Sociologists largely see ‘Generation X’ as the generation born from the late 1960’s to the early 1980’s – the generation that followed upon the storied ‘Baby Boomers’.
Gen X has often been viewed as a generation of ‘slackers’ with a lack of clear convictions – a ‘Nevermind’ generation. The latchkey kids of this time period are now assuming positions of power in politics, the economy, industry and all major fields in our contemporary society. Since most of you are members of so-called millennials, a closer look at Generation X makes good sense at this particular juncture.
In this course, we will be exploring a range of cultural products that can be considered as having a seminal influence on this diverse group of people. The historical and cultural bookends for our exploration of Generation X will be the Vietnam War era and the 9/11 attacks. While exploring these cultural products, we will also critically appraise this era and open up points of debate about the shortcomings of creating defined generations as such and will also explore to what extent certain cultural products may indeed define the generation. |
