Apr 16, 2024  
2020-21 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2020-21 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

US 276 The Secret Symbols of Pop Culture

This course provides an in-depth exploration of the way we are constantly manipulated in movies, television shows, art, and advertisements through the use of mystic and religious symbols, names, and even colors. In this seminar, students are given a survey of the following topics: heroes’ journeys, heroines’ journeys, alchemy, ring composition, morality plays, mythology, Christian symbolism, and the symbolism used by the Mormon, Buddhist, and Jewish traditions. The class combines lecture, and discussion of each topic. Students are tested each week with an example of pop culture that they must analyze, parsing out each piece of symbolism embedded in the work. The class is progressive and the pieces used in turn become more complex so that students may see multiple layers of symbolism. In addition, students keep a journal, collecting images associated with each week’s topic. At the end of the course, they use their knowledge to create an original work, layering multiple levels of symbolism into the work.