Faculty First Year Seminars 191SOC7 - BTS: A Scholarly Subject

This course examines the kpop group BTS through a scholarly lens. We look at their rise to fame as a cultural phenomenon, and use it as a way to explore how phenomenons are studied in the humanities and social sciences. We will cover, for example, how sociologists think about kpop as a form of ?soft power,? and what ethnomusicologists say about the genre. We?ll see insights from gender studies scholars about what masculinity means for BTS, and will learn about their innovations on stage performance from communications scholars. We?ll consider the political impacts of BTS? success, and think about some of the predictions scholars are making about their future. By using BTS as a lens, you will discover new ?fields? that you can study at UMass and beyond.

First-Year - Fresh/Soph