Task
The term “popular culture” is used to describe the kind of literature, music, painting, architecture, and other cultural matter that is produced for mass consumption. Some popular culture turns out to be very sophisticated, but much more popular culture is designed to reaffirm and comfort popular attitudes and tastes, not challenge or examine them. Above all, popular culture usually aims to succeed in the market place. Examples of twenty-first-century popular culture include television programs, feature films, popular music of many kinds, video games, and many other kinds of media.
For this paper, choose one form of popular culture for analysis. When you choose a type, or genre, be sure that it is a coherent genre; not “popular music” but, say, “sentimental love songs of the 1950s” or “goth rock of early 1980s”; not “comic books” but “Disney comics” or “monster comics” or “superhero-type comics.” Be sure to select a specific kind of popular culture. Huge genres such as “hip hop” or “pop music” are simply too large for this project; if you want to explore such a musical genre, you will need to narrow it down to a sub-genre. Even more importantly, be sure to select a form of popular culture that you find interesting to begin with. You can choose a topic from a wide variety of material—from comic books and horror movies to TV shows and bumper stickers and magazines, from Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys to 50 Shades of Grey, from plays by Neil Simon and Sam Shepard, to Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films and Haruki Murakami’s novels.
Your focus in this research project is an exploration of the relationship between your chosen piece of popular culture and some social issue such as age, race, gender, class, religion, immigration, etc. You will be forming an argument about this relationship, a central thesis that will be supported by your evidence. Evidence for your argument will come from analysis or descriptions of the popular culture as well as from credible sources you select. One requirement of the paper is that you use at least five sources; at least three of those sources must be peer-reviewed academic texts.
Please keep in mind that you are not writing a report. You are writing an argumentative paper that includes research and adds to a broader conversation about your chosen topic. You are to add to this conversation by making a claim about your chosen topic. Focus on the development of ideas rather than on the accumulation of quotes.
Where to look for topic ideas
Read reputable news media (websites such as NPR, BBC, ABC, Time Magazine, The Guardian, NYTimes)
Think about how the popular culture (film, music, literature, radio, video games, etc.) you consume engages in broader conversations about social issues.
Do some preliminary research to narrow down your topic to a particular piece of popular culture and a particular social issue.
Once you’ve decided on a topic, articulate a research question. When your research is guided by a question as opposed to a thesis you have formulated before conducting the research, you are more likely to remain open to differing perspectives and gain a fuller, more balanced, understanding of the topic. A strong research question lends itself to a more complex answer than “yes” or “no.”
Some sample research questions:
How do Breaking Bad and similar television crime dramas influence people’s perception of Latin American immigrants?
What impact to female rappers of the 2020s have on their audience’s perceptions of women and sexuality?
What is the relationship between how military-themed video games portray enemy groups and societal stereotypes about “others”?
How accurately (or not) do “white trash” reality shows represent Americans who live in rural parts of the country?
To what extent did “gangsta rap” in the 1980s and 1990s offer a valid form of protest against living conditions in the inner city vs. celebrating violence, drug use, and sexism?
Here are some additional topics that you might be interested in researching:
1960s comic books and civil rights
Video games and climate anxiety
Horror film and gender issues
TV shows’ depiction of LGBTQ+ experience
Celebrity culture in America
K-Pop and social issues
True Crime podcasts and Americans’ fascination with violence
Portrayals of Italian-Americans in mafia movies
1970s Funk Music and the Black Power movement
Stand-up comedians and racial/ethnic stereotypes
Social media influencers
Sports and political activism
Requirements
A well-researched, academic argument that adds a new perspective to the existing conversation about your topic
A clear thesis statement that advances a specific, substantial, arguable point
Strong supporting evidence from your research
In-text citation of at least five different secondary sources (at least three academic sources)
A careful evaluation of relevant counterpoints
A coherent organizational structure that enhances the argument and effectively portrays the research
A strong sense of audience
A clear ethos
4-6 double-spaced pages (1,000-1,500 words)
Works Cited (MLA)
Meticulous proofreading and proper MLA formatting
Grading
The proposed sources assignment, practice annotated bibliography entry, pre-paper assignment, essay first draft, peer review, and proof of process assignments are part of the Writing Process and Peer Review Assignments grading category, all of which together account for 15% of your overall grade in the class. They will be graded on timely completion and accuracy in following instructions.
The full Annotated Bibliography is the entirety of the Annotated Bibliograpy grading category and accounts for 10% of your overall grade in the class. Detailed assignment instructions and a rubric are provided in the Week 12 module.
The final draft of Essay 3 is the entirety of the Essay 3 grading caterofy and accounts for 20% of your overall grade in class. It will be graded using a rubric reflecting the grading criteria listed below:
Effectiveness of introduction in establishing the essay’s focus and contextualizing the thesis
Clarity of thesis and appropriateness of the argument in relation to assignment guidelines
Strength of organization, structure, unity, and coherence
Appropriateness/relevance of evidence and examples used to support the argument (including selection of quotes from outside sources)
Effective incorporation of quotes from sources (including signal phrases/context and discussion/explanation/analysis)
Effectiveness of conclusion in wrapping up and stating overall significance of the argument
Relevance and credibility of sources used to support argument
Quality of synthesis used to develop and support argument
Appropriate use of Standard Written English grammar and mechanics
Properly formatted MLA style citation (in-text citation and Works Cited page)
