Popular culture artifact or phenomenon

What:

A twelve-page (double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt. font, 1” margins) term paper focusing on a popular culture artifact or phenomenon of your choosing. You could explore the cultural significance of an album, band or DJ; a music genre; a subculture; a television series; a magazine; a cartoon; music videos; a film; a video game – whatever you want!

How: 

Your paper should do the following:

Anchor the discussion with relevant theories from the assigned readings

Don’t just look for an obvious link that doesn’t go anywhere, but rather aim for utility – which theory will enable a sophisticated discussion of your object of analysis?

Integrate scholarly sources to flesh out theoretical foundations and articulate your analytic framework

This means you’ll need to do some library research

Final references list will include at least 8 scholarly sources (including at least one source from the Storey anthology)

Feel free to do more than the minimum

Emphasize elements of text and genre

The goal is not a communications theory paper, but rather a concrete application of theory to the analysis of a specific text or set of texts

Evaluation Criteria: What Constitutes an “A”?

Research

A significant amount of independent, scholarly research was undertaken

The majority of sources are from peer-reviewed publications; those that aren’t are used as primary research only

Research is solidly within the parameters of the analysis and thesis argument

Argumentation

An original and provocative thesis is clearly stated at the beginning of the paper

The method of proving that thesis is established early on and justified on scholarly terms

The thesis provides the backbone of analysis and reaches a satisfying conclusion based on what was proposed at the beginning

Analysis

Based on excellent research and an original thesis, the analysis is strong, and clearly based on established research questions

The research is artfully woven throughout the analysis, shoring up and thoughtfully supporting the argument

New information is well contextualized and serves to propel the argument towards a satisfying conclusion

Clarity

The paper is easy to read, analysis flows expertly

Language is sophisticated without being jargonistic

Terms of analysis and argumentation are clearly laid out and well-defined

Format

Times New Roman 12pt, double spaced, 1-inch margins, page numbers

A cover page provides pertinent information

The references list is properly formatted in APA style

Citations are thorough and well documented throughout the paper