BYU Student Allison Pope Spent Her Summer Studying in Five European Cities, Learning the Importance of Pop Culture as a Form of Communication
Rome was not built in a day and neither was pop culture. Allison Pope, a BYU communications student from Washington state, recently returned from the Global Communications Study Abroad Program, where she and other students traveled throughout Western Europe exploring media history and pop culture’s influence on communication across generations.
The group visited Athens, Rome, Florence, London and Paris, all of which are major historical hubs for early pop culture.
“This study abroad has been really unique because we have gotten the opportunity to go to five different cities instead of just staying in one place the whole time,” Pope said. “I love traveling internationally because you get to learn about all these different cultures and ways of living. It puts into perspective how different we all are, as well as how similar we all are.”
As a major pop culture fan, Pope loved studying its role in communication — specifically the way it has evolved over centuries.
“One thing that has particularly stood out to me in the readings is the way that pop culture has changed and how it is perceived,” Pope said. “We have talked a lot about the difference between high culture and low culture, and how the idea of pop culture has, for a very long time, been deemed low culture for people who cannot afford to go to high culture events. More recently, we consider pop culture as something that we can all enjoy, no matter what our social or economic status is.”
Pope’s passion for her studies and the opportunity to learn on-site were what led her to join the trip.
“Sometimes it does not even feel like I am in school,” Pope said. “That is the really beautiful thing about studying abroad — you can only read so much, but seeing it face to face really helps you understand even better. There is something really special about being able to see it in person.”
One of those in-person experiences for Pope was exploring theater in Athens and London.
“We went to Athens where theater became popular and then we went to London where theater has expanded,” Pope said. “I spent a lot of time in the West End because I love musicals. People travel from all over the world to see these shows because there is something so special about being in a room with people experiencing theater live.”
Pope also visited the Jane Austen Centre in Bath where she observed the longevity of some pop culture, highlighting the connection between us and those born centuries ago.
“You really feel like you are being transported back in time to when Jane Austen was alive and when her books were being published,” Pope said. “It is so fascinating to think that something that was considered entertaining and funny 200 years ago is just as, if not more, entertaining and funny today.”
Because of the interactive aspect of communications, learning alongside a group of her peers enhanced the experience for Pope even more.
“It has been really fun to travel with the group,” Pope said. “You get five weeks with this big group of people, and you really learn to love and know them all on a very unique level. Pop culture is all about people and their personal experiences, so experiencing pop culture with people on the other side of the world is really special. That is what communications is all about: people, no matter where you are from, appreciating pop culture together.”
In addition to a shared area of study, the group of students also share religious beliefs that played an important part in their studies as they traveled.
“Our group got to go to church in every city that we visited,” Pope said. “I love seeing how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints truly is a worldwide church. We got to see the Rome Temple and tour the visitor center. Something that stood out to me was viewing the statues of the 12 Apostles, and of course the beautiful Christus. The specific designs for these apostles came from another religion. The designs came from another country, another culture. But our church is honoring that perception of what the apostles look like to different cultures.”
Whether religious history or pop culture history, Pope gained a deeper appreciation for their importance.
“What I have learned on this trip has given me an appreciation for just how far we have come in regards to communications and public relations,” Pope said. “The importance of studying communications has not always been respected or understood, but now there is a lot more understanding of how powerful and important communications is.”
As she continues her studies at BYU, Pope hopes to remember to look deeper at the media she consumes.
“This trip has really made me understand what pop culture can look like and how important it is for us to take it seriously,” Pope said. “Pop culture really has an impact in our society and in our culture. That is something I want to keep an eye out for in my future studies here at BYU — to feel what is happening online and in the world around us and not just look for something to amuse me, but look into how it is impacting how we see pop culture.”
As Pope looks back at her time abroad studying communications, she has come to realize that she is part of the history of media and pop culture — and so are all of us.
“We have learned about the history of media and how pop culture has evolved over the years, but it is still evolving to this day,” Pope said. “I know that if I keep my eye out I can be a part of how that evolves, and that is a really beautiful thing to understand. This is not just something that we are studying; it is something that we are experiencing.”