CMS 275 A: Perspectives on Visual Culture: Sex, Race and Power

CMS 275: THE 1970s

Jose Alaniz, instructor

There’s a lot more to the 1970s than bell bottoms, pet rocks and disco. It was the historical era when the counterculture went mainstream and the baby boomers became a driving force in the zeitgeist. This course surveys the decade’s popular culture in the US, especially novels, comics, television and films. We will examine how these reflected such highlights of the decade as the end of the Vietnam War; the Watergate scandal; the energy crisis; the election of Jimmy Carter; along with the rise of disco and Saturday Night Live. We will pay particular attention to representations of Black culture (e.g. Blaxploitation); the sexual revolution; and second-wave feminism. It’ll be outta sight!