ENGL 6310/7310: Popular Culture Studies
Summer 2010 | Session 3, PH 326, 12:50-3:10 pm
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Office: PH 372 | Office Hours: Before or after class by appointment | E-mail: david.lavery@gmail.com | Office Phone/Voice-Mail: 615 898-5648 | Home Page: http://davidlavery.net Dr. David Lavery is Professor of English at MTSU (1993- ). The author of over one hundred and twenty published essays, chapters, and reviews, he is author / co-author / editor / co-editor of twenty three books, including Joss: A Creative Portrait of the Maker of the Whedonverses and The Essential Cult Television Reader. The organizer of international conferences on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Sopranos, a founding co-editor of the journals Slayage: The Online International Journal of Buffy Studies and Critical Studies in Television, he has lectured around the world on the subject of television (Australia, Turkey, the UK, Portugal, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany) and has been a guest/source for the BBC, NPR, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The New York Times, A Folha de Sao Paulo (Brazil), Publica (Portugal), AP, The Toronto Star, USA Today. From 2006-2008, he taught at Brunel University in London. |
Texts
Click on the covers to order the books from Amazon. Click on the Teleparody cover in order to access the book's entire contents online. Or go here to order a copy from Amazon.
Jared Austin | Laura Black | Shiloh Carroll | Gary Gravely |
Dennis Negron | Luke Patton | Cayte S. Peach | Brandi Williamson
Power Points
Our Books | PC Topics and Areas | American Icons | Major Figures in Popular Culture and Cultural Studies | Semiotics | Barthes | America | Boorstin | Giving and Taking Offence Keynote | Space Boosters | The Movies | Marxism | Psychoanalysis | O'Brien | Twin Peaks & X-Files | Gray | Johnson | Allusions of Television | Thinking Inside the Box | Types of Television Series | Postmodernism | Teleparody
1. Special Project--choose one of the following (30% of course grade)
(A) A 2000 word critical/interpretive encounter with a popular culture text/phenomenon of your choice. All projects must be approved by me
(B) A pedagogical pop culture project: a course syllabus, website, power point presentation, annotated bibliography/filmography/videography/discography, etc.
(C) a teleparody/parody: a book review of a nonexistent contribution to popular culture studies
Major Paper: A source paper of not less than 4,000 words on a popular culture subject approved by me. | 50%
Class Participation: Your evaluation in the area will based on your contributions in class discussion and, in addition, your presentation in the final week of the course | 20%
Week/Meeting: 1.1 | 7/12/10 | Subject: Intro to the Course
Week/Meeting: 1.2 | 7/13/10 | Subject: History of Popular Culture | Read: Storey, Chapters 1, 2, 3
Week/Meeting: 1.3 | 7/14/10 | Subject: Semiotics: Barthes, Mythologies | Read: Barthes, through p. 77
Week/Meeting: 1.4 | 7/15/10 | Subject: Semiotics: Barthes (continued) | Read: Barthes, 78-159; Storey, Chapter 4
Week/Meeting: 2.5 | 7/19/10 | Subject: Boorstin, The Image | Read: Boorstin, Chapter 1, 2
Week/Meeting: 2.6 | 7/20/10 | Subject: Boorstin (continued) | Read: Boorstin, Chapter 3, 4
Week/Meeting: 2.7 | 7/21/10 | Subject: Boorstin (continued) | Read: Boorstin, Chapter 5, 6
Week/Meeting: 2.8 | 7/22/10 | Subject: O'Brien, Phantom Empire | Read: O'Brien, through 79; Storey, Chapter 5
Week/Meeting: 3.9 | 7/26/10 | Subject: O'Brien, Phantom Empire (continued) | Read: O'Brien, 81-147
Week/Meeting: 3.10 | 7/27/10 | Subject: O'Brien, Phantom Empire (continued) | Read: O'Brien, 149-225
Week/Meeting: 3.11 | 7/28/10 | Subject: Gray, Show Sold Separately | Read: Gray, Chapters 1, 2
Week/Meeting: 3.12 | 7/29/10 | Subject: Gray, Show (continued) | Read: Gray, Chapters 3, 4 | Storey, Ch. 6 | Either Special Project or Major Paper Due
Week/Meeting: 4.13 | 8/2/10 | Subject: Gray, Show (continued) | Read: Gray, Chapters 5, 6
Week/Meeting: 4.14 | 8/3/10 | Subject: Johnson, Everything Bad | Read: Johnson, Introduction
Week/Meeting: 4.15 | 8/4/10 | Subject: Johnson, Everything (continued)| Read: Johnson, Part I
Week/Meeting: 4.16 | 8/5/10 | Subject: Johnson, Everything (continued) | Read: Johnson, Part 2
Week/Meeting: 5.17 | 8/9/10 | Subject: Teleparody | Read: Teleparody, Introduction and any five teleparodies | Storey, Ch. 9
Week/Meeting: 5.18 | 8/10/10 | Subject: Teleparody | Read: Teleparody: an additional five teleparodies
Week/Meeting: 5.19 | 8/11/10 | Presentations: Austin, Carroll, Negron, Patton
Week/Meeting: 5.20 | 8/12/10 | Presentations: Black, Gravely, Peach, Williamson | Either Special Project or Major Paper Due