Who moves the needle on culture? Who decides what separates popular culture from highbrow art? Who creates trends and moves culture forward—and who gets credit for making those shifts? In this seminar, we will explore film, literature, music, fashion, language, current events, and other cultural trends with an eye toward class consciousness and identity politics. We will engage with criticism from queer studies, feminist theory, and Marxist philosophies to consider topics such as: how young women’s slang shapes mainstream language; how the co-opting of Black musicians' work led to the popularization of rock and roll; why some popular movies will never be considered classic film; and how Shakespearean theater was transformed from popular to highbrow entertainment. Informal weekly journaling, short in-class presentations, and reflection papers based on close reading of multimedia sources will form the basis for longer writing assignments.
"The Balch Seminars introduce all first-year students at Bryn Mawr to a critical, probing, thoughtful approach to the world and our roles in it. These challenging seminars are taught by scholar/teachers of distinction within their fields and across academic disciplines. They facilitate the seminars as active discussions among students, not lectures. Through intensive reading and writing, the thought-provoking Balch Seminars challenge students to think about complex, wide-ranging issues from a variety of perspectives."
"The Balch Seminars introduce all first-year students at Bryn Mawr to a critical, probing, thoughtful approach to the world and our roles in it. These challenging seminars are taught by scholar/teachers of distinction within their fields and across academic disciplines. They facilitate the seminars as active discussions among students, not lectures. Through intensive reading and writing, the thought-provoking Balch Seminars challenge students to think about complex, wide-ranging issues from a variety of perspectives."
- Instructor of record: Mary Alcaro