AMERICAN HISTORY and POPULAR CULTURE

Tutor: Michael Flanagan NT, BEd, MA, MALPC (Leadership and Pastoral Care), PhD.

Michael is a former Lead Tutor in History of Education in Hibernia College and Head of Primary School Placement in St. Nicholas Montessori College. He has considerable experience in the creation and delivery of adult education courses in the ALBA (Adult Learning BA) programme in All Hallows College, DCU. He has presented widely at conferences in the area of Media Studies and Popular Culture and has published extensively in this field.

Students will learn some of the key ideas associated with the study of American History and Popular Culture and gain an understanding of how this uniquely American phenomenon has achieved such an overarching and lasting international appeal.

What is the cultural significance of the flying of the Confederate flag by rioters during the January 6th, 2021, protests at the Capital Building? What links George Romero’s 1968 zombie film Night of the Living Dead with the Cold War? What was the inspiration for the creation such popular cultural iconic figures like Batman, Captain America, and the X-Men? These are among the questions that will be answered over the course of this twelve-week programme as pivotal issues of American History and Popular Culture will be outlined. Among other topics, the work of such writers as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe will be considered, especially from the perspective of their significant contribution to the genre which has become known a ‘Gothic Horror.’ We will reflect on the long-term influence of this literary style up to the present day, not least as evident in the writing of Anne Rice and Stephen King. We will discuss how Hank Williams revolutionized country music, transforming it from a regional "hillbilly" genre into a mainstream cultural force, and trace this genre’s trajectory from the Appalachian Mountains to the great concert halls of the world in the music of such exponents as Neil Young in his seminal 1972 album Harvest   and The Eagles’ pioneering blend of country, folk and rock. 

The portrayal of American modernism in the work of Andy Warhol and Edward Hopper will feature in this course, with a special emphasis on their different yet shared representation of urban alienation and consumer culture. The long-term impact of the 1950s Beat Generation will be evaluated, exploring how this radical, new literary movement centered around figures like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, championed sexual liberation, Eastern philosophy, and drug experimentation and fundamentally shaped the 1960s counterculture and whose influence on literature, music, and art can still be felt in the world of the 21st century. We will assess the history and cultural significance of American television from the pioneering black and white era of the 1950s to the sometimes overwhelmingly sophisticated level of choice which we experience today.

Thursday Morning:  11.30 am to 1.30pm                             12 WEEKS           Cost: €145