SHE level 10 SCQF credit points 20 ECTS credit points 10 Module code MHV326632 Module Leader Oonagh Walsh School Glasgow School for Business and Society Subject History Trimester B (January start)
Summary of content The last century has been described as 'The American Century'. Across a range of spheres, the United States has had a formative influence upon Western popular culture, shaping cinema, popular music, television, literature, fashion and food, and has given rise to new consumer markets at home and across the world, especially in relation to the young. This module will examine American popular culture and its influence both at home and abroad, and will focus in particular upon elements that offer insights into America's social, political and racial formation. Starting with the iconic figure of the nineteenth-century cowboy, the module will progress thematically and chronologically to the present, and examine the persistence of the cult of rugged individualism that has facilitated the rise of demagogues such as Donald Trump.
Module details Syllabus arrow_forward Substantive topics to be covered include: 1 What is Pop Culture? 2 The Cowboy in American culture: from John Wayne to George Bush 3 The Rise of the Automobile: mechanics and morals 4 Race and Sport: Joe Louis, Max Schmeling and the 1938 World Heavyweight Championship 5 The Wizard of Oz: American Isolationism and the Second World War 6 Soap Suds: the Rise and Impact of American Soaps and Sitcoms 7 Creating the Teenager: Brando, Dean and Presley 8 Music, Women and Race: Billie Holiday to Motown 9 Disillusionment: the Vietnam War in American Cinema 10 Evangelism: Billy Graham, Jim Bakker and TV Preachers 11 Rugged Individualism: America's most enduring cultural model
Learning outcomes arrow_forward On successful completion of this module a student should be able to: 1. Demonstrate an informed understanding of the key issues and events of the twentieth century in the USA that shaped her popular culture. 2. Understand the social, economic and political implications of factors such as technological change, the growth of cities, immigration, race and gender upon the formation of popular culture 3. Critically analyse and discuss historical debates about key issues from the period using a variety of source materials including film, literature and newsreel 4. Construct extended oral and written arguments supported by relevant historical evidence from a variety of sources 5. Reflect on historical issues relating to Sustainable Development Goal 10 (Reducing Inequalities) and Goal 5 (Gender Equality) by addressing the emergence of grassroots movements for change and equality such as the Civil Rights movement, as well as second-wave feminism and gay rights.
Teaching / learning strategy arrow_forward The module is structured on a one weekly 1-hour lecture and a weekly 2-hour seminar basis. The seminar will follow up the previous week's lecture, with primary source based discussions on that theme. Use will be made of blended learning technologies, as well as face-to-face teaching, seminar presentations, and student-led discussion. Tutor-led activities in the seminars which will be delivered using applied learning strategies. Through an examination of a range of primary and secondary source materials, students will engage with issues of race, gender, class, education, and the impact of conflicting forms of popular culture. This is supplemented and underpinned by directed reading; e-learning and web-based resources and activities related to each topic area to allow a deepening of student learning and understanding. Lecturing materials draw on academic texts and journal articles, with seminars utilising primary source material to stimulate debate and discussion. This provides students with an opportunity to articulate and share their knowledge and understanding of the key theories and debates around the emergence of democracy from militant political action. Students are assessed through two research-informed essays that utilise primary sources. In GCU Learn, padlets are used to support learning through the provision of primary and secondary sources, and to provide additional resources such as film, videos, documentaries, and other materials. The module is underpinned by GCU’s core values: Integrity, Creativity, Responsibility and Confidence. Our students will develop these attributes through what we teach and how we teach: providing a learning experience that is active, collaborative, challenging and authentic. The Common Good Curriculum builds on this and is drawn out in this module through enhancing student’s confidence and leadership. The module will promote all six Common Good Attributes: • Active and global citizenship, by introducing students to th
Transferrable skills arrow_forward By the end of this module students should have gained competence in the following key areas: • Analytical skills, especially in the contextualised evaluation of documents through the analysis of primary source materials • Students will be capable of evaluating diverse points of view through their assessment of secondary historical works • The preparation of oral and written presentations • Cooperative group work • IT skills through the use of Blackboard, blogging and electronic information retrieval • Writing skills through both short and extended writing • Debating skills
Module structure Activity Total hours Lectures 10 Tutorials 0 Practicals 0 Seminars 20 Independent Learning 110 Assessment 60 Placement 0
Assessment methods Component Duration Weighting Threshold Description Course Work001 50 35 CW1: Essay (2000 words) Course Work002 50 35 CW2: Class Test (2 hours)