MA Popular Culture

Module: 7HU001

Credits: 60

Period: 1

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module allows students to produce a major piece of independent study, normally combining original research with a thorough analysis of the established literature in the relevant area. The ability of the student to complete this successfully is a significant component in demonstrating Masters level study. As such the dissertation will combine a comprehensive knowledge of a specific issue with effective use of research skills and thorough analytical skills

Module: 7PP004

Credits: 20

Period: 1

Type: Core

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

The module explores influential perspectives, theories and concepts for analysing popular culture. The perspectives include: Critical Theory, Psychoanalysis, Postmodernism, Post-Colonialism, Poststructuralism, Deconstuction, New Historicism, and Actor Network Theory. The module emphasises contemporary trends in theoretical and analytic practice, and the social and political context in which culture is produced, consumed and interpreted.

Module: 7EN006

Credits: 20

Period: 1

Type: Optional

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

Using three distinct strands of syllabi in rotation, this module focuses on ways in which literary movements, forms and genres are shaped and re-shaped in response to radical changes in the political, social, philosophical and aesthetic values of the day. It will examine the pressures created by a constantly evolving popular culture, emerging technologies, and the rise of new readerships, balancing the study of canonical writers with less widely known voices.

Module: 7EN004

Credits: 20

Period: 1

Type: Optional

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

Using three distinct syllabi in rotation, this module offers a case study of 'key' literary figures after 1900, focusing on the work of a single artist to interrogate notions of 'the author' and authorship. Students will critically examine texts within the context of the author's canon, while also exploring the range of the relevant social, historical, artistic and intellectual forces which influence literary production.

Module: 7PP003

Credits: 20

Period: 1

Type: Optional

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module will examine the representations and appropriations of murder in various media. Focusing on one of more case studies (for example, Jack the Ripper, the Manson Family murders), and drawing on international sources from a wide variety of media and genres, the module will examine the cultural use of extreme crime, its social meaning, and its iconic appeal.

Module: 7HS002

Credits: 20

Period: 1

Type: Optional

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module will explore issues and debates relating to popular consumerism in Britain between the early years of the twentieth century and the outbreak of the Second World War. Themes to be considered include the relationship between consumption, poverty and working-class affluence, the impact of gender, class and ethnicity on consumer practices and opportunities and the changing nature of popular leisure, shopping and fashion as Britain developed into a ‘modern’ consumer society.

Module: 7PP006

Credits: 20

Period: 1

Type: Optional

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

In this module, students will develop their understanding of the variety of texts commonly classified as Science Fiction or Fantasy and the place of these texts in popular culture. Students will analyse examples of different kinds of fantasy and science fiction writing, and trace the reception of such texts in different historical periods including the current one. They will use their thus acquired knowledge of conventions and possibilities in fantasy and science fiction writing to create and evaluate a piece of genre fiction, and they will use their knowledge of concepts and theories to locate relevant texts in their cultural frameworks.

Module: 7FI006

Credits: 20

Period: 1

Type: Optional

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

The module aims to introduce students to a range of texts broadly categorised within the horror genre and to consider the principal debates over the definition, mediation and reception of such texts. The module considers the social, cultural and political contexts of production and consumption, and also examines the origins and historical development of the genre. While it centres on British and American horror, it further considers those European and Asian cinemas that have made significant contributions to the evolution and diversity of the genre.

Module: 7FI003

Credits: 20

Period: 1

Type: Optional

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

This module aims to explore the significance of space within contemporary American film. It examines a number of key themes in order to address issues of space within a social, political and cultural framework. The module requires close study of key films and an understanding of the theoretical debates that underpin the cultural articulation of space. The module considers films released from the 1970s onwards which broadly address binaries of space that include public/private, and masculine/feminine as well as spaces of trauma, desire and repression. These entail philosophical, psychoanalytic and postmodern approaches to the interpretation of narrative space and place including theorists such as Julia Kristeva, Jean-Francois Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard and Slavoj Zizek.

Module: 7PP002

Credits: 20

Period: 1

Type: Optional

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

The aim of this module is to investigate the interactions and relationships between religion and popular culture. The module will analyse how popular cultural practices and texts make use of religious narratives, themes and iconography. The module will consider how popular cultural practices and engagement with popular texts can themselves be understood as a form of sacred activity. The module will also explore the uses that religious traditions make of popular cultural forms.

Module: 7HS004

Credits: 20

Period: 1

Type: Optional

Locations: Wolverhampton City Campus

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This module examines youth subcultures and national identity in post-war English society (c1945-c1997)