HMNT 3001C

Final Project Summary

Throughout this course, you will complete Milestones that will help you develop your Final Project, due in Week 5.

NOTE: Complete the Week 1 quiz before proceeding to Week 1 Assignment 2.

Week 1—Final Project Planning

Download the Final Project Worksheet from the Learning Resources. Complete the worksheet and submit it as your Week 1 Assignment 2.

It will be helpful to retain a copy of the Final Project Worksheet so you can refer to it throughout the course.

Select one of the following social issues:

• Race/ethnicity

• Sexuality

• Gender

• Social and economic class

• Violence

• Indecency/free speech

Once you have selected your issue, research how this issue is approached in the field of popular culture. Refer to the Learning Resources and the Walden Library Course Guide for this class.

On the worksheet, explain why you are interested in this issue. This will serve as the rough draft of your Final Project introductory paragraph. Refer to at least one academically relevant source, either from our classroom, the Walden Library, or Google Scholar, that supports your interest in the issue.

Select two popular culture categories as defined in this course.

• Film

• Episodic moving image (TV shows—may be broadcast or streamed)

• Music

• Music videos

• Fashion

• Advertising

• Animation (general animation/cartoons such as Disney or Warner Brothers, or genre-specific animation such as Japanese anime)

• Food

• Printed material (books, magazines, manga, comic books, or graphic novels)

• Video games

Using the resources available in the classroom, the Walden Library, Google Scholar, or other academically relevant source, identify two quotes that discuss your chosen issue and each of the modern popular culture categories you have chosen. Each quote should be ABOUT the social issue AND the popular culture category. Record the full bibliographic details for these quotes so that you can include them in your Final Project.

After completing the worksheet, you will have selected your issue, the categories of popular culture you will further research, a draft introductory paragraph project, and three academically relevant resources for inclusion in your Final Project.

Week 2—Milestone 2: History

Research the history of at least one of your chosen popular culture categories and your chosen social issue. The history should cover approximately 50 years but may be longer. Do this by selecting two popular culture artifacts/expressions within the category and discussing how social issue messaging within the category has changed over time. These artifacts/expressions serve as your specific examples. Include a description of how the audience has changed over time. Example:

Issue – Sexuality/Gender

Category – Television (Episodic moving image)

Artifacts/Expressions – I Love Lucy (1951) compared to The Good Place (2016), or, All in the Family (1971) compared to Modern Family (2009)

If your research indicates that the audience and messaging has not changed, hypothesize why that might be.

Week 3—Milestone 3: Access and Distribution

Investigate access and distribution of your popular culture artifacts/expressions. Determine who influences the distribution of your selected popular culture artifacts/expressions. Determine the ways in which the controller of distribution affects the shared experience of the audience and community. Consider how the distribution mechanism influences the issues addressed in the content.

Week 4—Milestone 4: Change

Select one more popular culture artifact/expressions. (Note: you should now have three to five artifacts/expressions – two to four from Week 2 and one from Week 4.) Analyze how popular culture influences society’s values and whether society’s values influence popular culture.

Week 5—Final Project

Revise and combine the Milestones from Weeks 1 through 4, including quotes, sources, draft introductory paragraph and incorporating Instructor feedback from the Grade Book. Add one more component by analyzing how a second issue relates to at least one of your artifacts/expressions. Example:

Issue – Sexuality/Gender

Categories – Movies and Music

Artifacts/Expressions –

Movies: Titanic (1997); Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens (2015)

Music: “Take Me to Church” by Hozier (2013); “Follow your Arrow” by Kacey Musgraves (2013)

NEW ISSUE + at least one artifact/expression – Violence in Titanic (1997).

Include any new research. Be sure to include an introduction, a conclusion, and references to all of your sources AND your artifacts/expressions.

The whole paper should be formatted according to the guidance provided by the Walden Writing Center’s Undergraduate Paper Template found at:

https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general

Popular culture artifacts/expressions should be formatted according to the guidance provided by the Walden Writing Center and can be found at:

https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/c.php?g=373747&p=2526613

In addition to the popular culture artifacts/expressions there should be at least five academically relevant resources.