Cultural Exploration
Professor: Kelly O’Keefe

cul-ture:

1. that which is excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc. 2. development or improvement of the mind by education or training. 3. the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture. 4. the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.

One of the great truths about the creation of advertising is that the very best advertising is done by the people who know the most about the broadest array of topics. The people who know the most about what it means to be human. Who can synthesize really broad general knowledge in a very specific way. They are in touch with the world around them – the people, the arts, the current trends and the historical references.

This class will take you to new places and introduce you to new people. You’ll explore social phenomena from NASCAR to MySpace.com, and discuss leaders who influence culture, like Stanley Kubrick, Muhammad Ali, Fred Rogers, Alfred Steiglitz, Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z and Stephen Colbert.

In this business it becomes very easy to lose sight of the world around us. You will sit in offices where you’ll meet, talk and socialize with people who are just as myopic and focused as you are. People who eat, breathe and sleep advertising. To become successful, you must cultivate an open mind to the world around you and work hard to continue to listen to what’s happening. Therefore this class is designed to get you out of the classroom and into everyday life.

Each week you will be given an assignment intended to inspire you and get in touch with things around you. We will explore magazines, music, museums and malls. We will discuss the impact of technology on popular culture and the power of media to shape attitudes. We will look at issues from multiple perspectives. (Is graffiti public art or vandalism?) And we will learn from the alternative perspectives of our peers.

This class will be fun and purposeful – encouraging the development of a lifetime of curiosity.

Requirements: (See Syllabus)