Professor Jill Stein
Soc. 118: Media, Culture & Society Course Basics: Enrollment Review syllabus Class website: Introduction What is sociology? Study of society Sociology of Culture Study of cultural objects Significance embodied in form Mass media and popular culture The Digital Age Example: Did You Know? 4.0
Chapter 1 The Straight Story: The Social Organization of Popular Culture
Chapter 1: Overview The Social Organization of Popular Culture What Makes Pop Culture Popular? What is Culture? The Social Context of Pop Culture Audiences and Popular Culture Producing and Consuming Popular Culture Three Approaches to Studying Media and Popular Culture
The Social Organization of Popular Culture Historical cycles Rediscovery and reinvention Creators draw upon past work The origins of “SOS (Rescue Me)” Emerges through collective activity Networks of creators No lone artists Produced and consumed in social context Sets of relationships
What Makes It Popular Culture? 1. Well-liked Commercial success 2. Globally ubiquitous Easily recognized 3. Mass culture for general consumption Lowest common denominator 4. Folk expressions belonging to the people Populism and authenticity
What is Culture? Defining Culture Humanities/Social Sciences Culture is: Symbolic Socially constructed Embodied Sociology of Culture Study of cultural objects Significance embodied in form Possible range Art, tools, media, symbols, gestures Pop culture as collective action Art Worlds (Howard Becker) Creative Networks Division of labor Support personnel Cooperative links Examples from culture industries Music Example: Stein’s Research Film, TV, print
The Social Context of Pop Culture Big Mama Thornton Elvis Presley “Why 1955?: Explaining the Advent of Rock Music” (Richard Peterson) “Hound Dog” Social forces shape production Economy Technology Suburbanization Laws
Audiences, Production and Consumption Cultural objects are multivocal Different meaning and interpretation Social background of audience Interpretive communities Shared identity and experience Shapes preferences Genres Example: Native Americans and “Westerns” Media gatekeepers influence choices Collective consumption In groups, in public, in virtual communities Example: MMORGs New technologies blur production and consumption Audience as creators Mash-ups Example: “Grey Album” The Searchers World of Warcraft Danger Mouse
Sociology of Media and Popular Culture 3 Theoretical Approaches: Functionalist Critical Interaction Coming next …