Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Popular Culture



Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Popular Culture

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies 2230

Fall 2012

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Monday, Wednesday, Friday

8:00-8:55 AM

147 University Hall

Instructor: Sierra Austin

E-mail: austin.261@osu.edu

Office: 037 University Hall

Office Hours: Wednesday 9:30-12:00 & by appointment

|Accommodation of Students with Disabilities: |

|Students who have verification from Disability Services are responsible for contacting the instructor as soon as possible. The Office|

|for Disability Services is located in 150 Pomerene Hall, verifies the need for accommodations and assists in the development of |

|accommodation strategies. Contact the ODS at 614.292.3307, TDD 614.292.0901, . |

Required Text:

All readings for the course will be made available on Carmen.

Course Description:

This course explores how popular culture generates and articulates our understandings of gender and sexuality and their intersections with race and class. We will study a variety of theories and methods used in contemporary gender/sexual scholarship on popular culture, and we will examine a number of popular media texts.

This course is based on the premise that popular culture is never simply diversion or entertainment. Instead, pop culture provides us with the stories, images, and scripts that enable us to imagine and practice femininities, masculinities, and sexualities. These images and practices, in turn, are imbued with class and racial values and characteristics (e.g. the whiteness of brides in bridal magazines). The sex and gender norms generated by popular culture are evident in the clothes we buy, the “looks” we aspire to, and the ways we think of love and romance. We absorb these norms from the ads we see, the movies/television we watch, and the celebrity stories we see on the news. This course enables us to do critical thinking about these images, practices, and stories. The point is to enable students to do this thinking on their own.

Fulfillment of GEC requirement:

This course fulfills the GEC requirement for Arts and Literature: Visual/Performing Arts. At the completion of WGSS 2230, students should be able to

• Understand the basic concepts of major critical theories used in studies of popular culture

• Make practical applications of these theories to popular texts

• Locate, through the above, the text’s treatment of issues of gender, sexuality, and race

Grade Breakdown

Participation & Attendance (10%):

Timely, consistent attendance is required. You are responsible for completing readings and assignments missed during your absence by the next class period when you return to class. In the event that class is canceled due to an emergency, I will contact you via email and request that a notice be posted on the classroom door. Check CARMEN for additional updates about schedule changes.

Come to class prepared with questions and comments on the assigned reading. You are encouraged to take an active role in classroom discussions by bringing relevant questions, concerns, and experiences to the classroom. Read all assigned class materials before coming to class. This class will be heavily discussion-based, so be prepared to contribute productively to the ongoing conversation. Please note that I often call on students by name to respond to questions or read aloud.

Quizzes (15%)

You will be given five quizzes during throughout the semester. Two of the quizzes will be announced—three will not. These quizzes will be about course readings and media. Quizzes will consist of multiple choice, short response and fill-in-the-blank questions. If you arrive late and students have already turned in their quizzes, you will not be able to take the quiz for that day. No make-up quizzes will be given. Instead, I will count only the highest four quizzes of the five scheduled.

Note: Note: Quizzes may cover any material up to and including the date of the quiz.

Midterm (20%) & Final Exam (15%)

The exams will cover Power-Points/lectures, screenings, readings, and class discussions. They will consist of multiple choice, short or extended response and fill-in-the-blank. Exams are NOT cumulative. Make-ups will only be granted in the case of a documented emergency.

Written Projects (20% each)

( Project 1: Advertising Scrapbook

For this written project, you must collect a sampling of five advertisements that utilize the following identity categories or stereotypes to sell a product: race, gender, class and/or sexuality. Respond to each advertisement with a 1-2 paragraph critical analysis that utilizes the theories and ideas you have learned in the course thus far. Be creative! You may submit your project digitally or in hard copy (i.e. binder, poster board, etc…). Check CARMEN for a grading rubric. Due at the beginning of class on Monday October 22nd.

(Project 2: Paper

The paper is your opportunity to apply the analytical skills and theoretical approaches we have learned. This formal paper is an analysis of a class reading, discussion, lecture, or film (in-class). A paper must have a thesis, introduction, supporting evidence (skillfully integrate at least two quotations) a conclusion and a works cited page. Papers should be double-spaced, in Times New Roman, 12 point font, have ample margins, and properly indented paragraphs. Papers must be at least three pages in length (not including the works cited page). Your papers should not merely repeat class discussion or consist of plot summaries or descriptions; your papers should argue a thesis from a definite position about a pop cultural text. Check CARMEN for a grading rubric. This paper must also be accompanied by a brief presentation during the week of November 26th. The paper is due on Monday December 3rd.

Extra Credit: Throughout the quarter, I will announce various events occurring around campus/ Columbus. You may attend one of these events and turn in a short write-up (1 -2 pages) within one week of attending, connecting the event with our course material. Students are permitted to submit only one extra credit assignment (worth five points). Students are also encouraged to share relevant extra credit opportunities to the class.

Grading Scale:

99 – 94% A

93 – 90% A –

89 – 87% B +

86 – 84% B

83 – 80% B –

79 – 77% C +

76 – 74% C

73 – 70% C –

69 – 67% D +

66 – 60% D

below 60% E

|Plagiarism/ Academic Misconduct: |

|As defined by University Rule 3335-31-02, plagiarism is “the representation of another’s works or ideas as one’s own; it includes the |

|unacknowledged word for word use and/or paraphrasing of another person’s work, and/or the inappropriate unacknowledged use of another |

|person’s ideas.” Plagiarism is one of the most serious offenses that can be committed in an academic community; as such, it is the |

|obligation of this department and its instructors to report all cases of suspected plagiarism to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. |

|After the report is filed, a hearing takes place and if the student is found guilty, the possible punishment ranges from failing the |

|class to suspension or expulsion from the university. Although the existence of the Internet makes it relatively easy to plagiarize, it |

|also makes it even easier for instructors to find evidence of plagiarism. It is obvious to most teachers when a student turns in work |

|that is not his or her own and plagiarism search engines make documenting the offense very simple. Always cite your sources. Always ask |

|questions before you turn in an assignment if you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism. Always see your instructor if you are|

|having difficulty with an assignment. To preserve the integrity of OSU as an institution of higher learning, to maintain your own |

|integrity, and to avoid jeopardizing your future, do not plagiarize. |

Resources:

The Writing Center offers free, ungraded assistance with assignments and writing concerns. Even strong writers can benefit from this service, and I encourage you to schedule an appointment with a trained tutor. For more information about available services, call 614-688-4291 or explore the website at

Please feel free to contact me at any time over the course of the quarter if you are struggling with papers, course work, etc. I am more than happy to assist you! E-mail is the best way to contact me. Also, I encourage you take advantage of office hours. If you have concerns about the course or find yourself struggling with content or assignments, it is your responsibility to seek help from me as soon as possible.

House Rules:

• Abide by the discussion rules we will construct the first day of class

• No cell phones – either silence them or turn them off

• No e-mail or internet usage during class

How to succeed in this course:

• Print out the essays from Carmen and prepare for class by using a highlighter to mark

significant passages and main ideas in the readings.

• Bring the readings with you to class every day. You will want to make notes based on

our class discussion and it is important that you have the readings on hand so that you

may refer to passages and points specifically.

Schedule of Classes:

The instructor reserves the right to make changes to the schedule at any time.

Wednesday 8/22: Why Study Pop Culture?

Introduction- Review syllabus and construct class guidelines

Screening: This Film is Not Yet Rated

|Popular Culture Theories |

Friday 8/24

Smith, “It’s Just a Movie: A Teaching Essay for Introductory Media Classes”

Screening: This Film is Not Yet Rated (Cont’d)

Monday 8/ 27: Popular Culture and Hegemonic Ideology

Kellner, “Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture”

Lull, “Hegemony”

Wednesday 8/29: Theories of Spectatorship

Quiz

Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”

hooks, “Oppositional Gaze”

Friday 8/31

Emerson, “Where My Girls At? Negotiating Black Womanhood in Music Videos”

Hunter & Soto, “Women of Color in Hip Hop: The Pornographic Gaze”

Monday 9/3

Labor Day- No Class

Wednesday 9/5: “Post-feminism” vs. Enlightened Sexism

Douglas, “Fantasies of Power”

Screening: Miss Representation

Friday 9/7

McRobbie, “Post-Feminism and Popular Culture”

Screening Miss Representation (Cont’d)

Monday 9/10

Markle, “Can Women Have Sex Like a Man?: Sexual Scripts in Sex and the City”

Screening: Sex and the City

Wednesday 9/12

Gerhard, “Sex and the City: Carrie Bradshaw’s Queer Postfeminism”

Screening: Sex and the City

Friday 9/14: QUIZ

|Representation Body Image & Diversity |

Monday 9/17: Women and Comedy

Rowe, “Pig Ladies, Big Ladies, and Ladies with Big Mouths: Feminism and the Carnivalesque”

Wednesday 9/19

Screening: Roseanne

Friday 9/ 21: Women and Victimization

Cuklanz & Sujata, “Television’s New Feminism: Prime-Time Representations of Women and Victimization”

Screening: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Monday 9/24: Gender, Race, Sexuality and the Music Video

Screening: Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex and Power in Music Videos

Wednesday 9/26

Screening: Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex and Power in Music Videos (cont’d)

Friday 9/28

Stephens & Few, “The Effects of Images of African American Women in Hip

Hop on Early Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Physical Attractiveness and Interpersonal Relationships”

Austin, “A man is only a man among other men, but to his woman he is all things”: Hip Hop Video Vixens’ Impact on Singleness Crisis Rhetoric”

Monday 10/1: Feminist Disability Studies

Garland-Thomson, “Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory”

Clips: Lady Gaga

Wednesday 10/3: Midterm

Friday 10/5: Sporting Bodies

Cahn, “Mannishness, Lesbianism, and Homophobia in U.S. Women’s Sport”

Screening: Not Just a Game

Monday 10/8

Lavelle, “A Critical Discourse Analysis of Black Masculinity in NBA Game Commentary”

Screening: Not Just a Game (cont’d)

Wednesday 10/10: Prime-Time Gay Visibility

Clarkson, “The Limitations of the Discourse of Norms: Gay Visibility and Degrees of Transgression”

Screening: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

Friday 10/12: Celebrity Motherhood

Douglas and Michaels, “The Mommy Wars: How Media Turned Motherhood into a

Catfight”

Screening: Teen Mom

Monday 10/15: Advertising and Consumption

Jhally, “Image-Based Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture”

Screening: The Merchants of Cool

Wednesday 10/17

Kilbourne, “The More You Subtract, the More You Add: Cutting Girls Down to Size”

Screening: Killing Us Softly

Friday 10/19

Gill, “Empowerment/Sexism: Figuring Female Sexual Agency in Contemporary Advertising”

Monday 10/22: Matrimania

Advertising Scrapbook Due

DePaulo, “Singlism: The Twenty-First Century Problem That Has No Name”

Wednesday 10/24

Engstrom, “Unraveling The Knot: Political Economy and Cultural Hegemony in Wedding Media”

Friday 10/26

Otnes & Pleck “The Rise of the Lavish Wedding”

Screening: Say Yes to the Dress

Monday 10/29: Hegemonic Beauty Myths & Makeover Culture

Kwan, “Navigating Public Spaces: Gender, Race, and Body Privilege in Everyday Life”

Hooks, “Straightening Our Hair”

Media Clips: Tyra, “Good Hair”

Wednesday 10/31

Franco, “Extreme Makeover: The Politics of Gender, Class, and Cultural Identity”

Friday 11/2

Connolly, “Girlie-girls: Toddlers & Tiaras, Makeover TV and the Promotion of Hegemonic Femininity”

Screening: Toddlers & Tiaras

|Structural Inequality |

Monday 11/5: An Intersectional Approach

Crenshaw, “The Double Bind: Race and Gender in America”

Fukuda-Parr, “What Does Feminization of Poverty Mean? It isn’t Just Lack of Income”

Wednesday 11/7

Keeling, "What's Up with That? She Don't Talk?: Set It Off's Black Lesbian Butch-Femme”

Screening: Set It Off

Friday 11/9

Screening: Set It Off (cont’d)

Monday 11/12

Veteran’s Day- No Class

|Trending Now |

Wednesday 11/14

Riveria, “Feminism in the Human Heroine”

Screening: Vampire Diaries

Friday 11/16

Boyd, “Facebook’s Privacy Trainwreck: Exposure, Invasion and Social Convergence”

Screening: The Facebook Obsession

|Globalization of American Popular Culture |

Monday 11/19: Quiz

Wednesday 11/21

Crothers, “American Popular Culture and the Future of Globalization”

Friday 11/23

Thanksgiving-No Class

|Presentations |

Monday 11/26

Wednesday 11/28

Friday 11/30

|Course Wrap Up |

Monday 12/3

Papers Due

Potluck & Battle of the Sexes

|FINAL EXAM MONDAY DECEMBER 10TH AT 8 A.M. |

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