PDF version of this chapterUndergraduate Degrees
Minor in American Popular Culture
The interdisciplinary minor in American Popular Culture helps students to assess from a variety of perspectives the icons and ideas they encounter every day, to think critically about the images and assertions of the mass media and commercial culture, and to see the experience of popular culture as it interacts with questions of gender and ethnicity in the American context. Students choose five classes, including one upper-division elective, from a curriculum organized to explore: critical approaches to popular culture; gender and ethnicity in American popular culture; and popular culture in the arts. Twenty units are required, four at the lower-division and 16 at the upper-division level.| Lower division requirements | units | |
|---|---|---|
Choose one course (4 units) | ||
| AMST 206 | The Politics and Culture of the 1960s | 4 |
| AMST 285 | African American Popular Culture | 4 |
| upper division requirements | units | |
|---|---|---|
Choose four courses (16 units), at least one from each of the groups below. | ||
Critical Approaches to Popular Culture: choose one (4 units) | ||
| AMST 301 | America, the Frontier, and the New West | 4 |
| COLT 365 | Literature and Popular Culture | 4 |
| COMM 384 | Interpreting Popular Culture | 4 |
| ENGL 392 | Visual and Popular Culture | 4 |
| HIST 380 | American Popular Culture | 4 |
Gender and Ethnicity in American Popular Culture: choose one (4 units) | ||
| AMST 357 | Latino Social Movements | 4 |
| AMST 365 | Leadership in the Community -- Internship | 4 |
| AMST 385 | African American Culture and Society | 4 |
| AMST 395 | African American Humor and Culture | 4 |
| ENGL 448 | Chicano and Latino Literature | 4 |
| ENGL 449 | Asian-American Literature | 4 |
| ENGL 476 | Images of Women in Contemporary Culture | 4 |
Popular Culture in the Arts: choose one (4 units) | ||
| AHIS 363 | Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary Art | 4 |
| AHIS 370 | Modern Art III: 1940 to the Present | 4 |
| CTCS 392 | History of the American Film, 1925-50 | 4 |
| CTCS 393 | History of the American Film, 1946-75 | 4 |
| CTCS 394 | History of the American Film, 1977-Present | 4 |
| ENGL 375 | Science Fiction | 4 |
| ENGL 471 | Literary Genres and Film | 4 |
| ENGL 481 | Narrative Forms in Literature and Film | 4 |
| HIST 481 | Producing Film Histories | 4 |
| MUJZ 419 | The Jazz Experience: Myths and Culture | 4 |
| MUSC 400 | The Broadway Musical: Reflection of American Diversity, Issues and Experiences | 4 |
| MUSC 422 | The Beatles: Their Music and Their Times | 4 |
| MUSC 450 | The Music of Black Americans | 4 |
| PAS 400 | Contemporary Public Art | 4 |
Electives (4 units) | ||
Choose one additional upper-division course from the lists above, in a department you have not already chosen for the minor. | ||