| Unit name | Popular Culture and World Politics |
|---|---|
| Unit code | POLI31378 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Weldes |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Although the discipline of International Relations (IR) has overwhelmingly ignored popular culture, it is the argument of this unit that popular culture and world politics are inextricably connected in a variety of different ways. For example, popular culture is connected to world politics through relations of representation: e.g., we can investigate the ways in which contemporary Hollywood films depict Muslims or how a TV show like The Wire critiques the war on terror in the guise of the war on drugs. We might, in contrast, examine the global political economy of popular culture: e.g., we might look at the globalisation of the music industry, its corporate capitalist nature, and whether it is possible for radical bands to be subversive, or not. Popular culture can also be a tool deployed by states: e.g., we might investigate how the Nazi regime in 1936 or the Beijing government in 2008 used the Olympic Games to acquire power and prestige. Popular culture is also closely related to national identity: e.g., cricket in the West Indies has been used to construct a particular post-colonial national identity. This unit examines various such interconnections between popular culture, on the one hand, and the theories and practices of world politics, on the other. A central objective of the unit is to introduce students to the analysis of popular culture in its diverse manifestations, and to relate these analyses in diverse ways to our understandings of world politics. The course will cover several approaches to the analysis of popular culture (e.g., structuralism, Marxisms, Feminisms), as well as a range of media and texts (e.g., TV, film, advertising, music).
Aims:
The unit will be taught through blended learning methods, including a mix of synchronous and asynchronous teaching activities
3,500 word essay (100%)
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. POLI31378).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
