Instructions & Required Template for Blog Analyses

 Analyses prepare students to understand how, why, and in what ways popular culture is a critically important area of sociological study. Students will do so through their critical examination of the role of popular culture in American society.

Analyses require students to produce a full and in-depth evaluation and analysis of a selected popular culture object (I.E.: song, podcast, album, TV show, episode, series, movie, sports, games, fashion, etc.) using an additional source article (several sources are recommended in the syllabus) and the course textbook. Students will do this by following this required step-by-step template.

NOTE: Analyses must include all (5) five paragraphs and follow this template and formatting requirements (also in Canvas). Analyses must be in essay format and contain proper grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and clarity (NO rough drafts).

The tone of the Analysis should be professional, but entertaining. Students should write their Analyses for a diverse audience who may not be familiar with their selected cultural object, its genre, or the theories/ concepts / key terms from the text.

Students will accomplish this by A: defining all theories/ concepts/ key terms in their own words and B: explaining their source article examples/ excerpts in their own words.

NOTE: NO DIRECT QUOTES FROM THE TEXT OR YOUR SOURCE ARTICLE ARE ALLOWED IN YOUR ANALYSES OR PEER REVIEWS.

NOTE: Do NOT submit your Analysis until you have completed the final step of incorporating ALL Formatting Requirements. You will do this using the Analyses Formatting Requirements document (in the corresponding Module in Canvas).

 

Analysis Required Template

Paragraph 1: Introduce Your Selected Source Article

  1. In 1 sentence, introduce the source article you will use in your analysis by using its author, source outlet, and the month/year it was published. Add an edited hyperlink to your source article with the full article title, like this Harry Styles Sinks into Summer Vibes on ‘Harry’s House’. (NOTE: You cannot use this article- this is just an example).

NOTE: Be certain your link works! Peer reviews require you and your peers to: A. read one another’s selected source articles; B. read their analysis; C. score a rubric and D. offer specific feedback using a required Peer Review Template).

  1. In 1-2 sentences (and in your own words!) explain the popular culture object your source article is generally about (don’t use any specific examples yet).
  2. In another 3-4 sentences (and in your own words!), explain generally how this source article or this popular culture object is topically relevant to a text chapter assigned to date.

 

Paragraph 2: Introduce the Two (2) Theories/ Concepts/Key Terms from the Text that you will use in your Analysis

  1. In 2-4 sentences (and in your own words!) explicitly state which two concepts/ theories/ key terms from any assigned text chapter/s to date that you will use to analyze your source article or your popular culture object.
  2. In 3-6 sentences (and in your own words!) define both concepts/ theories/ key terms you will use in your analysis. Include a simple in-text citation with the text authors, year, and the correct page number from the text where they can each be found (i.e.; Brandt and Clare. 2020: pg# and pg#).

 

Paragraph 3: Begin Your Analysis with One Source Article Example & One Concept/ Theory/ Key Term from the Text.

  1. In 1-2 sentences (and in your own words!) introduce a specific example or excerpt from your source article regarding your popular culture object that you will analyze using one of your selected concepts/ theories/ key terms from the text. Include a simple in-text citation that includes the author, source outlet, and published month/year (I.E.; Thompson et. al. on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, May 2022).
  2. In 1-2 sentences (and in your own words!) state the specific theory/concept/key term from the assigned text chapter to date that you are using to analyze the example/excerpt of your source article regarding your popular culture object. Include a simple in-text citation with the text’s author, year, and correct page number in the text where it can be found (I.E.; Brandt and Clare. 2020: pg#).
  1. In 3-5 sentences, explicitly and thoroughly explain to the reader (in your own words!) how and why the specific example or excerpt from your source article regarding your popular culture object can be understood or analyzed sociologically using your selected concept/ theory/ key term.

 

Paragraph 4: Continue Your Analysis: 2nd Source Example & 2nd Concept/Theory/Key Term.

  1. In 1-2 sentences (and in your own words!) introduce the second specific example or excerpt from your source article regarding your popular culture object that you will analyze using one of your second concept/ theory/ key term from the text. Include a simple in-text citation that includes the author, source outlet, and published month/year (I.E.; Thompson et. al. on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, May 2022).
  2. In 1-2 sentences (and in your own words!) state the second specific theory/concept/key term from the assigned text chapter to date that you are using to analyze the example/excerpt of your source article regarding your popular culture object. Include a simple in-text citation with the text’s author, year, and correct page number in the text where it can be found (I.E.; Brandt and Clare. 2020: pg#).
  1. In 3-5 sentences, explicitly and thoroughly explain to the reader (in your own words!) how and why the specific example or excerpt from your source article regarding your popular culture object can be understood or analyzed sociologically using your selected concept/ theory/ key term.

 

Paragraph 5: Now for the Fun! You as Culture Critic!

  1. In 1-2 sentences, briefly restate how and why your two selected theories/concepts/key terms are analytically relevant (correct and appropriate) to sociologically analyze your source article regarding your popular culture object.
  2. Choose ONE of the following prompts. Explicitly and thoroughly answer ALL parts of the prompt you select.
  1. Key to understanding popular culture is recognizing it as one of the sites where the struggle for and against the culture of the powerful is engaged, and how popular culture is a potential tool for individual agency. Explain specifically and explicitly TWO ways in which your selected source article or popular culture object attempts to engage in the struggle for or against the culture of the powerful OR how either can be a tool for individual agency.

OR

  1. Popular culture not only shapes but is shaped by Explain specifically and explicitly TWO ways in which your selected source article or popular culture object works to construct OR is constructed by social, political, cultural, and/or economic institutions within society.

   OR

  1. Popular culture is a process through which people make symbolic meaning out of the world. Explain specifically and explicitly TWO ways in which your selected source article or popular culture object attempt to make cultural meaning of our shared world and society?

 

NOTE: Personal opinions/experiences are NOT scientifically/ sociologically appropriate nor valid for conducting analyses and should NOT be included as the basis of your analyses (i.e. your beliefs/religion, your upbringing, your value judgments, your cognitive dissonance, etc.). HOWEVER: Depending on which prompt you select for Paragraph 5, students may scientifically/ sociologically analyze how/why/in what way their personal beliefs/experiences are affected or influenced by the aspects and reach of popular culture we are studying.