Topics in AMCS: No Future: Punk and the End of the 20th Century
AMERICAN CULTURE STUDIES 3360
This course will explore the sounds, styles, and subcultures of punk from the 1960s through the '90s.
Not limited to any one place, punk exploded on both sides of the Atlantic and across the Americas
amid the political and economic crises of the late twentieth century. To make sense of this history,
students will look at how "punk rock" gave expression to young people's alienation from a world that
offered them "no future." Punk did not just transform music, but also visual art, film, fashion, and
writing. We will also confront how punk challenged (and also reinforced) prevailing ideas about class,
race, sexuality and gender. Throughout the course students will work with a mix of readings, records
and films, and other material artifacts from the heyday of punk.
Course Attributes: EN S; BU BA; BU IS; AS SSC; FA SSC; AR SSC