Controversy Over Time and Space

by

Humanities

Earlier you looked at social issues as expressed by popular culture artifacts in historical context. This week you do the same thing, but by looking at current issues that are being addressed by popular culture. Then you hypothesize about whether the conversations about this issue will provoke or resist change, and how and why this might happen. Imagine that you are a philosopher and you have been asked to predict the future of an issue based on popular culture.

To prepare for this paper:

  • Review a sampling of modern popular culture artifacts. The artifacts should not be more than 5 years old. You can identify your own, or review those posted in Doc Sharing by your colleagues.
  • Consider how your chosen issue is conveyed in the sampling you have chosen. (My chosen issue is violence)
  • Select at least two artifacts.
  • Review how your chosen issue is being discussed today in the news media. Do this by visiting credible news sites via the Walden Library or on your own.

Post a 600 +/- word response in which you compare and contrast two popular culture elements in relationship to your chosen issue by answering the following:

  • Evaluate whether your sample of popular culture artifacts is provoking or resisting change.
  • Analyze how society’s acceptance or rejection of these popular culture artifacts might affect definitions of normal in 5 to 10 years.
  • Include references to your popular culture artifacts AND your chosen issue-focused news story.

Please use the following provided resources:

Required Readings

One Laptop Per Child. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://one.laptop.org

The following websites may be helpful throughout this course by demonstrating ways of analyzing pop culture texts as artifacts.

Cultural Politics. (n.d.). Popular culture. Retrieved from http://culturalpolitics.net/popular_culture

Pop Matters. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.popmatters.com

USC Annenberg. (2014). Media, diversity, & social change initiative. Retrieved from http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/DrStacyLSmithMDSCI#previousresearch

Required Media

TED2010. (2010, March 17). Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 20 minutes.

This talk presents compelling evidence on how popular culture in the form of gaming could be harnessed to solve real world problems.

Optional Resources

Guins, R. (Ed.). (2014). Themed issue: Marshall McLuhan’s
Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man @ 50.
Journal of Visual Culture,
13(1).

TED2014. (2014, July 8). Nicholas Negroponte: A 30-year history of the future [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_negroponte_a_30_year_history_of_the_future?language=en