Gender, Race, and Media

Welcome to Gender, Race, and Media! Whether you're officially registered or just checking out the site, you're now part of the class! You'll soon think more deeply about these issues. And you'll become a more knowledgeable and engaged citizen who is able to critically reflect on media representations and everyday practices in nuanced and meaningful ways.

Week 01

Week 01 - Introduction

What's your name?

Superhero

What superhero did you choose during the video?

How would you describe your hero's sex/gender/sexuality?

How would you describe your hero's race/ethnicity?

How many similar heroes are there in pop culture?

Gender and Race

After taking the Gender-Career IAT (link below), what are your thoughts about gender and potential biases you might hold?

After taking the Race IAT (link below), what are your thoughts about race and potential biases you might hold?

What is your email address?

Week 02

Week 02 - Gender

What's your name?

Batman and the Joker

According to the author, are Batman and Robin gay? Be sure to explain your response.

If you were going to do similar work, on what fictional character might you perform a queer reading, and how would you go about doing that?

What is "performativity" and in what ways might Batman/Bruce Wayne do such a thing?

In what ways do you perform gender/sexuality? (Be sure to demonstrate understanding of the reading).

In what ways does the relationship between Batman and the Joker reflect American society and values?

Gender and Sexuality

After taking the Sexuality IAT (link below), what are your thoughts about gender and sexuality and potential biases you might hold?

Presentation

For which future reading would you like to lead the discussion?

If that one is full, what is your second choice?

What is your email address?

Week 03

Week 03 - Race

What's your name?

Catwoman

According to Whaley, what race/ethnicity is Catwoman? Be sure to explain your response.

What similarities/differences do you see in Whaley's analysis of Catwoman this week and Richardson's analysis of Batman last week? What key questions and elements appear in both analyses or only in one? And how does that change the reading?

What does an analysis of Catwoman reveal about broader American values and expectations? (be specific)

What techniques does Whaley use to make her argument about the character of Catwoman and her socio-historical context(s)? And in what ways could you potentially perform a similar reading on a different character (because you will in the future)?

Your last implicit association test!

After taking the Skin-tone IAT (link below), what are your thoughts about race/ethnicity and potential biases you might hold?

How might your biases (we all have them) related to race/ethnicity intersect with biases related to gender/sexuality? Would your expectations/assumptions toward black men, for example, be the same as those toward black women?

What is your email address?

Week 04

Week 04 - Media

What's your name?

Based on the reading, how would you describe the relationship between superheroes and media in American culture?

Why is it significant that Marvel and DC presented storylines in the 1970s about drug addiction?

How do the authors relate superheroes to issues of gender, race, and media in their article?

How would you summarize the main argument(s) from the article? (hint: I would use the last two pages)

What is your email address?

Week 05

Week 05 - Identity

What's your name?

How is identity articulated, according to Stuart Hall?

What elements of your identity do you believe to be autonomous, and why?

What elements of your identity do you believe you were unable to choose, and why?

What do you think is the most powerful passage in Hall's essay and why?

What is your email address?

Week 06

Week 06 - Batman: Year One

What's your name?

How would you begin to put this cultural text (i.e., Batman: Year One by Frank Miller) into a cultural and social context?

How does our previous Stuart Hall reading help you to think about identity in relation to these comics?

What elements of gender and/or race do you think are notable in the comics and how might you relate them to Deborah Whaley's work?

What elements of gender/sexuality do you think are notable in the comics and how might you relate them to Richardson's reading?

What is your email address?

MORE ABOUT GENDER, RACE, AND MEDIA

Upon successful completion of this course, you'll be able to:

Define gender, race, media, and associated terms while contextualizing their significance
Recognize the major theoretical and methodological approaches to studying gender, race, and media
Place debates about representation and identity within larger social and historical contexts
Design and conduct original research that builds on these debates
Present informed arguments about the nature of gender, race, and media today
Reflect on how these issues affect your daily life and people around the world.

Readings

There will be some linked readings, but these are the three books you should have:

Gender, Race, and Media

Ask Me Anything

Week 01

Week 01 - Introduction

Superhero

Gender and Race

Week 02

Week 02 - Gender

Batman and the Joker

Gender and Sexuality

Presentation

Week 03

Week 03 - Race

Catwoman

Your last implicit association test!

Week 04

Week 04 - Media

Week 05

Week 05 - Identity

Week 06

Week 06 - Batman: Year One

MORE ABOUT GENDER, RACE, AND MEDIA

Upon successful completion of this course, you'll be able to:

Readings