CAST 209 - American Identities and Popular Culture

Semester Offered: Second Semester
Full Course
Credits: 4 credits
Attribute: 4HU, CD

This interdisciplinary course examines how popular cultural forms such as news media, film, and social media have historically contributed to changing notions of identity, belonging, and citizenship. Americans have long hailed innovations in media technologies as democratic spaces that expand the possibilities of inclusion even as commentators criticize popular culture for sustaining normative ideals of identity. We will address these competing trends by studying how cultural producers rely on contested concepts of gender, sexuality, race, ability and social class to navigate the politics of visibility in different media.

Enrollment Limit: 30
Instructor: W. Kozol