SOCIOL 105
Cultural Studies and Society
Please note: this is archived course information from 2019 for SOCIOL 105.
Description
This course is taught through two lectures (of one hour each) and one tutorial session (one hour) per week. The University’s general expectation is that each undergraduate course requires an average of ten hours work per week. This includes lecture and tutorial attendance, reading of the required texts, as well as additional study towards reaching the learning outcomes and successfully completing related assignments and exams.
Course objectives
A cultural studies approach to social life focuses on the way we experience the world, taking account of what we see, hear, communicate, consume and produce. This course includes analysis of a wide range of cultural "texts" including (but not limited to) television, film, art, music, advertisements, video games, sport and subcultures. A cultural studies approach to the analysis of these "texts" examines the changing relationships between culture, society, history, politics and technology in the contemporary world.
Students who successfully complete the course will have
- A familiarity and critical understanding of a range of social and sociological theories relevant to the study of cultural studies and popular culture
- The ability to utilise the above theories in analysing a range of cultural "texts"
- An understanding of how people in western society are influenced by images and objects, including knowledge of the role of power in the production and consumption of such cultural texts
Course Readings
Availability 2019
Semester 1
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator(s) Dr Bruce Cohen
Reading/Texts
All mandatory readings for this course can be found in the following textbook: Cohen, BMZ (ed.) (2012) Being Cultural. Auckland: Pearson.
Assessment
Coursework + exam
Points
SOCIOL 105: 15 points