Pop Culture Clubs

A new opportunity to share in intellectual conversations about music, art, movies, literature, television, and more with like-minded Ursinus students outside of class. Stress-free, professor-led, and open to everyone. No prior experience with the topics are required!

What to expect

Each club meets weekly for the first five weeks of the semester (before things get busy!) from 4:30-5:40. Books and materials will be provided by the college. Clubs are extracurricular (not for credit) and there is no obligation to attend every meeting.

Topics for Fall 2024

Taylor Swift (Ursinus’s Version)
Led by Dr. Dienstfrey

Your weekly dose of stimulating discussion about Taylor Swift’s music, lyrics, and cultural mythology. Each week will focus on folklore, evermore, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Department in the context of broader philosophical questions concerning emotional sincerity, taste, femininity, authenticity, and authorship. Swifties and non-Swifties are welcome!

Classic Children’s Literature
Led by Dr. Fleeger

This group revisits three classic children’s novels: The Secret Garden, Pippi Longstocking, and The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. We’ll talk about how these books represent childhood, how nostalgia structures our current engagement with them, and what broader philosophical ideas arise from reading these books as adults. Whether it’s your first time reading or you have your own battered copies under your pillow, you’ll be welcome!

Sci-Fi Television: Firefly
Led by Dr. New

Come enjoy the sci-fi-western classic, Firefly, whose single season was much too short. Starting from the beginning, we will watch an episode a week together (popcorn provided!) and then discuss those aspects of the show that catch out fancy, from plot to debates on our favourite character to any relationships to other sci-fi stories, and anything else that may catch our fancy.