Class and Culture
List of Potential Topics:
1. In Lesson 2 we discussed media assessment tools. Choose a film or television series and do an entertainment media analysis. There are two rules for this topic. First, to make sure the film or television series has some current relevance, it must have come out since 2005. Second, you must choose a film or television series that you think has merit; you need to be able to argue why you think it has good grade by ). Students whose last names begin withR to Z, your assignments will be graded by qualities that make it worth watching, and yet, nonetheless deserves critical analysis. (It would be too easy to choose a bad film or television series and then offer criticisms.) Once you have chosen your film or television series, here are a number of questions to consider. Why is it worth watching? What is some of the text and subtext occurring in it? Does it engage in harmful stereotypes, or does it attempt to challenge certain stereotypes, or does it do both? Is it likely to create any form of cognitive dissonance among its audience, and if so, why? Does it contribute to a certain hegemonic idea or ideas, or does it challenge hegemonic ideas, or does it do both? (Remember, write the essay as if your reader hasn’t watched this film or television series, and don’t forget to define the concepts you use.)
2. In Lesson 7, we discussed the idea of ‘mass culture,’ or, culture that has been produced for the sake of being sold to a wide audience. In that discussion, we watched a video of a debate about the merits of ‘Star Wars,’ featuring, on the one hand, Siskel and Ebert, and on the other hand, John Simon. (Click here for the video.) This is a discussion of high culture, popular culture, and mass culture. Where do you fall in these debates? What are the strongest arguments made by each critic? What are the weakest arguments made by each critic? Is mass culture the same thing as popular culture, and are both a threat to high culture? Is mass culture the same thing as elite culture, and used as a way to control the majority of people? Is mass culture different from both high culture and popular culture, and is it a threat to both? Are there no differences between cultures, and is mass culture not necessarily a threat to anything? Is mass culture more the result of democracy and equality being taken too far, or is it the result of capitalism and
persisting inequalities, or some combination of both? (If you want to choose a debate about mass culture different from the video above, check it with your seminar leader first.)
3. In Lesson 9, we discuss freedom of speech. Choose a recent event involving free speech issues and offer a critical analysis. Here are a few examples of recent free speech issues:
a) Professor Jordan Peterson’s claiming that his refusal to use gender-neutral pronouns is a free speech issue
b) Professor Steven Salaita is denied a job offer after tweeting criticisms of Israel
c) The protests against, and calls for ‘no-platforming,’ the Trump advisor Steve Bannon’s participation in a recent Munk Debate If you want to choose a free speech issue that is different from those listed above, you can check it first with the Teaching Assistants for our course. Once you have chosen your issue, here are a number of questions to consider. What, if any, limits should there be on free speech or freedom of expression? Is free speech a value worth defending, why or why not? If there should be limits to free speech, what should these limits be and why are these limits justified? Should what is now considered hate speech be protected as free speech, or is this an appropriate limit on free speech? Is there too much freedom of expression in our society, or not enough, or some combination of both? What do you think are the greatest current threats to freedom of speech? (Remember, when researching the particular free speech issue, choose your sources wisely. For example, newspaper articles are likely better than blog posts. Also, write the essay as if your reader doesn’t know much about this particular free speech issue.)
