Eastern Oklahoma State College, Press Release, PTK Satellite Seminar

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PTK Satellite Seminar Series
(Press Release 9-27-04)
Hank Mooney, Office of Public Information

Submitted

Eastern's PTK chapter and the Honors Program are sponsoring the 2004 PTK Satellite Seminar Series, "Popular Culture: Shaping and Reflecting Who We Are". The seminars will be presented in Baker 112 on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. The dates and topics are:

Sept. 28 (Mis)understanding History: Shaping Modern Myth and Popular Values:

"(Mis)understanding History: Shaping Modern Myth and Popular Values" will be presented by Dr. Robert McElvaine, Chair of the Dept. of History at Milsaps College, Missippi. Dr. McElvaine will explore the impact of 20-th century popular culture on mass (mis)understanding of history through an examination of two films, D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation (1915) and Oliver Stone's JFK (1991). These movies were cinematic masterpieces that persuasively presented misleading versions of history. Utilizing additional examples from film, music, and television over the past half century, Dr. McElvaine will consider the role of popular culture in shaping American values. He argues that the "culture war" that has raged since the 1960's is a phony war in which the forces of popular culture, often vilified for undermining traditional values, have in fact been working in concert with American business to maximize consumption.

This seminar should have broad appeal to students and offers an exciting opportunity for our students to engage in socially relevent discussions. The seminars are live and interactive--we can email or call in questions. The seminar is co-sponsored by Eastern's PTK chapter and the Honors Program. A videotape will be available for classroom use.

Oct. 12 Creating and Marketing Youth: Youth Music and Culture in 20th Century America

The second Satellite Seminar will be broadcast (Oct. 12) at 6:30 pm and can be viewed in the ITV room in Baker.

Dr. Tricia Bordo, Professor of American Studies at UC Santa Cruz, will present: "Creating and Marketing Youth: Youth Music and Culture in 20th Century America". Dr. Bordo will explore the development of mass culture and its relationship to issues of race and the emergence of youth culture in the first half of the 20th century. She will link the development of rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues to changing social formations in the 1950s and 1960s. She will also explore the emergence of hip-hop and its relationship to post-industrial urban America and suburban America from the 1980s to the present. Youth music can contribute to important forms of social change and foster cross-racial exchanges. At the same time, it is vulnerable to market manipulations, and it acts as a partner in the perpetutation of longstanding racial inequalities.

Oct. 26 The Empire of Images: Growing Up Male and Female in a World dominated by Popular Culture

The third semianr will be broadcast Tuesday, Oct. 26 (ITV room, Baker) at 6:30 pm.

Dr. Susan Bordo, Chair of Humanities at the University of Kentucky will present "The Empire of Images; Growing Up Male and Female in a World Dominated by Popular Culture". Dr. Bordo will examine the power of mass imagery. It is chiefly from these images --no longer from parents, clergy or teachers--that girls and boys growing up today learn the "rules" for success in this culture. These images have resulted in an unprecedented emphasis on the "fit" body, physical attractiveness, and sexual allure. But mass images have also challenged many long-standing taboos about manliness and feminity, and created a visual world of racial and ethnic diversity that is allowing more people to feel mirrored and included in the culture. Mass media is thus a powerful tool for cultural change, an arena where people can--and should--protest, create, and transform the conditions of their lives.

Nov. 9 Courting Disaster? Changing Values about Love, Sex, and Marriage

Nov. 16 Sports in Popular Culture: Are We Winning or Losing?

The last PTK Satellite Seminar will be presented Nov. 16 at 6:30 in the ITV room in Baker Hall. Dr. Richard Lapchick, Chair of the DeVos Sports Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida and Director of the Institute fro Diversity and Ethics in Sport, will present: "Sports in Popular Culture: Are We Winning of Losing?"

Dr. Lapchick will explain why sports are an integral part of American popular culture, as he traces the development of sports through American history. Sports impacts society positively by contributing to healthy bodies, teamwork and self-esteem. Nevertheless, sports have become big business and have experienced growing pains in order to assure diversity and equality. Lapchick will discuss the good, bad and ugly athletes of modern sports and the cultural environment that engenders negative role models. A passioante reformer, Lapchick will offer some solutions that he and his associates have been working on for years.