Approaching an expansion of teaching American studies through popular culture texts

Abstract

The present study aims to consider an expanded approach to teaching American Studies at the Universidad de Alcalá, achieved by using popular culture texts to assist the comprehension and analysis of foreign sociocultural contexts. Given the pervasiveness of American products framed by an increased access provided by digital globalization, it would seem particularly useful to approach such texts from a critical academic perspective. Stemming from the answers a diverse range of students gave—and considering their limitations—the study delves into how popular culture informs and shapes the students’ disposition toward learning, consequently outlining how a course in American Studies could be developed in order to exploit such texts and effectively stimulate a more diverse understanding of the American context(s).