ENGL 396 - Hollywood, Hip-Hop, and Harry Potter: Making Sense of Popular Culture

Institution:

Williams College

Subject:

English

Description:

One of the more peculiar features of societies like ours is that we are drowning in what used to be called art. No-one has to make a point of seeking out stories or music or painterly images. They stream ceaselessly from out of glowing boxes. They are piped into public space. You couldn't hide from art if you tried. This raises some interesting questions: Are popular movies (and novels and tunes) different from the "artistic" kinds? Are they worse? Does anything about culture change when societies start producing it in bulk? Does popular culture faithfully recite the attitudes and ideas of dominant groups and powerful institutions? How wide a variety of views is possible within it? The course will be held inside the Berkshire county jail; enrollment will be divided equally between Williams students and residents of the jail. Permission to enroll will be granted on the basis of a questionnaire and face-to-face interview with the instructor. Williams students will be asked to consider what forms of culture they share with people who have not typically thought of themselves as college-bound and will get to trade ideas on the subject with incarcerated women. The jail setting is a way of bringing into the classroom the one group that college students almost never get to hear from: people who weren't made ready for college. One class meeting per week.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

A 100 level English class or permission of instructor

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Seminar

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.williams.edu

Phone Number:

(413) 597-3131

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Four-one-four plan

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