Sociology | Social Problems and Policies – Culture & Society
S101 | 12949 | Gougherty
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10:20AM-11:55AM MTWR BH 304
Did riots break out over different interpretations of Shakespeare?
Do violent video games lead to more violence in society? Are members
of youth subcultures, such as Goths and punks, as rebellious as
people perceive them to be? How are TV talk shows like Oprah and
Jerry Springer produced? What do your music tastes say about you?
Can you identify someone’s social class by what they have in their
living room?
These are a few of the questions we will be addressing in this
course, which is an introduction to the sociological study of
culture. We will begin by asking what culture is and examine how
various sociological theorists have answered the question. We will
then examine various subcultures and discuss whether they
challenge “dominant” culture.
Following this we will address the production of culture,
particularly how talk shows are produced and the influence of
organizations on the creation of cultural products such as music. We
will then discuss audiences and whether people actively or passively
consume culture. We will end by examining the relationship between
culture and inequality, with a particular emphasis on social class.
The class format will be a combination of lecture, discussion, and
multimedia presentations.
