a

valid documented medical or family emergency, weekly writings will not be
accepted late. Even so, these circumstances must be communicated to the
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instructor in a timely manner. If your research proposal is submitted late, one

partial letter grade will be subtracted for every 24 hours that the assignment is
late (e.g. from an A- to a B+). No assignment will be accepted that is more than
48 hours past its due date.

3. Plagiarism

 Plagiarism will result in a failing grade. There are no exceptions. Plagiarism

includes (1) not properly citing sources, ideas, opinions, etc. that have been
directly quoted or paraphrased and (2) passing off someone else’s arguments,
ideas, opinions, etc. as your own. Re-using work that you have previously
submitted in other courses is also not accepted. When in doubt, please consult
your instructor.

4. Technology use

 The use of electronic devices including cell phones, laptops, tablets, and audio
recorders is NOT allowed in class. If there is repeated use, points will be
deducted from participation and I will ask you to leave the classroom.
Exceptions will be made for technology use when needed during group
discussions and student presentations.

5. Communication

 Please be respectful in your communication during class. Sharing different ideas

and perspectives is highly encouraged and valued, but these should be
communicated in a non-threatening, nurturing manner and environment.

 When sending an email to the instructor, please adhere to professional

standards of writing and communication. This includes but is not limited to the
following: (1) a subject line in your email that begins with [ENG6102], (2) a
formal salutation, and (3) a conclusion (e.g. “Sincerely” and your full name). I
will NOT reply to emails that do not follow these guidelines. I check my email
regularly during weekdays and less frequently on weekends. Please allow a 24 to
48-hour time frame for a response. I am also available to meet with you in
person. Please use SAINT to set up an appointment.

6. Special accommodations

 If you need assistance with course registration, priority in seating, and/or other
related issues, please let me know as soon as possible.
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Course schedule (*Readings will be provided as PDF.)

Date Topic Readings

September 3 Introduction Read

 John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An

Introduction (5th edition)

 Chapter 1, “What is popular culture?”

 Chapter 2, “The ‘Culture and Civilization’

tradition”

September 10 Cultural theory & popular Read

culture
 John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An
Introduction (5th edition)

 Chapter 3, “Culturalism”

 Chapter 4, “Marxism”

 Chapter 9, “Postmodernism”

 Chapter 10, “The politics of the popular”

Write

1. If you were to make a time capsule that contains

three American popular culture texts from the
time period 2000-2010 OR 2010-2020, what
would they be? Justify your choices. Do the texts
speak to/with one another? If so, how?

September 17 Mass media, society, & Read

popular culture
 David Grazian, Mix It Up: Popular Culture, Mass
Media, and Society (2nd edition)

Write

2. What is your first experience and/or memory

with popular culture? What is your relationship
to/with popular culture? What is your
understanding of popular culture and in what ways
has it helped form your world, community, and
identity?
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September 24 Knowledge & evidence Read

 Eszter Hargittai, “Introduction: Doing Empirical

Social Science Research” in Research Confidential:
Solutions to Problems Most Social Scientists Pretend
They Never Have

 Paula Saukko, “Chapter 1: Combining

Methodologies in Cultural Studies” and “Chapter
2: Studying Lived Resistance” in Doing Research in
Cultural Studies: An Introduction to Classical and New
Methodological Approaches

Write

3. Choose an academic text that has influenced your

scholarly interests and analyze its method(s). Why
and how has it influenced your own research and
ways of thinking?

October 1 Semiotic analysis Read

 Arthur Asa Berger, “Semiotic Analysis” in Media

Analysis Techniques

 Roland Barthes, “Myth Today”

Write

4. Conduct a semiotic analysis of an American

popular culture text.

October 8 Socio-historical analysis Read

 Jason Gallo, “Doing Archival Research: How to

Find a Needle in a Haystack” in Research
Confidential: Solutions to Problems Most Social
Scientists Pretend They Never Have

 Lisa Gitelman, “Introduction: Media as Historical

Subjects” in Always Already New: Media, History, and
the Data of Culture

 Lynn Spigel, “Introduction” in Make Room for TV

Write

5. Analyze an American popular culture text in

relation to what socio-historical meaning it
conveys and what further meanings you would
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have to research about it.

October 15 Ideological analysis Read

 Louis Althusser, “Ideological State Apparatuses”

 David R. Croteau & William D. Hoynes, “Media

and Ideology” in Media/Society: Industries, Images,
and Audiences

 Jason Mittell, “A Cultural Approach to Television

Genre Theory”

Write

6. Conduct an ideological analysis of an American

popular culture text.

October 22 No class due to midterm exams

October 29 Political economy Read

 Karl Marx, “The Commodity and its Fetish”

 Douglas Kellner, “Media Industries and

Media/Cultural Studies: An Articulation” in Media
Industries: History, Theory, and Method

 Natalie Fenton, “Bridging the Mythical Divide:

Political Economy and Cultural Studies
Approaches to the Analysis of the Media”

Write

7. Conduct a political economic analysis of the same

American popular culture text from the previous
week.

November 5 Feminist methods Read

 Donna Haraway, “Situated Knowledges”

 Sandra Harding, “Is There a Feminist Method?”

 Sarah Banet-Weiser, “Introduction” in The Most

Beautiful Girl in the World: Beauty Pageants and
National Identity
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Write

8. Use feminist analysis to examine the role of

gender in a particular American popular culture
text.

November 12 Queer methods Read

 Kath Browne and Catherine J. Nash, “Queer

Methods and Methodologies: An Introduction” in
Queer Methods and Methodologies: Intersecting
Queer Theories and Social Science Research

 Selected chapters in Queer Methods and

Methodologies: Intersecting Queer Theories and Social
Science Research (TBD)

Write

9. Use queer analysis to examine the role of (sexual

and/or gender) identity in a particular American
popular culture text.

November 19 Ethnography & participant Read

observation
 Clifford Geertz, “Thick Description”

 Karen O’Reilly, “Introduction: Ethnography as

Practice” in Ethnographic Methods

 Natasha Mack et al., “Participant Observation” in

Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector's Field
Guide

 [Recommended] Robert M. Emerson et al.,

Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (excerpts)

Write

10. Choose a topic related to (American) popular

culture that you think would benefit from
ethnographic analysis and conduct a “mini-
ethnography.” Discuss the possibilities and
constraints involved in using this method.

November 26 Interviews & focus groups Read

 S. Elizabeth Bird, “Beyond the Audience: Living in

a Media World” in The Audience in Everyday Life:
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Living in a Media World

 Steiner Kvale, “Ten Standard Objects to

Qualitative Research Interviews”

 David L. Morgan, “Focus Groups as Qualitative

Research: Planning and Research Design for Focus
Groups”

Write

11. Choose a topic in American popular culture that

would benefit from interviews or focus groups.
Analyze how you would conduct them and what
you would learn & not learn from such a study.

December 3 Internet & new media Read

 Andrea Press and Sonia Livingstone, “Taking

Audience Research into the Age of New Media:
Old Problems and New Challenges” in Questions
of Method in Cultural Studies

 William Uricchio, “The Future of a Medium Once

Known as Television” in The YouTube Reader

 Kylie Budge, “Objects in Focus: Museum Visitors

and Instagram”

Write

12. Choose an online space, community, practice or

phenomenon related to American popular culture.
What would you study and how would you go
about in carrying out your research? Analyze the
potential benefits and limitations that might be
involved from such a study.

December 10 Student presentations Research proposals due at the beginning of class.