Heroes and Icons of American Culture 3301-KA1503

This course will examine a range of topics centered around the concepts of icons and heroes of American culture. We will be predominantly interested in the phenomena that emerged and were influential in the 20th century. Basic theoretical background will be introduced first (e. g. we will define an icon as opposed to celebrity, star, idol etc.), to be followed by a two-part chronological overview of how the 20th-century developments in American culture and society enabled the appearance and enhanced the endurance of particular American cultural icons and heroes. This will be followed by a closer analysis of the most influential and durable American iconic images and phenomena, as encountered in politics, film, advertisement, music, visual art or even food industry. Among others, we will analyze the possible reasons for the uniqueness of Marlene Dietrich, Humphrey Bogart, Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy, James Dean, Elvis Presley, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, Andy Warhol, Madonna, Michael Jackson; also fictional characters: Marlboro man, Uncle Sam, Rosie the Riveter, cartoon super heroes; iconic events: 9/11; symbols: the American flag; and places: NYC. This will be accompanied by introducing some useful concepts, e.g. American hero, film noir, femme fatale, Western movies, the Civil Rights Movement, black stereotypes (Uncle Tom, Mammy), the Second Wave of Feminism, and others. One class will be devoted to the ways in which American iconic phenomena were received in the socialist Poland. Every week students will be given compulsory reading assignment, sometimes accompanied by additional reading. During most classes students will be presented with clips from documentaries, video clips or slide shows pertinent to the discussed topics.
The aim of the course is to enhance students' fluency in addressing issues that are part of American contemporary culture. Students will focus on understanding and discussing the ways in which cultural icons come into being and achieve their possibly eternal status under given socio-cultural circumstances. We will ask the following questions: Why did particular icon emerge when they did? Do they bear relevance to our cultural experience as it is today? Do some of them cross national boundaries and prove influential in other than American contexts?
There will be a final test during our last class, which will comprise of a combination of closed and open questions made up on the basis of the material covered during the semester.