FYS 081 Highs and Lows: Reading Culture

Why do you know you should read Shakespeare, but you prefer watching Seinfeld? What is taste? What is judgment? What is quality? This seminar begins by trying to define the differences (if, indeed, there are any) between high culture and popular culture. Students look at culture as a historical construct, examining how different societies have determined the value and prestige of artifacts and ideas, as well as examining how they, as contemporary Americans, classify written and visual texts as "high" or "low."

Instructor

Donahue, Westfall