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Politics and Popular Culture

Thursday, February 26, 2009 @ 5:00 pm EST

Robert Putnam has suggested that the political consciousness and civic engagement of the post- World War II generation may have taken shape in bowling alleys and other spaces where community members gathered. Might the political consciousness of the new generation be taking shape in and around popular culture? Are we seeing a blurring of the roles of citizen and consumer? Is this fusion between entertainment and news a good or a bad thing? What links exist between our cultural and our political preferences? How are activists and political leaders utilizing metaphors from popular culture as resources to mobilize their supporters? Is it possible that aspects of our popular culture may generate utopian visions that fuel political change? These and other questions will be explored by panelists Johanna Blakley, deputy director of the Norman Lear Center at USC; David Carr, media and culture writer for the New York Times; and Stephen Duncombe, associate professor at NYU and author of Dream: Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy. Henry Jenkins will moderate.

Details

Date:
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Time:
5:00 pm EST
Event Category:
Event Tags:
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Venue

MIT Media Lab, Bartos Theater
20 Ames Street
Cambridge, MA 02139 United States
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