Introduction to Mexican-American Popular Culture

We are immersed in popular culture during most of our waking hours. It is on the radio, television, our computers, and smartphones that we access the Internet and streets and highways in the form of advertisements and billboards. It is in newspapers, movie theaters, and shopping malls. It is at music concerts and sports events. It is found throughout our homes. The popular culture surrounding us can tell us much about ourselves. This is especially true when we examine popular culture analytically when we pause to study it in a socio-historical context. This course will examine Mexican Americans’ rich, popular cultural traditions and practices, the most significant component of the U.S. burgeoning Latinx population. Areas covered are music, cinema, newspapers, radio, television, popular literature, art, celebrations, and other popular traditions.