Last updated: June 29, 2005 @ 10:29AM

Popular Culture
This program is offered through the
Department of Communications, Popular Culture and Film

Chair
Marian Bredin

Undergraduate Program Adviser
Jeanette Sloniowski

Director, Co-operative Programs
Cindy Dunne

General Information

Administrative Assistant
Bridget Cahill

905-688-5550, extension 4290
Scotia Bank Hall 308
http://www.brocku.ca/cpcf/

The Department of Communications, Popular Culture and Film offers three separate programs of study. A four-year program leading to the BA Honours degree and a three-year program leading to the BA Pass degree is offered in all three programs. In addition, four-year Co-op programs leading to a BA Honours degree in Communications Studies or Popular Culture and a four and one-half year program leading to a BA Honours degree in Film Studies are available.

The study of Popular Culture focusses on the communicative practices and experiences of everyday life considered within their cultural, economic, political and social contexts. The undergraduate program in Popular Culture is interdisciplinary in nature, bringing together theoretical and analytical perspectives drawn from both the humanities and the social sciences, and applying them to the study of diverse cultural forms including advertising, film, literature, music, radio and television, sport and the worldwide web.

The Popular Culture Co-op program combines academic and work terms over a four-year period. Students spend two years in an academic setting, where they acquire the necessary background prior to taking the first work placement. In addition to the current fees for courses in academic study terms, Popular Culture Co-op students are assessed an annual administrative fee (see the Schedule of Fees).

Eligibility to continue is based on the student's major average and non-major average. A student with a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum 60 percent non-major average will be permitted to continue. A student with a major average lower than 70 percent will not be permitted to continue in the Popular Culture Co-op program. If a student subsequently raises his/her major average to 70 percent, the student may be readmitted only if approved by the Co-op Admissions Committee.

The Popular Culture Co-op program designation will be awarded to those students who have honours standing and who have successfully completed a minimum of twelve months of Co-op work experience.

Program Note
  1. In all 20 credit degree programs, at least 12 credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above, six of which must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above and of these, three must be numbered 3(alpha)90 or above. In all 15 credit degree programs, at least seven credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above, three of which must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above.

Honours Program

Year 1
·   COMM 1F90
·   FILM 1F94
·   one Science context credit
·   one Social Science context credit
·   one elective credit
Year 2
·   PCUL 2P15, 2P20, 2P21 and 2P30
·   one credit from PCUL or ENGL 2P10, 2P11, WISE 2P97
·   two elective credits
Year 3
·   PCUL 3P14, 3P15, 3P20, 3P21, 3P72 and 3P96
·   one PCUL credit numbered 2(alpha)90 or above
·   one elective credit
Year 4
·   PCUL 4P17, 4P30, 4P31 and 4P40
·   two PCUL credits numbered 3(alpha)90 or above
·   one elective credit

Popular Culture Co-op (Honours only)

Students admitted to the Co-op program must follow an approved program pattern. The most common pattern is listed below. For other approved patterns, consult the Co-op Office.

Year 1
·   COMM 1F90
·   FILM 1F94
·   one Social Science context credit
·   one Science context credit
·   one elective credit (MGMT 1P51 and 1P52 strongly recommended)
Spring/Summer Sessions:
·   PCUL 2P20 and 2P21
·   one elective credit
Year 2
·   PCUL 0N90, 2P15,2P30, 3P14, 3P15, 3P20 and 3P21
·   two credits from PCUL or ENGL 2P10, 2P11, FILM 3P95, 3P97, 3P98, WISE 2P97
Spring/Summer Sessions:
·   PCUL 0N01
Year 3
Fall Term:
·   PCUL 4P30
·   one credit from PCUL 3P72, 3P96, 4P17, 4P40
·   one PCUL credit numbered 3(alpha)90 and above
Winter Term:
·   PCUL 0N02
Spring/Summer Sessions:
·   Three elective credits
Year 4
Fall Term:
·   PCUL 0N03
Winter Term:
·   PCUL 4P31
·   One credit from PCUL 3P72, 3P96, 4P17, 4P40
·   one PCUL credit numbered 3(alpha)90 and above

Pass Program

Satisfactory completion of the first three years of the Honours program entitles students to apply for a Pass degree.

Combined Major Program

Honours

Year 1 is now closed
·   PCUL 2P20, 2P21, 2P94, 3P20, 3P21, 3P96, 4P30 and 4P31
·   two credits from PCUL or COMM 2F50, ENGL 2P10, 2P11, FILM 3P56, 3P93, 3P95, 3P97, 3P98, WISE 2P97
Pass

Year 1 is now closed
·   PCUL 2P20, 2P21, 2P94, 3P20, 3P21 and 3P96

Minor in Professional Writing

With the exception of students in the Co-op stream, it is possible for Popular Culture majors to earn a Minor in Professional Writing. For details see the calendar entry for the Department of English Language and Literature.

Description of Courses

Note that not all courses are offered in every session. Refer to the applicable term timetable for details.

# Indicates a cross listed course
* Indicates a primary offering of a cross listed course

Prerequisites and Restrictions

Students must check to ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met.
PCUL 1F00
Music in Popular Culture
(also offered as MUSI 1F00)
Survey of developments in blues, jazz, rock and related genres of popular music.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; listening assignments.

PCUL 2F92
Popular Narrative
(also offered as COMM 2F92 and ENGL 2F92)
Archetypal and mythic dimensions of popular literary genres such as the detective novel, Gothic fiction, science fiction, the romance novel; comparison and contrast with other media.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of COMM 1F90, one ENGL credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99, FILM 1F94 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 2P06
Cultural and Historical Geography
(also offered as GEOG 2P06)
Interactions among culture, society, and landscape. The material and symbolic manifestations of culture in processes of landscape change.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined), ENVI and GEOG (single or combined) majors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite: COMM 1F90, GEOG 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 2P15
Communications Research Methods
(also offered as COMM 2P15)
Introduction to qualitative and quantitative methods for communications and popular culture research.
Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined) and COMM (single and combined) majors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite: COMM 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 2P20
Theories of Popular Culture
(also offered as COMM 2P20 and FILM 2P20)
Historical, theoretical and critical approaches to various forms of popular culture (film, music, television, literature, periodicals and advertising).
Lectures, seminar, lab, 4 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined), FILM (single or combined) and COMM (single or combined) majors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite: one of CANA 1F91, COMM 1F90, FILM 1F94 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 2P21
Canadian Popular Culture
(also offered as COMM 2P21 and FILM 2P21)
Survey of the media in Canada. Studies in the popular arts, with special reference to the ways that institutions (CBC, NFB) and selected artists identify and express a Canadian cultural imagination.
Lectures, seminar, lab, 4 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined), FILM (single or combined) and COMM (single or combined) majors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite: PCUL 2P20 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 2P22
Media and Sport
(also offered as COMM 2P22 and SPMA 2P22)
Representation of sport in film, television and advertising. Topics may include issues of race, gender, business, politics and ideology in both professional and non-professional sports.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined), COMM (single or combined) and SPMA majors with a minimum of 5.0 overall credits or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 2P30
Popular Entertainment
Cultural theories applied to popular entertainment and leisure activities, past and present, including amusement parks, fairs and festivals, sport, and tourism.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: COMM 1F90 and FILM 1F94.

PCUL 2P56
Canadian Cinema
(also offered as COMM 2P56 and FILM 2P56)
Critical and historical study of Canadian cinema.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week; plus weekly film lab.
Prerequisite: COMM 1F90, FILM 1F94 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in FILM (COMM) 2F97.

PCUL 2P94
Popular Cinema
(also offered as COMM 2P94 and FILM 2P94)
Popular cinema as art and institution emphasizing film genres and cultural contexts.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week; plus weekly lab.
Prerequisite: FILM 1F94.

PCUL 3P01
Directed Reading
Tutorial combined with one or more research papers or projects in an area of Popular Culture Studies of mutual interest to the student and instructor.
Restriction: permission of the Undergraduate Program Adviser.
Note: students are responsible for arranging their course with a faculty member in consultation with the Undergraduate Program Adviser and must submit a written contract signed by the faculty member to the Undergraduate Program Adviser before registration.

PCUL 3P06
Class and Culture
(also offered as LABR 3P06)
Labour issues as portrayed in cultural formats such as media, film, fiction and art. Topics may include the labour movement, its role in society, and its portrayal in popular culture.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to students with a minimum 8.0 overall credits.
Prerequisite: LABR 1F90 (1P91 and 1P92) or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in LABR 3F00.

PCUL 3P14
Media Industries
(also offered as COMM 3P14 and SOCI 3P14)
Media industries emphasizing Canadian media economics and public policy.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single and combined), COMM (single and combined) and SOCI (single and combined) majors with a minimum of 8.0 overall credits.
Prerequisite: PCUL 2P20 or SOCI 2P12.

PCUL 3P15
Media Analysis
(also offered as COMM 3P15)
Introduction to methods of media analysis. Comparison of theoretical and methodological approaches to mass media content, production, consumption and reception.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined) and COMM (single or combined) majors with a minimum of 8.0 overall credits.
Prerequisite: PCUL 2P15.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in PCUL (COMM/SOCI) 3P16.

PCUL 3P18
Audience Studies
(also offered as COMM 3P18 and FILM 3P18)
Theoretical and methodological approaches to the understanding of audiences for media and cultural products, including print, sound, film, broadcasting, and digital media.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: PCUL 2P15 and 2P20 or FILM 2F90.

PCUL 3P20
Television Studies
(also offered as COMM 3P20 and FILM 3P20)
Historical, theoretical and critical approaches to television.
Lectures, seminar, lab, 4 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined), FILM (single or combined), COMM (single or combined) and STAC majors with a minimum of 9.0 overall credits.
Prerequisite: one of PCUL 2P20 and 2P21, FILM 2F90 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 3P21
Canadian Television
(also offered as COMM 3P21 and FILM 3P21)
Historical, theoretical and critical approaches to Canadian television.
Lectures, seminar, lab, 4 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined), FILM (single or combined), COMM (single or combined) and STAC majors with a minimum of 9.0 overall credits.
Prerequisite: PCUL 3P20 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 3P51
Popular Music, Identity, and Place
(also offered as GEOG 3P51)
Examines links among places, music and cultural identities focussing on globalization, migration and mobility, place identity, music tourism and the role of companies and technologies in music's diffusion, innovation and commercialization.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL and GEOG (single or combined) majors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite: one of PCUL 2P06, COMM 1F90, GEOG 2P01, 2P02 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 3P72
Popular Music and Society
(also offered as COMM 3P72, MUSI 3P72, and SOCI 3P72)
Critical approaches to popular music in its social, cultural, political, and economic contexts.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined), COMM (single or combined), MUSI (single or combined) and SOCI (single or combined) majors with a minimum of 8.0 overall credits or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in PCUL (COMM/MUSI/POLI) 2P70 and PCUL (COMM/MUSI) 3P70.

PCUL 3P92
Technology and Culture
(also offered as COMM 3P92)
Exploration of mutually productive relationships among cultural practices and technologies, using historical and contemporary examples.
Lectures, lab, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: PCUL 2P20, 2P21 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 3P93
Media and Minorities
(also offered as COMM 3P93 and SOCI 3P93)
Relations between mass media and minority groups in society including dominant representations and stereotypes of cultural, racial and sexual minorities and minority group access to alternative forms of media production.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week, plus weekly lab.
Prerequisite: one of PCUL 2P21, COMM 2F50, SOCI 2P11 and 2P13 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 3P94
Film and Television Genres
(also offered as COMM 3P94 and FILM 3P94)
Genre theory and its application to popular film and television. Topics may include the western, situation comedy, docudrama, film noir or melodrama.
Lectures, lab, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: PCUL 2P20 and 2P21.

PCUL 3P96
Issues in Popular Culture
(also offered as COMM 3P96 and FILM 3P96)
Specialized studies in popular culture, and its role in specific social, historical or theoretical contexts.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week, plus weekly lab.
Prerequisite: PCUL 2P20 and 2P21 or FILM 2F90.

PCUL 3V50-3V59
Special Topics in Popular Culture Studies
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PCUL 2P20, 2P21 and 2P94 or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 4F99
Honours Thesis
Thesis on a topic of mutual interest to the student and the instructor, with a critical, historical or contemporary focus.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined) majors with a minimum of 14.0 overall credits, a minimum 80 percent major average, approval to year 4 (honours) and permission of the Undergraduate Program Adviser.
Prerequisites: PCUL 4P30 and 4P31 (may be taken concurrently).
Note: to register in the Honours thesis, the student must consult the Undergraduate Program Adviser about topics, department regulations and the selection of an adviser.

PCUL 4P04
Advanced Studies in Film and Television Genres
(also offered as FILM 4P04)
Advanced theoretical and methodological approaches to popular film and television genres.
Lectures, lab, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined) and FILM (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) and permission of the Department.
Prerequisite: PCUL 3P94.

PCUL 4P06
Advanced Studies in Popular Culture
Issues in popular culture and its role in specific social, historical and theoretical contexts.
Lectures, lab, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) and permission of the Department.
Prerequisite: PCUL 3P96.

PCUL 4P17
Canadian Cultural and Communications Policy
(also offered as COMM 4P17)
Historical perspectives on the development of government policies affecting the arts, cultural industries, public and private broadcasting in Canada.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined) and COMM (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 4P23
Research on Media and Popular Culture
(also offered as COMM 4P23 and SOCI 4P23)
Advanced research seminar on the relations between mass media and popular culture.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined), COMM (single or combined) and SOCI (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.
Prerequisite: PCUL3P14 or 3P15 (3P16).

PCUL 4P30
Theories of Mass Culture
(also offered as COMM 4P30 and FILM 4P30)
Studies in cultural theory and its application to mass media texts, with special reference to the work of the Frankfurt School, French Structuralism and British Cultural Studies.
Lectures, lab, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined), COMM (single or combined) and FILM (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 4P31
Theories of the Visible
(also offered as COMM 4P31 and FILM 4P31)
Central 20th-century developments in theories of visibility and their relevance to the field of media studies.
Lectures, lab, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined), COMM (single or combined) and FILM (single or combined) with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 4P40
Popular Culture and Local Identity
Theoretical and methodological approaches to analysis of "the local" in popular culture, with particular reference to popular culture in the Niagara region.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 4P55
Advertising, Mass Media and Culture
(also offered as COMM 4P55)
Historical research into the development of Canadian advertising practices in an international context. Evaluation of the cultural and economic impact of advertising on the mass media and the role of advertising in the formation of a consumer culture.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined) and COMM (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.

PCUL 4P80
Directed Reading
Directed individual or group readings in an area of popular culture.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined) majors with a minimum of 14.0 credits, a minimum 80 percent major average, approval to year 4 (honours) and permission of the Undergraduate Program Adviser.
Note: students are responsible for arranging their course with a faculty member, in consultation with the Undergraduate Program Adviser and must submit a written proposal, signed by the Undergraduate Program Adviser before registration. The reading may not be on the topic or with the faculty member of the student's PCUL 4F99 thesis.

PCUL 4V50-4V59
Research in Popular Culture Studies
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL (single or combined) majors with approval to year 4 (honours) or permission of the instructor.


CO-OP COURSES
PCUL 0N01
Co-op Work Placement I
First co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to PCUL Co-op students.

PCUL 0N02
Co-op Work Placement II
Second co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to PCUL Co-op students.

PCUL 0N03
Co-op Work Placement III
Third co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to PCUL Co-op students.

PCUL 0N04
Co-op Work Placement IV
Optional co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to PCUL Co-op students.

PCUL 0N05
Co-op Work Placement V
Optional co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to PCUL Co-op students.

PCUL 0N90
Co-op Training and Development
Provides a framework for the development of learning objectives by students for individual work terms. Includes orientation to the co-op experience, goal setting, career planning, résumé preparation and interview skills preparation.
Lectures, presentations, site visits, 2 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PCUL Co-op students.