Upon completion of the course, students will be able to describe and discuss various aspects of United States culture. They will have an appreciation for storytelling as a way to develop understanding of cultural concepts. They will demonstrate an ability to use their own writing skills to analyze and present their reflections on different topics.

This course offers you a flexible way to learn about American culture and get credits during the summer. The work consists of listening to a selection of podcasts, most taken from National Public Radio, This American Life, and The Moth, then reflecting (by which I mean writing) on the themes in the podcasts. In addition, there are a few research & reflect assignments.

The flexibility of the course should lend itself to a summer timetable. If your summer job involves a longish commute, you can listen to podcasts on your way to and from work. If you like hiking or running, you can listen while doing that (like I do). As you lie in your hammock in the back yard, you can ponder the themes and put together your own ideas and opinions. You will visit your computer on a regular basis to record those ideas and opinions in the form of reflections.

Contents

1. Initial small research project on National Public Radio and the US media.
2. Consumption of approximately 10 hours of podcasts that discuss different themes in US culture. There will be a number of required podcasts, but you will also discover and include podcasts of your own choosing.
3. Final larger reflection on 1 of the themes in the podcasts

Enrollment and mode of study

Sign up for the course has been closed.

The self-study course will be conducted via Moodle.

You will need to have some kind of listening device and a tool for downloading podcasts.