MA Thesis
A research project involving the preparation and defence of a thesis which shall demonstrate capacity for independent work and original research and thought.
Cultural Theory and Popular Culture
Historical and critical analysis of theories of popular culture from different disciplinary and cross-disciplinary perspectives.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Research Methods in Popular Culture
Survey of research methods in Popular Culture and Cultural Studies, including their historical development, theoretical assumptions and practical application.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Seminar in Popular Culture
Advanced application of theories and methods introduced in PCUL 5P01/5P02 to topics relevant to individual student research.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Directed Reading in Popular Culture
Directed individual or group reading in an area of popular culture.
Restriction: permission of the Director.
Note: may not be taken in place of PCUL 5P01, 5P02 or 5P03.
Historical Perspectives on Popular Culture
Study of the popular culture of a particular historical period or an issue of popular culture in its historical context. Topics may include Popular Culture of the English Revolution, and Popular Culture and Christianity.
Issues and Themes in Popular Culture
Focus on selected issues or themes in popular culture. Themes may include the Urban Experience, the Environment, Race and Representation, Gender, Consumer Culture.
Topic for 2005-2006: Hardboiled in Hollywood
Research in film noir and hardboiled detective fiction; issues in fan, popular and scholarly criticism.
Seminar, 3 hours per week
Genres of Popular Culture
Study of a particular genre across selected popular media, including film, literature, and television. Topics may include Crime and Detective Fiction, Fairy Tales, Speculative Narrative, the Romance.
Forms of Popular Culture
Study of a particular form of popular culture, including political economy, aesthetics, and cultural and historical significance. Topics may include Popular Music, Television, Sport, Digital Culture.
Topic for 2005-2006: Cultures of Popular Music
Focuses on the significance of popular music as a contemporary cultural form in late modern society. Topics include, music and identity, the relationship between music, space and place, and the role of new technologies in the production and consumption of popular music.
Local, National and International Popular Cultures
Study of popular culture in a selected region or nation. Topics may include popular culture in the American South, the Niagara Region, Australia, Britain, Canada, Latin America, post-Soviet Russia.