BMET 27A32 - From Shakespeare to Beyoncé: Cultural Hierarchy in America — Fabrique des Maquettes Pédagogiques

Informations

This seminar examines the emergence and evolution of cultural hierarchy in America. From the relatively shared public

culture of the 19th century to the development of lowbrow, middlebrow, and highbrow categories, how did these

divisions – affecting theater, museums, libraries, and music – take hold in the United States? How have they evolved in

the 20th and 21st centuries?

From popular Shakespeare performed in vaudeville theaters to Beyoncé’s performance at Barack Obama’s inauguration,

this course explores how works are received and interpreted, demonstrating that the categories we use to describe

culture may evolve. Cultural boundaries, in fact, are more permeable than immutable.

Classes are organized as methodological workshops in which students engage directly with a variety of primary sources,

including academic articles, press materials, archival documents, political speeches, videos, and musical performances.

Through hands-on analysis, guided discussions, and group work, students will reflect on historically contextualizing and

interpreting materials, while developing their research and analytical methodology, ultimately gaining a critical

perspective on the subject.

Participation15%

Group presentation35 %

Research paper50 %

- Lawrence Levine, Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990.

Lire en ligne

- James W. Cook and Lawrence B. Glickman, “Twelve Propositions for a History of U.S. Cultural History,” in Cook, Glickman, and Michael O’Malley, The Cultural Turn in U.S. History, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008, 3-57.
- Michel Denning, The Cultural Front: The Labouring of American Culture in the Twentieth Century, Verso, 2010.
- Victoria E. Bonnell and Lynn Hunt, eds., Beyond the Cultural Turn: New Directions in the Study of Society and Culture, Berkeley, Calif., 1999.
- Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, London: Penguin UK, 2008

Emprunter

N° d'UP	Type d'UP	Unités pédagogiques	Enseignants	Nombre d'heures	Crédits
59527	Atelier	From Shakespeare to Beyoncé: Cultural Hierarchy in America	—	24	3