This is the page for: Popular Culture(s) of the English-Speaking World, Spring 2011

(Course-related content will appear here in reverse chronological order: the newest things at the top of the page, and older posts toward the bottom.)

Some Reading to Go With Invasion of the Body Snatchers

As a reminder: we’re going to discuss the questions I posted last time regarding the Dove: Evolution video, and the Lady Gaga “Bad Romance” video.

For Thursday, 2 June, I asked you to get your hands on a copy of Invasion of the Body Snatchers so we can discuss it, and promised some reading to go with it.

I have those readings for you now:

Once we discuss Invasion of the Body Snatchers, we will talk a little more about my specialty, SF, and why I think it’s important to understand the role of SF in Anglophone popular culture (and Anglophone culture generally). We’ll see if there’s time for anything else after that…

For Thursday, 26 May 2011

Folks,

I said I would put something up for you to look at. Here it is, a bit late, but it’s not very long and it’s mostly a case of thinking.

Watch this video:

Now, look at this video:

Questions to Think About:

  1. What relationship do you see between the two videos, if any. (Try to find one: there are many possible relationships.)
  2. The Dove video suggests that “our perception of beauty is distorted”: do you agree? Why or why not?
  3. How is our sense of beauty related to popular culture?
  4. We have discussed racism in popular culture, and its complexity. How about sexism: do you think pop culture is sexist? If so, how or why is this the case? If not, why not?
  5. Is the issue of our perception of beauty more of a concern for men, or for women? How does it affect each sex, generally?
  6. Do we, as consumers, have any responsibility for this issue? What is our role in the relationship between pop culture and power or disempowerment?
  7. Consider the films 200 Pounds Beauty (미녀는 괴로워), Miss Congeniality (starring Sandra Bullock), and Shallow Hal in relation to these videos.

Please be prepared to discuss some or all these questions (whichever ones interest you) for Thursday afternoon.

For next week, please (a) find a copy of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the 1956 version) and watch it. We will discuss the film next Tuesday, and I will post a reading for you to look at (to supplement our discussion of the film) this evening.

(If you don’t know where to find Invasion, and your usual sources fail you, here’s a hint: I got my copy at Kyobo Bookstore for a couple of thousand won, and it’s available at their online store for a little more than that. Feel free to share the cost and organize a screening: if you give me the receipt, I’ll get your money back from the department, provided you donate your copy to the Dept. of English Language & Culture.)

Today’s Class

Folks,

Here are some of the things we talked about in our class:

We discussed Lady Gaga and Feminism. Here are some of the songs that came up:

Note — Paparazzi is a video for 19+ viewers, so I can only link the full version. It’s here.

I mentioned Janelle Monáe briefly. The video I was talking about (where she wears a tuxedo, recalling Josephine Baker and contrasting with plenty of American female celebrities) is this one:

(But apparently Monáe wears tuxedoes for all her performances, and regards it as her work clothes… so it’s not just this video.)

I asked you to think about the differences and similarities between the 된장녀 and the Flapper Girl for next time. Go ahead and write 500 words about it for me, please.

Finally, I can understand if some of you felt my response was uncooperative to Hoonil’s comments today. It is neither pleasant nor fun to be criticized by a student in front of a class — especially to someone responding to my comments about a class he wasn’t even present for, and especially when one is putting as much work into a class as I have been into our class. (If you think I’m making you work hard, what do you think I’m doing?)

The comments made were especially hard to accept given that from the discussion I saw in class — mentions of fashion from the days of the flappers, and dance styles — some students really did read the texts the way I suggested, skimming generally and then picking and choosing whatever was to their interest. I urged you to read more and continue, and to discuss more, because in contrast to those students, some students did not speak at all, and gave no sign of having read anything. (Not even a single chapter.)

I am doubtful that it is common behavior for students to criticize professors’ approach to teaching in all Korean classrooms, and do not appreciate “special treatment.” I am quite amenable to discussing difficult of readings but there is a time and a place for raising the question… just as I do not criticize students’ work in front of the class, I expect students with criticisms and concerns would be polite and thoughtful enough to talk to me in person before or after class, or during my office hours.

And quite frankly, I stand by what I said about the necessity of reading — reading a lot. If you want to learn, you must be constantly reading — indeed, you must read far more than I have ever asked you to read. (Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you.) I also stand by my intentions for your learning to work with large amounts of material, picking and choosing what you will focus on and what you will skim — something I have mentioned in our class a few times. These are skills that many other professors have told/shown me students can develop, if they are called to do so, and I have seen whole classes develop those skills when they put their mind to it. And… those skills are very useful out in the world, believe it or not.

(Indeed, some parts of today’s discussion — where specific students participated — reflected my belief that some of you ARE indeed developing those skills.)

I am unwilling to completely reverse my approach, because frankly I don’t want to be the kind of professor that spends a semester throwing softballs at students — that is, going through the motions of teaching but actually just chit-chatting about things without serious challenges for students. (I have the impression that for those who want such courses, they are available.)

While I may seem like a tough professor by your standards, but judging by my own standards, I’m relatively moderate. Those who feel driven to complain might ask themselves whether my standards are too tough, or their  own standards are perhaps too lax.

But at the same time, I have been thinking since midterms about how maybe another approach to this study of pop culture might be possible, where we focus on things that interest you toward the end of the course. There are problems with that approach too, but maybe it would help you to have the motivation to really dig hard and deep into the material.

We have only a few weeks of class left (minus next Thursday’s class, which is during the university festival). We will probably spend the last week of class doing presentations of your final papers.

Next week’s class will be taken up discussing the flappers. But this leaves us with a few weeks to explore other things. Do you want to:

I warn you now: if you want to refocus, I will be asking you to take some of the responsibility — suggesting readings, suggesting topics, and so on. If you want a change, you’re going to have to participate in it as well.

I’m going to give you a chance to express your view here. I expect every student will go ahead and vote.

Presentation Contest, Final Round

As you know, the Preliminary Round of the Presentation Contest is this week, in four sessions on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon (11/12 May). I have already notified you of your required attendance depending on your class.

However, there is also a Final Round which all students in my class are required to attend. This Final Round is on Monday, 23 May at 6pm in IH267.

Unless you have a serious schedule conflict, you are expected to make allowances for your attendance at this event. You will need to have a very good reason not to attend.

Announcement: Presentation Contest Preliminary Round Dates and Times

As I explained at the beginning of semester, one of the few department events that all students taking my courses are expected to attend is the Presentation Contest. this semester, we have launched a new system wherein a preliminary and secondary round will take place. Students in all of my classes (except Public Speaking — they have heavier expectations) are required to attend one (1) of the two-hour preliminary round events. plus the Final Round event.

The final round date has not been announced, but the preliminary rounds will be held between 2pm and 6pm on Wednesday and Thursday May 11th and 12th, as follows:

Session 1:

Wed., May 11: 2:00-4:00pm, N407

Session 2:

Wed., May 11: 4:00-6:00pm, N411

Session 3:

Thurs., May 12: 2:00-4:00pm, G101-2

Session 4:

Thurs., May 12: 4:00-6:00pm, G101-1

If you are unable for some reason to attend, due to class or work conflicts, you MUST email me prior to the event and submit official documentation (such as your class schedule or work schedule) to the Office of the Dept. of English Language & Culture, IH341. However, if one of your class conflicts is related to a course in English Language & Culture, let the professor know and request excusal in order to attend the contest preliminary round.

Homebrew Korea Fundraiser

Hi there,

I mentioned in a couple of classes that my brewing club is holding a fundraiser this weekend, to help the victims of the earthquake/tsunami in Japan last month. If you feel like drinking some of the best (home-brewed) beer in Korea, donated by people like me, and if you would feel good knowing the money is going straight to the Red Cross to help people who really need it, then feel free to stop by our fundraiser Saturday afternoon.

There’s more information here.

A Guideline For Writing and Researching

Folks,

In our class on Thursday, I promised you a file that will serve as a guideline for the process of formulating a topic, a thesis, a strong thesis, as well as explaining about supporting arguments and how to develop and support them, researching, and more.

This is that document. It seems long, I know, but it includes many of the fundamental skills and techniques you will need to be a competent speaker, writer, and thinker. It also contains the skills you’ll need to successfully finish writing a paper for our class. Read it.

Then read it again. Then read it six more times. Study it. Mark it up with ink. Read it some more.

This paper is your friend. It will help you, if you let it.

We will discuss it a little more in class.

Have a nice weekend.

For Next Week — Flappers!

UPDATE (noon, 2 May 2011):

Here’s a new link that actually works. I’m not sure what happened with the last one, as I tested it but it is a bad link. Anyway,. here’s the file. Pleasee let me know if this link fails for you too!

ORIGINAL POST:

Folks,

Here are some readings for you to dig into. There’s more on the way — just a couple of chapters from a very different book — but I won’t be able to post them until later — maybe Sunday. For now, check out these excerpts from Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz:

We’ll talk about flappers, the idea of the New Woman, and fashion in Tuesday. Read as much as you can, as carefully as you can, and be ready with any questions you might have.

By the way, your work ended up at the office a little late–around 2pm. I believe it was available for you by about 3pm, but you should be able to pick it up Monday if you didn’t get it today.

Preparations for Next Class

Folks,

I’m hoping to have your remaining homework and midterm exams graded for next class (28 April 2011). That’s not a promise, but I will do my best to get it done.

In the meantime, I will be discussing your final essay project on 28 April. It will be a somewhat involved discussion, so there is no need to prepare anything else. However, I do want to talk about Josephine Baker and the “banana dance” on 3 May, before we move on to discussing the flappers and the first sci-fi fans… and what they have in common.

Therefore, please prepare your thoughts on Josephine Baker’s dance, and her career (which you have by now read all about) and be ready to discuss them next Tuesday.

Midterm Exam

Folks,

Just to remind you, our midterm exam in Popular Cultures in English Speaking Countries is at 4pm in our classroom, on 21 April.

As I mentioned, the format will be two essay questions. The first question will be your choice, from a list of questions submitted by students. DO NOT CHOOSE YOUR OWN QUESTION.

The second question will be your choice, from a few questions by me.

You will have two hours to complete the exam. Please bring a black pen, as black pen is the easiest to see. (If I cannot read your writing, then I cannot read your answer, which means there is no answer. So use a black pen and write as neatly as you can.) You may use a dictionary.

See you then!

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