SOCIOLOGY OF POPULAR CULTURE
Rhodes University Department of Sociology
General Sociology III
Lecturer: Michael Drewett
3rd Term 2014
A: Introduction
Welcome to this course on the sociology of popular culture. The course will consider various areas of popular culture as a means to exploring social issues in modern day society. The course is divided into six themes, each of which runs for approximately a week.
Theme One: Overview of cultural studies theory
We begin the course by considering cultural studies theory (giving special attention to sex, gender, race, ethnicity and class). The overview will be brief, but will act as a starting point to deeper theoretical exploration required when approaching various topical issues during the course. We will consider the evolution of the cultural studies tradition, focusing strongly on more recent post-Gramscian, post-colonial and feminist influences which have had a bearing on the direction of contemporary cultural studies enquiry.
- You will especially need to grasp the ideas of the Frankfurt School, British Cultural Studies and more recent post-Gramscian, post-colonial and feminist influences.
Theme Two: Cultural censorship and regulation
This section begins with an examination of what censorship is followed by a consideration of theories about how censorship operates, distinguishing between types of censorship. Our main interest will be on explicit or regulatory censorship, which has to do with censorship explicitly carried out by people acting as censors in an authoritarian manner, although this sometimes takes place in an informal manner, for example, pressure placed on media organisations by lobby groups. This section of the course will provide the basis for censorship debates which take place later in the course, firstly to do with feminist and post-colonial debates about representations of female and black bodies and secondly, to do with popular music censorship.
- You will need to grasp what censorship is, especially the distinction between what Judith Butler refers to as ‘implicit’ and explicit’ censorship. You will need to apply this understanding to topical issues throughout the course.
Theme Three: The body in popular culture
Our focus on the body in popular culture begins with an emphasis on bodies as cultural texts, drawing on work within the fields of feminism and post-colonialism. Starting with a consideration of the clothing/nudity binary we explore two conceptual extremes: that cultures make identity or reflect identity. This will provide a useful foundation for considering representations of firstly, masculinity and femininity, and secondly, ‘the west and the rest’, in the media generally. We will especially contemplate attempts to overcome binary approaches to representation.
- You will need to develop an understanding of the cultural significance of human bodies. An understanding of Foucault’s notion of the docile body as a cultural text is needed. A grasp of Fanon’s arguments about race, identity and representation in colonial contexts is also essential, together with an overall sense of the feminist and post-colonial arguments influenced by the aforementioned theories. Importantly, you need to grasp the limitations of conceptions based on binary views of sex and race and be able to supersede these with more complex explanations.
Theme Four: The gaze within popular culture
Leading from a focus on the body in popular culture the course narrows the focus on bodies to a study of the gaze. An appropriate starting point for this section is Laura Mulvey’s notion of the male gaze within film narratives. Mulvey’s approach fits broadly into a radical feminist perspective and we consider the merits and problems of her viewpoint, exploring more complex approaches to the gaze, not only in relation to gendered bodies. We develop the notion of the gaze by applying it to the growth of surveillance in modern day society. Michel Foucault’s ideas about surveillance are especially used to inform our ideas about such surveillance trends in our society. We consider dominant modes of masculinity, femininity, sexuality, ethnicity and adornment. We also consider forms of resistance to dominant modes of body representations. We contemplate the extent to which attempts at transgression constitute a threat to the dominant order or are mere alternatives which offer little prospect of change.
- It is important that you have a grasp of what is meant by the ‘male gaze’ and ‘female gaze’ and the difference between the two concepts. You will also need to apply theories of the gaze to race and ethnicity, including the colonial context and in turn apply these to examples within film and advertising. By the end of this section you should also have a grasp of the conformist pressures which exist in our society, how these affect us, and some of the alternatives available to us. You should also have considered why some people embrace these alternatives, and the possibility they hold for a different way of being.
Theme Five: Resistance in popular music
Feminists have long criticised the male-oriented and dominated nature of popular music, resulting in most music providing a male soundtrack to people’s lives, most aptly described by some feminists as ‘cock rock’. This section of the course begins by examining the arguments of those who say that popular music is generally sexist, but quickly moves on to more intricate arguments about women musicians’ response to this issue. What has been the history of women musicians’ response to sexism within the industry and has the situation improved? Is there a way women should or should not present themselves? Furthermore, bell hooks has argued that the focus on sexism and misogyny within rap music has tended to be racist. This further complicates our exploration of sexism in music. We end this section by considering the manner in which black male rappers have increasingly become the targets of feminists, the media and moral entrepreneurs when in fact the problem of sexism in the music industry is far more complex. Third World and Black feminist arguments about the western-centric bias of traditional feminist perspectives are drawn upon to add depth to this exploration.
- For this section you will need to have a grasp of the arguments which expose the sexist nature of much of popular music. You will also require knowledge of the social history of men and women in popular music and be able to evaluate responses by women musicians who have confronted sexism within the popular music industry on different levels. You will also need to grasp the intersection of sex, gender, ethnicity and race in arguments about sexism in the music industry. You will need to be able to refer to relevant examples of musicians and their music, videos, performances and other actions to support your argument.
Theme Six: Reinforcing militarized masculinity through popular culture
In this section our focus turns to representations of militarised masculinity and femininity in South African popular culture and media more generally during the apartheid era. We will also refer to global examples to connect the local to the global. We consider the implications of militarization and conscription for theories about gender oppression.
- By the end of this section you need to understand the dynamics surrounding conscription in apartheid-era South Africa and in relation to the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War. Importantly, you should understand the way in which support for the military was constituted in strong gender terms. You should also be able to demonstrate that opposition to the military often undermined a heterosexist gender binary approach.
B: Lectures and seminars
The course will generally operate on a lecture basis, although sometimes alternatives will be arranged. These will be announced in lectures and by e-mail. It is crucial that you read on a daily basis for this course. If you only attend lectures and refer to lecture notes you will fail the course. Lecture notes need to be expanded on through additional notes based on readings relevant to the topic.
C: Recommended readings
Theme One: Overview of cultural studies theory
Ashcroft, B. and Ahluwalia, P. 1999. Edward Said: The Paradox of Identity. Chapter 3.
London: Routledge.
Barker, C. 2000. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. Chapters 1 and 8. London: Sage.
Best, B. 1997. “Over-the counter-culture: retheorizing resistance in popular culture” in
Redhead, S. et. al. (eds) The Clubcultures Reader: Readings in Popular Culture Studies. Oxford: Blackwell.
Gill, R. 2007. Gender and the Media. Chapters 1, 2. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hall, S. 1992. “The west and the rest: discourse and power” in Hall, S. and Gieben, B.
Formations of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Kellner, D. 1995. Media Culture. Chapter 1. London: Routledge.
Kellner, D. 1995. “Cultural studies, multiculturalism and media culture” in Dines, G. and
Humez, J. (eds) Gender, Race and Class in Media: A Reader. California: Sage Publications.
Lewis, J. 2002. Cultural Studies: The Basics. Chapters 3, 4, 6 and 9. London: Sage.
Mama, A. 1997. “Shedding the masks and tearing the veils: cultural studies for a post-
colonial Africa” in Imam, A. et. al. (eds) Engendering African Social Sciences. Dakar: CODESRIA.
McNair, B, 2002. Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratization of Desire.
Chapter 1. London: Routledge.
Morley, D. et. al. 1998. Spaces of Identity: Global Media, Electronic Landscapes,
and Cultural Boundaries. London: Routledge.
Noyes, J. 2000. “The Place of the Human” in Nuttall, S. and Michael, C. (eds) Senses of
Culture: South African Cultural Studies. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Rojek, C. 2007. Cultural Studies. Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10. London: Routledge.
Said, E. 1995. Orientalism. Chapter One. London: Penguin.
Strinati, D. 1995. An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. London:
Routledge.
Thornton, R. 2000. “Finding Culture” in Nuttall, S. and Michael, C. (eds) Senses of
Culture: South African Cultural Studies. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Turner, G. 1990. British Cultural Studies: An Introduction. Chapters 1 and 2. New York:
Routledge.
Theme Two: Cultural censorship and regulation
Baines, G. 2006. “Racist hate speech in South Africa’s fragile democracy: The case of
Ngema’s ‘AmaNdiya’” in Drewett, M. and Cloonan, M. (eds) Popular Music Censorship in Africa. London: Ashgate.
Bourdieu, P. 1984. Distinction. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Bourdieu, P. 1993. The Field of Cultural Production. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bourdieu, P. 1993. Sociology in Question. London: Sage.
Butler, J. 1997. Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative. New York: Routledge.
Coetzee, J. M. 1996. Giving Offense. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapter 1.
Cloonan, M. 2003. “Call That Censorship? Problems of Definition”. In Cloonan, M. and
Garofalo, M. (eds.) Policing Pop. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Drewett, M. 2003. ‘Music in the struggle to end apartheid: South Africa’, in M. Cloonan
and R. Garofalo (eds), Policing Pop. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Dubin, S. 2012. Spear-heading debate: Culture Wars & Uneasy Truces. Auckland Park:
Jacana.
Foucault, M. 1975. Discipline and Punish. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Foucault, M. 1976. The History of Sexuality Volume 1: The Will to Knowledge.
Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Kunene, D. 1986. “Holding the Lid Down: Censorship and the Writer in South Africa”.
In Schäfer, W. and Kriger, R. (eds.) South African literature: Liberation and the Art of Writing. Bad Boll: Evangelische Akademie.
Lumby, C. 1997. Bad Girls: The Media, Sex and Feminism in the ’90s. Introduction and
Chapter 1. St. Leonards: Allen & Unwin.
Marcus, G. 1984. “Blacks Treated More Severely”. Index on Censorship 6/84.
Marcus, G. 1987. “The Gagging Writs”. Reality Volume 19, Number 3.
McGuigan, J. 1992. Cultural Populism. London: Routledge
McGuigan, J. 1996. Culture and the Public Sphere. London: Routledge.
Merrett, C. 1994. A Culture of Censorship: Secrecy and Intellectual Repression in South
Africa. Cape Town: David Phillip.
Muller, B. 2004. Censorship and Cultural Regulation in the Modern Age. Amsterdam:
Rodopi.
Nuzum, E. 2001. Parental Advisory: Music Censorship around the world. New York:
Perennial.
Street, J. 1997. Politics and popular culture. Cambridge: Polity Press. pp. 173-181.
Street, J. 2012. Music and Politics. Cambridge: Polity. Chapter One.
Theme Three: The body in popular culture
Appiah, K. 1992. In My Father’s House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture.
London: Methuen.
Barnard, R. 2000. “Contested Beauty” in Nuttall, S. and Michael, C. (eds) Senses of
Culture: South African Cultural Studies. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Bartky, S. 1993. “The feminine body” in Jaggar, A. and Rothenberg, P. (eds) Feminist
Frameworks. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Bartky, S. 1997. “Foucault, femininity and the modernization of patriarchal power” in
Conboy, K. et. al. (eds) Writing on the Body: Female Embodiment and Feminist Theory. New York: Columbia University Press.
Bell, D. and Holliday, R. “Naked as nature intended”. Body and Society. Volume 6
Numbers 3 and 4.
Bordo, S. 1997. “The body and the reproduction of femininity” in Conboy, K. et.
al. (eds.) Writing on the Body: Female Embodiment and Feminist Theory. New York: Columbia.
Buszek, M. 2006. Pin-up Grrrls: Feminism, Sexuality, Popular Culture. Chapters 7 and
8. Durham: Duke University Press.
Cover, R. 2003. “The naked subject: nudity, context and sexualization in contemporary
culture”. Body and Society. Volume 9 Number 3.
Dubin, S. 2012. Spear-heading debate: Culture Wars & Uneasy Truces. Auckland Park:
Jacana.
Erasmus, Z. 2000. “Hair Politics” in Nuttall, S. and Michael, C. (eds)
Senses of Culture: South African Cultural Studies. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Ekins, R and King, D. 2001. “Telling body transgendering stories” in Backett-Milburn,
K. and McKie, L. (eds) Constructing Gendered Bodies. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Entwistle, J. 2000. The Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress and Modern Social Theory.
Chapter 1. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Fanon, F. 1967. Black Skin, White Masks. New York: Grove Press.
Gill, R. 2007. Gender and the Media. Chapter 8. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Greenway, J. 1997. “Twenty-first century sex” in Purkis, J. and Bowen, J. (eds) Twenty-
First Century Anarchism. London: Cassell.
Hall, S. 1997. “The spectacle of the ‘other’” in Hall, S. (ed.) Representation:
Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage.
Hancock, P. et. al. 2000. The Body, Culture and Society. Buckingham: Open University
Press.
Howson, A. 2004. The Body in Society: An Introduction. Chapters 4 and 5. Cambridge:
Polity.
Kanneh, K. 1995. “Feminism and the colonial body” in Ashcroft, B. et. al.
(eds) The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. London: Routledge.
Lewis, J. 2002. Cultural Studies: The Basics. Chapter 9. London: Sage.
Macdonald, M. 1995. Representing Women: Myths of Femininity in the Popular
Media.London: Edward Arnold.
MacKenny, Virgina. 2001. Post-apartheid performance art as a site of gender resistance.
Agenda. Number 49.
Mama, A. 1997. “Shedding the masks and tearing the veils: Cultural Studies for a
Post-Colonial Africa” in Imam, A. et. al. (eds) Engendering African Social Sciences. Dakar: CODESRIA.
Mayer, V. 2007. “Letting it all hang out: mardi gras performances live and on video”.
TDR Volume 51 Number 2.
McNair, B, 2002. Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratization of Desire.
(Chapters 9, 10).London: Routledge.
Mereer, K. 1987. “Black hair/style politics”. New Formations. Number 3, Winter.
Parkins, W. 2000. “Protesting like a girl: embodiment, dissent and feminist agency”.
Feminist Theory. Volume 1 Number 1.
Peplau, L. and Gordon, S. 1983. “The intimate relationships of lesbians and gay men” in
Rice Allgeier, E. and McCormick, N. Changing Boundaries: Gender Roles and Sexual Behaviour. California: Mayfield.
Poster, M. 1984. Foucault, Marxism and History. Chapter 4. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Sasson-Levy, O. and Rapoport, T. 2003. “Body, gender, and knowledge in protest
movements” The Israeli case”. Gender and Society. Volume 17 Number 3.
Souweine, I. 2005. “Naked protest and the politics of personalism”. Sarai Reader 2005:
Bare Acts.
Sutton, B. 2007. “Naked protest: memories of bodies and resistance at the World Social
Forums”. Journal of International Women’s Studies. Volume 8 Number 3.
Weitz, R. 2003. “Women and their hair: seeking power through resistance and
accommodation” in Weitz, R. (ed) The Politics of Women’s Bodies Sexuality, Appearance and Behavior. New York: Oxford University Press.
Williamson, J. 1996. “Woman is an island: femininity and colonisation” in Baehr, H.
and Gray, A. (eds) Turning it on. London: Arnold.
Theme Four: The gaze within popular culture
Albrechtslund, A and Dubbeld, L. 2005. “The plays and arts of surveillance: studying
surveillance as entertainment”. Surveillance and Society. Volume 3 Numbers 2 and 3.
Bartky, S. L. 1990. Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of
Oppression. London: Routledge.
Bell, D. 2009. “Surveillance is sexy”. Surveillance and Society. Volume 6 Number 3.
Blood, S. K. 2005. Body Work: The Social Construction of Women’s Body Image. New
York: Routledge.
Bloom, L. 1999. “Introducing with other eyes: looking at race and gender in visual
culture” in Bloom, L. (ed) With Other Eyes: Looking at Race and Gender in Visual Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Bordo, S. 2004. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body.
California: University of California University Press.
Doane, M. 1997. “Film and the masquerade: theorising the female spectator” in Conboy,
K. et. al. (eds) Writing on the Body: Female Embodiment and Feminist Theory. New York: Columbia University Press.
Fanon, F. 1967. Black Skin, White Masks. New York: Grove Press.
Feminists Against Censorship 1990 ‘Do you really want more censorship?’ in Feminist
Review No 36 Autumn.
Gamman, L. 1989. “Watching the detectives: the enigma of the female gaze” in
Gamman, L. and Marshment, M. (eds) The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Seattle: The Real Comet Press.
Gill, R. 2007. Gender and the Media. Chapters 3, 6. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Geenway, J & Nadeau, M. 2010. Art & Copy [videorecording]. An Art & Industry and
Granite Pass production. United States: PBS Distributions.
Hall, S. 1992. “The west and the rest: discourse and power” in Hall, S. and Gieben, B.
Formations of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Harris, A. & Fine, M. 2004. All About the Girl: Culture, Power, and Identity. New
York: Routledge.
Hollows, J. & Moseley, R. Feminism in Popular Culture. New York: Berg.
Jhally, S. 2010. Killing us Softly 4 [videorecording]: Advertising’s Image of Women.
Northampton, MA: Media Education Foundation.
Knight, B. 2000. “Watch me! Webcams and the public exposure of private lives”. Art
Journal. Volume 59 Number 4.
Koskela, H. 2003. “’Cam era’ – the contemporary urban panopticon”. Surveillance and
Society. Volume 1 Number 3.
Koskela, H. 2004. “Webcams, TV shows and mobile phones: empowering
exhibitionism”. Surveillance and Society. Volume 2 Numbers 2 and 3.
Lehman, P. 2007. “You and voyeurweb: illustrating the shifting representation of the
penis on the internet with user-generated content”. Cinema Journal. Volume 46, Number 4.
Lumby, C. 1997. Bad Girls: The Media, Sex and Feminism in the ’90s. Chapter 1. St.
Leonards: Allen & Unwin.
Macdonald, M. 1995. Representing Women: Myths of Femininity in the Popular
Media.Chapters 2 and 7. London: Edward Arnold.
McNair, B. 2002.Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratization of Desire.
Chapters 5, 6. London: Routledge.
Modleski, T. 1997. “Cinema and the dark continent” in Conboy, K. et. al. (eds) Writing
on the Body: Female Embodiment and Feminist Theory. New York: Columbia University Press.
Moore, S. 1989. “Here’s looking at you, kid!” in Gamman, L. and Marshment, M. (eds)
The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Seattle: The Real Comet Press.
Mulvey, L. 1975. “Visual pleasure and narrative cinema” in Screen Volume 16 Number
3.
Mulvey, L. 1989. Visual and Other Pleasure. Indiana: University Press.
Norden, B. 1990. ‘Campaign against pornography’ in Feminist Review No 35 Summer.
Segal, L. 1990. ‘Pornography and Violence: What the “Experts” really say’ in Feminist
Review No 36 Autumn.
Stacey, J. 1989. “Desperately seeking difference” in Gamman, L. and Marshment, M.
(eds) The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Seattle: The Real Comet Press.
Van Zoonen, L. 1994. “Spectatorship and gaze” in Feminist Media Studies. London:
Sage.
Whiting, C. 1997. A Taste for Pop: Pop Art, Gender, and Consumer Culture. New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Wolf, N. 1991. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women.
New York: Morrow.
Young, Robert. 1990. White Mythologies.London: Routledge.
Young, S. 1989. “Feminism and the politics of power: whose gaze is it anyway?” in
Gamman, L. and Marshment, M. (eds) The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Seattle: The Real Comet Press.
Theme Five: Resistance in popular music
Adams, T. and Fuller, D. 2006. “The words have changed but the ideology remains the
same: Misogynist lyrics in rap music.” Journal of Black Studies Volume 36 Number 6.
Bannister, M. 2006. White Boys, White Noise: Masculinities and 1980s Indies Guitar
Rock. London: Ashgate.
Bayton, M. 1998. Frock Rock: Women Performing Rock Music. Chapter One. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Buszek, M. 2006. Pin-up Grrrls: Feminism, Sexuality, Popular Culture. Chapters 7 and
8. Durham: Duke University Press.
Case, S. 2002. “The emperor’s new clothes: the naked body and theories of
performance”. Substance. Volume 31 Numbers 2 and 3.
Coates, N. 1997. “(R)Evolution now: Rock and the political potential of gender” in
Whitely, S. (ed) Sexing the Groove: Popular Music and Gender. London: Routledge.
Eileraas, K. 1997. “Witches, bitches & fluids: girl bands performing ugliness as
resistance”. The Drama Review. Volume 41, Number 3.
Emerson, R. 2002. “’Where are my girls at?’ Negotiating black womanhood in music
videos”. Gender and Society. Volume 16 Number 1.
Gaar, G. 1992. She’s a rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll. Seattle: Seal
Press.
Haupt, A. 2001. “Black thing: hip-hop nationalism, ‘race’ and gender in Prophets of da
City and Brasse vannie Kaap” in Erasmus, Z. (ed.) Coloured By History: Shaped By Place. Cape Town: Kwela Books.
Haupt, A. 2003. “Hip-hop in the age of empire: Cape Flats style” in Pieterse, E. and
Meintjies, F. (eds) Voices of the Transition: The Politics, Poetics and Practices of Social Change in South Africa. Sandown: Heinemann.
Hooks, B. 1994. Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations. Chapter 11. New York:
Routledge.
Impey, A. 2001. “Resurrecting the flesh? Reflections on women in kwaito”. AGENDA
No 49.
Iudicello, K. 2002. “‘See, I’ve got my tit out’: women’s performance art and punk rock”
in Brewer, M. (ed). Exclusions in Feminist Thought: Challenging the Boundaries
of Womanhood. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press.
Keyes, C. 2000. “Empowering self, making choices, creating spaces: black female
identity via rap music performance”. Journal of American Folklore. Volume 113.
Kolawole, H. 1996. “Sisters take the rap … but talk back” in Cooper, S. (ed) Girls!
Girls! Girls!: Essays on Women and Music. New York: New York University Press.
Leonard, M. 1997. “‘Rebel girl, you are the queen of my world’: feminism ‘subculture’
and grrrl power” in Whitely, S. (ed) Sexing the Groove: Popular Music and
Gender. London: Routledge.
Mackenny, V. 2001. “Post-apartheid performance art as a site of gender resistance”.
AGENDA. Number 49.
Marcus, S. 2010. Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution. New
York: Harper.
McCarthy, K. 2006. “Not pretty girls?: sexuality, spirituality, and gender construction in
women’s rock music” in The Journal of Popular Culture Volume 39, Number 1.
Meltzer, M. 2010. Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music. New York: Faber and
Faber.
O’Brein, L. 2002. She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women I Rock, Pop and
Soul. London: Continuum.
Raha, M. 2005. Cinderella’s Big Score: Women of the Punk and Indie Underground.
Introduction. Emeryville: Seal Press.
Raphael, A. 1994. Grrrls: Viva Rock Divas. “Introduction”. New York: St. Martin’s
Griffin.
Schilt, K. 2003. “’A little too ironic’: the appropriation and packaging of riot grrrl
politics by mainstream female musicians”. Popular Music and Society. Volume 26 Number 1.
Shoemaker, Deanna. 2010. “Queer punk mache femme: Leslie Mah’s musical
performance in Tribe 8.” Cultural Studies ó Critical Methodologies XX(X)
Stephens, S. 2000. “Kwaito” in Nuttall, S. and Michael, C. (eds) Senses of Culture:
South African Cultural Studies. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Wald, G. 1998. “Just a girl? Rock music, feminism, and the cultural construction of
female youth”. Signs: Journal of Women and Culture in Society. Volume 23 Number 3.
Woldu, G. 2006. “Gender as anomaly: women in rap” in The Resisting Muse: Popular
Music and Social Protest. London: Ashgate.
Theme Six: Reinforcing Militarized Masculinity Through Popular Culture
Cock, J. 1991.Colonels and Cadres: War and Gender in South Africa. Chapters 3 and 6.
Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Cohn, C. 1993. “War, wimps and women: talking gender and thinking war” in Cooke, M.
and Woollacott, A. (eds) Gendering War Talk. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Cooke, M. 1993. “Wo-man, retelling the war myth” in Cooke, M. and Woollacott, A.
(eds)Gendering War Talk. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Cooke, M. and Woollacott, A. 1993. “Introduction” in Cooke, M. and Woollacott, A.
(eds) Gendering War Talk. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Drewett, M. 2003. “Battling over borders: narratives of resistance to the South African
border war voiced through popular music”. Social Dynamics Volume 29. No 1.
Drewett, M. 2007. “The construction and subversion of gender stereotypes in popular
cultural representations of the border war” in Baines, G. and Vale, P. (eds). Beyond the Border War. Pretoria: UNISA Press.
Enloe,C. 1983. Does Khaki Become You? The Militarization of Women’s Lives.
Chapter 8. Boston: South End Press.
Foucault, M. 1977. Discipline and Punish. London: Penguin.
Hearn, J. 1987. The Gender of Oppression: Men, Masculinity and the Critique of
Marxism. Chapter 5. Sussex: Wheatsheaf.
Hopkins, P. 1992. “Gender treachery: homophobia, masculinity and threatened identities”
in May, L. and Strikwerda, R. (eds) Rethinking Masculinity. Maryland: Littlefield.
Jacobson, R. et. al. “Introduction: states of conflict” in Jacobs, S. 2000. States of
Conflict: Gender, Violence and Resistance. London: Zed Books.
LaFollette, H. 1992. “Real men” in May, L. and Strikwerda, R. (eds) Rethinking
Masculinity.Maryland: Littlefield Adams.
Maitse, T. 2000. “Revealing silences: voices from South Africa” in Jacobs, S. 2000.
States of Conflict: Gender, Violence and Resistance. London: Zed Books.
Morgan, D. 1993. “You too can have a body like mine: reflections on the male body and
masculinities” in Scott, S. and Morgan, D. (eds) Body Matters: Essays on the Sociology of the Body. London: Falmer Press.
Morrell, R. 2001. ‘The times of change: men and masculinity in South Africa’ in Morrell,
R. (Ed) Changing Men in Southern Africa. New York: Zed Books.
D: Term Essay Assignment
During the term there will be various applied assessment options available which will constitute 25% of your class mark. You need to do one of these. These will all be theoretically-based and will include things like a film review, a critical dialogue in which two theories are debated by means of characters and short computer-based presentations on a topic of your choice. Details will be provided in lectures. The deadlines for these will vary according to each task but will due during the term.
There will also be a formal essay which will contribute 75% of your class mark. Your essay must be between 2000 and 2500 words (excluding appendixes and lyrics if applicable). Essays must be typed and submitted by 15h00 on Tuesday 2 September.
You need to check the essay guidelines in the Department of Sociology Handout Number 1 and especially take note of the regulations concerning plagiarism and attach a signed copy of the stipulated form regarding plagiarism to the front of your essay. All essays MUST be placed in the General Sociology III essay box prior to the above deadline.
Essay Topics
- Provide a critical contextualization of Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model, demonstrating how it is challenges the Frankfurt School approach to audience agency.
- Use the Frankfurt School approach to critically appraise contemporary reality television.
- Using examples provide a critical discussion of Gaye Tuchman’s conception of the ‘symbolic annihilation’ of women in popular culture.
- Where does explicit censorship begin and implicit censorship end? Incorporate the ideas of Judith Butler, Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault in your answer.
- Critically discuss the contention that Brett Murray’s ‘The Spear’ continues a pattern of white (colonialist) representations of black bodies, most painfully exemplified in the case of Saartje Baartman.
- Susan Bartky applies a feminist lens to Michel Foucault’s Panopticon model. With reference to theories of the male gaze and Foucault’s own work, critically explain how she achieves this.
- How useful are Judith Butler and Pierre Bourdieu’s notions of uttering the ‘unsayable’ and J. M Coetzee’s concept of ‘giving offense’ in explaining the calls for the censorship of popular music in post-1994 South Africa? Refer to examples such as Skwatta Kamp’s ‘Politics’, Mbongeni Ngema’s “AmaNdiya’, Bok van Blerk’s ‘De la Rey’ and Julius Malema’s public performances of ‘Dubula iBhunu’.
- Can the advent of web cameras subvert the male gaze and be empowering to women? Critically discuss.
- With reference to relevant feminist theories, critically analyse Karina Eileraas’ contention that “contemporary girl bands deploy ‘ugliness’ as a resistant practice that challenges cultural representations of ‘pretty’ femininity.”
- Is it problematic on racial lines to claim that black rap musicians are misogynist? Critically discuss.
- Using a cross-section of popular culture examples globally, critically explore Cynthia’s Enloe’s claim that the processes of gendering and militarisation are inseparable.
Last Modified: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 09:02:20 SAST
