LET-ETCAMB204
American Popular Culture
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleLET-ETCAMB204
Credits (ECTS)5
Category-
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Arts; English Language and Culture;
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator
M.W.J. van der Elsen
Other course modules lecturer
Examiner
M.W.J. van der Elsen
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
M.W.J. van der Elsen
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
M.W.J. van der Elsen
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
N. Engelen
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2021
Period
PER 3-PER 4  (31/01/2022 to 30/08/2022)
Starting block
PER 3
Course mode
full-time
RemarksAccessible to exchange students.
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesYes
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
  • comprehend and critically reflect on the complex interaction between American popular culture, ideology, and identity;
  • deal with conceptual frameworks like intertextuality, genre, style and meaning;
  • use a set of methods and tools for analysing textual, visual and spatial manifestations of popular culture;
  • formulate a theoretically informed and methodologically sound research project that critically engages with the discussed material.
Teaching method:
  • Classes take the form of interactive seminars.
  • The course uses Blackboard as its electronic learning environment.
  • Students prepare class discussion and do their assignments individually.
Content
In this course we will critically engage with 20th and 21st century American popular culture within the terrains of film, animation, comics, architecture, and the arts. The course has a chronological arc, tracing trends and tendencies in the popular imagery from the 1930s up to the present. Our approach will be interdisciplinary, drawing on research in and across the fields of American Studies, Cultural Studies, as well as Film and Television Studies.
Level

Presumed foreknowledge

Test information

Specifics

Assumed previous knowledge
Note for exchange students: you cannot take this course if your English proficiency level is not at least C1 (TOEFL, IELTS, TOEIC or Cambridge). A statement from your home university won't be accepted.

Required materials
To be announced
articles and chapters from books
Title:articles and chapters from books

Instructional modes
Lecture
Attendance MandatoryYes

Seminar
Attendance MandatoryYes

General
• Classes take the form of interactive seminars.
• The course uses Blackboard as its electronic learning environment.
• Students prepare class discussion and do their assignments individually.

Tests
Portfolio
Test weight100
Test typeProject
OpportunitiesBlock PER 4, Block PER 4

Minimum grade
5,5