2020 – Fall

Journalism and Society: Women and the Media

Course Number: JOUR-UA 503, section 1

Day & Time: Thu | 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM

Location: Online

Prerequisites: None

Women and the Media is a collaborative seminar designed to examine the complex relationship (or different, contradictory relationships) between those humans we call “women” and those forms of discourse we call “media.” We will consider women both as subjects and objects, as artists and models, as creators of “media” in its many forms and as media’s creations. What does our culture’s “media” tell us about its ideas of gender? What, if anything, does our gender tell us about our readings of “media”? Student participation in this seminar is key: students are expected to attend all sessions, to complete all the reading (there’s lots of reading!), to participate actively in discussion, and to lead one of the class sessions themselves. As your major assignment, students are required to conduct a mini-research project and present their findings to the class. I want you to pick a “women and media” topic that really interests you and then report the hell out of it. The purpose of the course is to develop our critical and self-critical faculties as journalists, media critics, consumers of media, and women or men — to think clearly, challenge our pet assumptions, and have fun.

Notes: Counts as an elective for the journalism major and both journalism minors.