Culture, Media and Society

About

This course will explore culture from a sociological perspective, including the relationships between culture and ideology, identity, and society. Drawing on both theoretical and empirical texts, the course will examine culture from a variety of standpoints, with a focus on the role of media in shaping our understandings of ourselves, social issues, and the broader context in which we live. We will highlight contemporary debates and examine them from both a theoretical and a practical standpoint.

We will study the following themes from a theoretical and practical perspective:

- Difference, Identity, and Culture
- Popular Culture, Mass Media, and Globalization
- Subcultures
- The Politics of Entertainment
- News media, Discourse, and Politics
- Race, Gender, and Cultural Representations
- Music and Social Change
- Digital Culture and Social Media

Methods: Coursework will include participation in lectures, independent research, analytical exercises, peer to peer learning, dialogues and a final project.

The day is structured so that we have lectures in the morning and groupwork, workshops, or dialogues in the afternoon.

Date: 1 August – 30 August. Contact teaching in Turku 4-15 August 2025. The start and finish of the course is completed online.

https://turkuabosummerschool.utu.fi/course-selection/culture-media-and-society/

Course leader

Åbo Akademi University

Target group

Undergraduate students with at least two years completed of Bachelor’s studies in social sciences, humanities, or related subjects. If you do not fill these requirements but feel that you have a basic understanding of theories about society and/or media and an interest to learn more, please contact the Open University of ÅAU to discuss the possibility to participate in the course.

Course aim

As a student you will be able to:

- lay out both the foundational and contemporary debates in cultural sociology.
- analyze the relationship between culture, media, and society from a variety of standpoints.
- develop an in-depth understanding of selected areas in cultural sociology, with the opportunity to develop specialized knowledge of topics of interest to them.
- Finally, you will learn about methods of cultural analysis with a focus on the critical analysis of media and discourse.

Fee info