Unit 12: Popular Culture and Mass Media

^{This overview contains text from Module 8: Popular Communication in Communication Literary: An Introduction to Communication Studies by Dr. Victoria Newsom and Desiree Ann Montenegro, MA which is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Minor changes for readability.}

Overview

The study of popular communication is not new; it has roots in the study of folklore and storytelling. Popular communication research aims to explore how cultural artifacts reflect lived experiences and how those experiences, in turn, are shaped by popular culture.

Like many other communication fields, contemporary popular culture studies emerged in the mid-20th century and were significantly influenced by the social movements of that era. This field encompasses a wide range of communication research paradigms and methodologies, drawing from cultural studies, cultural anthropology, folklore, and sociology. However, the field’s scope is complicated by the absence of a singular definition of popular culture, as different disciplines and traditions interpret it in diverse ways.

Topics

There are five topics in Unit 12. Together, these sections will help you to complete the quiz for this unit.

Unit 12 contains the following topics:

• Topic 1: Media Studies and Popular Communication
• Topic 2: Mass Communication and Media Studies
• Topic 3: Popular Culture Studies – Bowling Green and Birmingham
• Topic 4: Postmodern and Post-Structural Media Theory
• Topic 5: Convergence Media

Learning Objectives

When you have completed this unit, you should be able to do the following:

1. Describe popular communication studies.
2. Describe the history of mass communication studies.
3. Describe the history of media studies.
4. Describe the culture industry and mass media.
5. Analyze and critique the Birmingham and Bowling Green schools of popular culture.
6. Analyze and critique the role of production and the modes of productivity on popular communication.
7. Analyze and critique the role of media in the construction of political and ideological power.
8. Analyze and critique modes of popular communication.

Activities and Graded Assessments

Activities

Graded Quizzes and Final Exam

At the end of the unit, please open your Moodle course and complete the following assessment(s):

• Quiz 12 (3%)
• Final Exam (20%)