Introduction to Popular Culture and Society
SGY120
Overview
Level of study: What does Undergraduate Level 1 mean?
Undergraduate Level 1
EFTSL: What does EFTSL mean?
0.125
Delivery Method: What does delivery method mean?
Fully Online
Prerequisites: What are the prerequisites?
Duration:
13 weeks
Government loans available:
FEE-HELP FEE-HELP
Domestic student fee:
$750.00 (AUD)
International student fee:
$975.00 (AUD)
Description
Broaden your understanding of the key concepts, topics and debates with popular culture. Popular culture refers to cultural forms such as watching television and eating fast food. Popular culture is a valuable source of information about social life and how we live it; it tells us a great deal about a society and how it changes over time. The unit introduces you to a range of sociological concepts and invites you to consider how these concepts help us understand everyday life and how we experience it. Case studies in popular culture will be studied in-depth.
Prerequisites
If you have no prior university experience, you should complete SSK12 or SSK13 before starting this unit.
Assessment
- Assignment 1 — Critical Review (15%)
- Assignment 2 — Research Essay (40%)
- Non-Invigilated Exam — Take Home Exam (40%)
- Online Discussion (5%)
Learning Outcomes
At the completion of this unit students will:
- be aware of the role of popular culture in society and how this changes over time
- have a broad understanding of the 'sociological imagination' in relation to popular culture
- read, summarise and apply basic theoretical works in the sociology of popular culture
- be able to use basic research methods such as ethnomethodology and visual analysis to the study of everyday life and popular culture.
Topics
This unit addresses the following topics.
| Number | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Studying popular culture |
| 2 | The role of the sociologist |
| 3 | Looking at the insignificant in human behaviour |
| 4 | Constructing the popular |
| 5 | Cultural hierarchies |
| 6 | Culture and everyday life |
| 7 | Analysing images |
| 8 | Ethnography |
| 9 | Narrative analysis |
| 10 | Food: its meaning and ritual aspects |
| 11 | The McDonaldisation of food |
| 12 | Consumerism - a way of life |
| 13 | Brands, icons of consumer culture |
| 14 | Just browsing, thanks - shopping as an activity |
| 15 | The metrosexual male |
| 16 | Deviance |
| 17 | Cigarettes: the glamour of smoking |
| 18 | Bohemianism from Kings Cross to the mainstream |
| 19 | Cool: does it really rule? |
| 20 | Charisma |
| 21 | Celebrities |
| 22 | The sixties |
| 23 | Pop art |
Study Resources
This unit is delivered using the following methods and materials:
Instructional Methods
- Discussion Forum/Discussion Board
Print based materials
- Welcome Letter
Textbook information for this unit is currently being updated and will be available soon. Please check back regularly for updates. Alternatively, visit the Unibooks website and enter the unit details to search for available textbooks.
Relevant Courses
This unit is a core requirement in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art and Visual Culture), Curtin University
- Bachelor of Arts (Internet Communications), Curtin University
This unit is part of a major, minor, stream or specialisation in the following courses:
This unit is an approved elective in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Arts (Librarianship and Corporate Information Management), Curtin University
- Certificate of Arts, Griffith University
- Diploma of Arts, Griffith University
This unit may be eligible for credit towards other courses:
- Many undergraduate courses on offer through OUA include 'open elective' where any OUA unit can be credited to the course. You need to check the Award Requirements on the course page for the number of allowed open electives and any level limitations.
- In other cases, the content of this unit might be relevant to a course on offer through OUA or elsewhere. In order to receive credit for this unit in the course you will need to supply the provider institution with a copy of the Unit Profile in the approved format, which you can download here. Note that the Unit Profile is set at the start of the year, and if textbooks change this may not match the Unibooks textbook list.
