In their influential essay, “The Culture Industry,” Adorno and Horkheimer criticize newly emergent mass culture of the late–nineteenth and early-twentieth century as a mass-produced, industrial product that deceives its audiences.

Write a comparative essay, comparing one of the following essays to “The Culture Industry.”

  1. Walter Benjamin, “Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
  2. George Lipsitz, “Popular Culture: This Ain’t No Sideshow”
  3. Lev Manovich, “The Practice of Everyday (Media) Life: From Mass Consumption to Mass Cultural Production”
  4. Lynn Spigel, “The Domestic Economy of Postwar Television”
  5. Susan Douglas, “The Turn Within: The Irony of Technology in a Globalized World”

How does it agree or disagree with Adorno and Horkheimer’s argument? Does the author of the newer essay characterize mass culture as popular culture, that is culture that is meaningful for the people that use it and engage with it? Or does the author characterize as mass culture as ideologically deceptive, like Adorno and Horkheimer charge in their essay?

A comparative essay examines more than one thing—in this case essays written by other scholars—along a set of consistent criteria. Refer to my example of Apples and Oranges: A Comparison

There are two parts to this assignment, both must be submitted on Microsoft Teams.

Part 1: Draft and Outline

Write a draft and outline of your proposed essay that includes the following:

  1. a one-paragraph summary of Adorno and Horkheimer’s central argument about the culture industry and mass culture, including a few relevant quotes.
  2. a one-paragraph summary of the central argument made in the essay you selected, including determining whether the essay characterizes media as mass culture or as popular culture. Please include a few relevant quotes.
  3. a provisional thesis statement that connects the essay you selected with Adorno and Horkheimer’s central argument.
  4. a provisional outline—a list of topic sentences—of how you plan to compare these essays and support your thesis.

Submit this draft and outline on Microsoft Teams by the deadline noted on the course website and on Microsoft Teams. Use the attached Word document: no other format or attachment is acceptable.

A sample draft and outline is available on OneDrive.

Paper Writing Tips

Please review my video on some tips that you should consider as you work from revising your draft to a final version that you will submit.

Part 2: Final Essay

As soon as you submit your draft and outline, schedule an appointment with me to discuss how to realize your final essay.

I will not accept your final essay unless we meet to discuss your draft.

Your final essay should cite sources, according to my Guidelines on Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Citing Sources.