Readings in Pop Lit and Culture: Coming of Age in America

From the German Bildungsroman to Campus novels to Teen Rom-Coms, artists and artworks have explored the trials, tribulations, and growing pains of human beings at the cusp of adulthood. Since maturation is a very context-specific phenomenon, in this course, we will discuss the theme of coming of age in American literature and popular culture from different time periods and genres. The question of what it means to transition from childhood to adulthood, from innocence to maturity, is relevant to many disciplines in the Humanities and the Social Sciences.

We will look at a range of texts, including literature, graphic novels, film, television, and music, through the lenses of literary criticism, psychology, and social critique, asking questions about how aspects of culture, like religion, class structure, race, etc. affect how “coming of age” is defined, experienced, and celebrated, and how popular culture, film, media, etc. shape our understanding of what coming of age, rebellion, and “adulting” are supposed to look like.