COMM 455: Gender and Media Studies

Course Description

The course will focus on several feminist approaches used in understanding the media and attempting to create social change through the media. The role of media in the definition and reproduction of gender-based hierarchies and in the renegotiation of gender boundaries will both be explored. To this end, both mainstream and women's media will be examined. The course will take a multicultural and international perspective, incorporating concerns of class, race, ethnicity, and nation as these intersect with the study of gender and media. Mainstream and alternative media will be analyzed through readings, films, case studies, in-class collaborative exercises and longer term projects. News, entertainment, and advertising genres will be examined in a variety of media such as the printed press, television, video, film, and the Internet. (W).