Undergraduate Program
Unique No. 07480
Faculty: Kearney
Class Time: TTH 3:30-5
Room: CMA 3.120
Screening Time: T 5-7:30
Room: CMA 3.120
Writing Comp: Yes
Comm/Culture Req: Yes
Closing Limit: 30
Cross-listed: WGS 324
Prerequisites
Must be an RTF major with a UT GPA of at least a 2.25 and have upper-division standing. The following coursework with a grade of at least C in each: RTF 305, either 314 or 316, and 6 additional semester hours of lower-division coursework in RTF.
Consent requirements
This course does not require consent. Registration is open via the online registration system to all RTF majors.
First class day policy
Students must attend the first class day or make prior arrangements with the instructor.
Course description
In this course, we will investigate the social construction of gender in contemporary American media culture through close analyses of mass-produced commercial media texts (i.e., magazines, films, radio shows, television programs, and popular music) and their various representations of and appeals to women. We will explore how these cultural texts (re)produce particular ideologies of gender, which in turn influence the ways we understand ourselves and others as gendered beings. To broaden our understanding of the complex ways gender is constructed by the mass media, we also will explore how race, ethnicity, class, age, and sexuality complicate popular notions like "women," "femininity," and "feminism." Although we will be focusing specifically on contemporary texts, we will take into consideration the historical development of each media industry, as well as the socio-historical context of particular gender norms reproduced by certain media. We also will consider how women, as consumers, audiences, and fans, use media texts to make meaning in their everyday lives, as well as how some women have attempted to provide alternatives to mainstream media by creating their own forms of culture.