DIVSM300 Popular Cultures Subaltern

This seminar will examine the different expressions of popular culture in the USA, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Popular culture will be examined as a subculture of the subaltern classes, as a counterpart to high brow art, and as a tool of resistance to domination. Popular culture will also be examined in relationship to folk art, mass media and global art and culture. In addition, issues of race, ethnicity and gender will be examined in association to popular culture. Some of the art forms examined will be, but not restricted to: comics, graffiti, religious objects and altars, public transportation decoration, commercial signs, music, dance, soap operas, television, and film.