This course will focus on the intersections of culture and ideology.  Exploring various cultural forms both “high” and “low,” we will interrogate the conditions under which culture manipulates those who consume it into consenting to their own disempowerment. Because they located such manipulations in mass and popular culture during the Fascist period in Germany, Frankfurt School critics like Theodor Adorno rejected many forms of mass culture, securing them reputations as defenders of elitist cultural formations.  The Cultural Studies theorists from the British Birmingham School and others similarly recognized the dangers of cultural manipulations, but saw mass culture as threatening not “high” cultural forms, but working class culture.  They, however, came to see culture as a site of contestation with the potential to unsettle power relationships. Over the course of the term we will examine both theories of culture as ideological domination (key concepts include hegemony, mythology, discipline, and the Culture Industry) and theories of culture that assume its intrinsic modes of resistance and its emancipatory potential.  Alongside the theoretical material we will study a variety of cultural artifacts including films, music, television, video games and popular novels.

Satisfies General Education Requirements:

• Group-Satisfying: Arts and Letters
• Multicultural Courses: International Cultures (IC)