124182 VK BEd 08b.3: VK Cultural Studies and Language Education (2023S)

This course examines Black popular culture as one way to fight racism and other forms of oppression. Focusing on popular music videos, horror and drama films, street art, and other cultural texts, this course analyzes how Black artists, actors, and performers have been addressing and fighting racism through these texts. The course pays close attention to the complex nature of racism, zeroing in on such issues as environmental racism, medical racism, and police brutality, as well as explores the value of intersectionality when dealing with various types of oppression. Recognizing the ongoing marginalization and subjugation of BIPOC communities worldwide, the course foregrounds care, protest, and resistance sustained by these communities. Finally, one of the chief goals of this course is to provide examples and outline clear ways of teaching Black popular culture and social justice at school.