Upcoming Events

On Wednesday, June 4, Sam Samore will defend their dissertation "Teens on TV: School, Work, and the Failed Revolution." Sam writes:

This dissertation is a study of the politics of American youth through the lens of “high school TV.” I argue that the genre emerged as a response to the “failed revolution” of student protest in the 1960s, and reveals how popular media technology both responds to and transforms political desires. In the late sixties, youth-driven social movements sought to radically transform the structure of American society. From its inception, high school TV addressed the core concern of those movements: the fraught accommodation of young people to their roles in capitalist society. As high school TV became increasingly popular in subsequent decades, seeking out newly youthful audiences, it continued to explore the issues that defined the sixties: 1) the rise of the school as the central institution of multiracial social reproduction, 2) the growth of a “new class” between the working class and the bourgeoisie, and 3) the social proximity of youth to racially and sexually minoritized underclasses. Shows such as Welcome Back, Kotter (1975-1979), Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000), Euphoria (2019-) all aimed to entertain. At the same time, they mirrored the writing of student activists, radical teachers, and militant theorists—but in a distorted form, envisioning youth autonomy in the absence of youth political power. This project reads TV series in conversation with left-wing political discourse in order to demonstrate television’s ability to both depict and depoliticize social conflict.

The defense will be a hybrid event, held both in the FBH Faculty Lounge (room 135) and on Zoom (please contact Sam for the link). The private portion of the defense will take place from 2 to 3 pm, and the public portion of the defense will take place from 3 to 4 pm, to be followed by a celebratory reception.

We hope to see you there as we congraulate Sam on this wonderful achievement!