SOC 415 - Popular Culture

Course introduces students to sociological approaches to studying popular culture and the subfield of cultural sociology. Course discussion centers on how values, ethics and power impact the production and dissemination of popular culture (television, film, and online content).       

Strongly Recommended Preparation: SOC 100
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Possible Instructional Methods: On-ground, or Hybrid, or Online-Asynchronous, or Online-Synchronous.
Grading: A-F grading only.
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UD-C - Upper Division Arts or Humanities
Course Typically Offered: Fall & Spring


Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:
 

1. Define and distinguish between types of culture in human societies. 
2. Identify the functions culture serves in everyday life and explain why appreciation for the arts is so important to human societies. 
3. Identify and be able to apply sociological approaches to studying culture, including cultural relativity, production perspectives, and consumption perspectives. 
4. Apply theories of cultural hegemony and cultural appropriation to explain how power and inequality shapes cultural practices in social life. 

1. Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply the principles, methodologies, value systems, and thought processes employed in the arts and humanities.
2. Analyze cultural production as an expression of, or reflection upon, what it means to be human.
3. Demonstrate how the perspectives of the arts and humanities are used by informed, engaged, and reflective citizens to benefit local and global communities.