Engage Students in History through the Universal Appeal of Pop Culture

A one-of-a-kind social studies resource, Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas examines U.S. history through developments in art, literature, clothing, fashion, food, film, music, sports, technology, and travel — all what students find interesting about today’s culture, in the context of America’s past.

Thousands of primary and secondary sources organized in a decade-by-decade format support engaged learning about the movements, trends, and turning points that have shaped modern American history.

Features Include: 

Decades pages that provide fun and informative overviews of pop cultures through the decades, including movies, TV shows, awards, box office stars, fads, fashion, news items, etc.

Stories section that offers informative, at-a-glance articles focused on describing major events and trends in pop culture from the 1900s to the present, from the Gibson Girls of the Gilded Age to the social media of the 2000s

Analyze section that guides users through the hot topics and key questions in pop culture, from advertising in 1950s America to the effects of rapidly changing technology on our communities

Skills Center that provides proprietary research tutors and wizard to help students and researchers sharpen their skills. Also provides lesson plans and a reading room featuring full text professional titles from Libraries Unlimited

Additional features include: 

  • Basic and advanced search options to return the most relevant results
  • Standards-based curriculum updated daily by a team of subject-specific editorial experts and supported by an extensive range of instructional material
  • Commentaries written by noted scholars that reflect multiple points of view and stimulate critical thinking
  • Educator Support Site containing valuable professional development tools, curriculum guides, lesson plans and more

The database provides more than 300 volumes of authoritative, published content—thousands of articles fully indexed by a team of librarians and subject specialists. Content is vetted, regularly checked, and regularly updated, and new content is added yearly.

Decades Covered:

  • 1900s: The Age of Innocence
  • 1910s: The Age of Opulence
  • 1920s: The Roaring Twenties
  • 1930s: The Great Depression
  • 1940s: The War Years
  • 1950s: Cold War and Conformity
  • 1960s: Swingin’ Sixties
  • 1970s: The Me Decade
  • 1980s: The Big Eighties
  • 1990s: The Information Age
  • 2000s: Networked Nation
  • 2010s: Social Revolution