In order to develop a manageable project, I had to frame a clear set of 

Research Questions

 
  Questions about popular song
  • how did songs get to be popular before radio or MTV?
  • how were popular songs used?
  • what kinds of songs were popular?
  
  Questions about women in public life
  • what roles did women play in public?
  • what issues emerged as women took on more public roles? 
  • how did American culture reconcile ideas about women as “household goddesses” with women’s emerging public activities?
  
  Questions about other popular texts
  • how did people use newspapers, gift books, souvenirs?
  • how did those texts influence their users?
  • how did they interact with each other?
  
  Questions about popularity
  • how do critical theorists to explain why some things become popular? 
  • how do we think popular images affect individuals and the culture at large?
  
  For more information on research questions, visit the site glossary.