The Walt Disney Company has come to be regarded as the epitome of global, family-friendly popular culture across all media. Beyond enthusiastic responses from the public, the company’s various products have also attracted scholarly attention, from the textual readings by European semioticians in the 1970s to the “Disney-bashing” of the 1990s and the more reception-oriented fan studies of the 2010s. This class will introduce students to (a) a variety of theoretical concepts that will enable them to critically examine Disney “texts”; (b) seminal studies of Disney criticism; and (c) various potential fields of research, including comics, animated films, television, and theme parks.
Relevant material will be provided. Requirements for successful completion of the course: active participation in class discussions; research presentation towards the end of the term; term paper.
This class will allow students to improve their Information Literacy, Inquiry & Analysis, and Written Communication competences.
- Lehrende(r): Ben Alexander
- Lehrende(r): Florian Freitag