Johnson Summer 2018 1
Comm 3070
Communication and Gender
SYLLABUS
COMM 3070 - COMMUNICATION AND GENDER
Class Time: Tuesday/Thursday 10:15-11:45 AM
Class Location: LNCO 2850
Instructor:
Taylor Johnson, M.A.
Doctoral Student
Department of Communication
Email:
Office: LNCO 2880
Office Hours: Tuseday/Thursday 12:15-1:15* or by appointment
*Please let me know ahead of time if you are planning to come by my office hours – the door to our office locks and it is difficult to hear when students knock, so if I don’t know you’re coming I may not notice that I need to let you in.
Requires Materials:
Textbook:
Wood, J. T. (2013). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, & culture (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
Films:
Mean Girls, directed by Mark Walters (2004) – available via Amazon Instant Video
Miss Representation,directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom – available via Netflix or Amazon Instant Video
Dirty Computer, an “emotion picture” by Janelle Monáe – available for free on YouTube
Other Materials:
Throughout the semester we will read a variety of academic and popular media texts, and watch a number of videos that relate to our course content. All of these will be posted on canvas in the “Modules” section. The videos will all be available on YouTube, and all texts will be provided as PDF files.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
I am so excited to work with all of you! In this class, we will explore a variety of issues surrounding gender, communication, and culture. We move beyond simple constructions and a reductionist binary model (i.e., female-male) to approach gender as something individuals do—via communication—rather than what they are. In order to understand and consider gender as communication, this course examines the difference between sex and gender, the intersection of gender and culture, and theories of how we become gendered. We will consider how issues such as identity, representation, sexuality, race/ethnicity, and power bear on gender. We will also examine the ways in which social meanings attached to gender are communicated in various cultural institutions, practices, and contexts (families, media, sports, politics, and organizations).
Given the nature of our course, please expect to be intellectually and emotionally challenged by course materials and discussions. Together, we will be exploring some of the most fundamental ways our society is structured, and we will address these complex topics with nuance and rigor. Therefore, it is essential that you come to class prepared for difficult conversations, and that you engage in self-reflexivity throughout the semester. I expect that we will all treat one another with respect and dignity. This does not mean you are not allowed to disagree. Disagreement is expected and encouraged in this class! However, please remember to treat yourself and your classmates with care and respect.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The following are my objectives for our course; however, I view these as starting points. I encourage you to add your own objectives to this list in order to enhance your focus as you work through discussions, lectures, and evaluations.
1)Acquire knowledge about how gender has been constructed historically and is constructed today.
2)Critically assess how gender is communicated in various cultural institutions, practices, and contexts, as well as how communication shapes gender.
3)Apply our growing knowledge of communication and gender to understand the intersections among gender and particular identities, interactions, texts, events, and power structures.
COURSE POLICIES
Classroom Communication:Over the course of this semester, we will read and view materials and/or discuss issues that may challenge the ways we think about gender, communication, and culture. I encourage you to engage in hearty discussion of these topics, and to feel free to voice your opinions. Disagreements are anticipated and encouraged in this class. However, please note that there is a distinction between disagreement and disrespect or disruption. Arguments should be made about topics, rather than about individuals, and all participants in conversations should keep sensitivity in mind when voicing opinions. I expect that every member of our classroom community will be respectful toward one another, and will be accountable for how our interactions affect other people in the classroom. Therefore, I will not tolerate discriminatory words and/or actions. Students engaging in such behavior – depending on the severity of the violation – will be subject to repercussions ranging from dismissal from the class to removal from the course entirely. Additionally, please be mindful of the amount of vocal space you take up in the classroom in order to ensure that all members of our community have ample room to participate.
Class Attendance and Engagement:I do not assign points for attendance. However, in order for this class to be effective, all students must come to class ready to engage in discussion about the course content. Therefore, I expect that you will regularly attend class, that you will complete ALL of the reading before class, and that you will have thought about how the topics addressed in the readings connect to your experiences in the world and come prepared to discuss those thoughts. In lieu of an attendance grade, there will be some variety of Point Earning Opportunities (PEOs), both during and outside of class, that will count toward your participation grade. In order to preserve quality of discussions and lectures, please come to class on time.
Devices:It is essential that all students are engaged during class. Therefore, please refrain from doing homework for other classes, utilizing social media, checking email, or texting during class. These behaviors can be distracting for other members of the class, and take away from your ability to be an active participant in our classroom community. If, at any point in the semester, I judge that these behaviors are negatively affecting our classroom climate, I reserve the right to prohibit students from using such devices during class.
Assignment Submission:All assignments should be submitted on canvas by the deadline (listed both on canvas and in the syllabus). Late assignments will be accepted with a 10% penalty per day (i.e., if you turn an assignment in 2 days after the deadline, that assignment will receive a 20% penalty). I will not accept late work after I have already posted grades, nor will I accept any late work after you have taken the final exam.
Extra Credit: Extra credit assignments may be provided intermittently throughout the semester. Each student may earn a maximum of 3 pointstoward their final grade via extra credit. All extra credit assignments will be offered to the whole class. These may include attending events, visiting the writing center, or engaging with current events via short writing assignments. Any extra credit assignments will be posted on canvas and announced either in person in class or via the announcements function on canvas.
General Policies:
- Please check canvas regularly – all homework assignments, deadlines, and readings will be posted on canvas, and I may occasionally post announcements or extra credit opportunities via canvas. Failing to check the course website is not a justification for missing an assignment.
- Expect that we will use all of class time on most days. Do not begin packing up early or leave before class has finished – this is disruptive to other students.
- All assignments must be typed in 12-pt Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins, using APA citation style (6th edition).
- Please ALWAYS use my email address () to contact me. Using the canvas messaging system to contact me may result in your message not being read or responded to.
- If you have a question about an assignment or course policy, please check canvas and the syllabus before emailing me. It is quite likely that your question will be answered more quickly that way.
- I will not discuss grades via email. If you have a question about your grade, you should make an appointment to discuss it with me in person.
- Please use professionalism in your email communications with me. I expect that your emails will use appropriate greetings, punctuation, and grammar and will be respectful. I will, of course, do the same.
- If you feel that a grade you have received is lower than you deserve, please wait at least 24 hours after grades are posted before emailing me to set up a time to discuss your grade.
Grades: It is important to remember that grades are a tool for communication of academic performance, rather than a judgement about your character. If at any point in the semester you are struggling with your grades, please schedule a meeting with me to discuss improvements you could make.
Please note that simply fulfilling the minimum requirements for the course warrants an average grade (a C), not an A. In order to earn an A, an assignment must demonstrate excellence. Simply attending class, turning in assignments on time, and participating are not enough to automatically earn an A. The following scale represents my expectations for the quality of work for this course:
Grading Scale:
Johnson Summer 2018 1
Comm 3070
Communication and Gender
A90% - 100%
B+87% - <90%
C+77% - < 80%
D+67% - < 70%
E (fail)<60%
B84% - <87%
C74% - <77%
D67% - <70%
B-80-% - <84%
C-70% - <74%
D- 60% - <64%
Johnson Summer 2018 1
Comm 3070
Communication and Gender
Grades will NOT be rounded.
A: Excellent overall. This work really goes above and beyond. Assignments earning an A demonstrate full grasp of the material along with exceptional execution that indicates unusual effort and distinctive style and is free of any mechanical or other errors.
B: Good with some excellent aspects. This is above-average work. Assignments earning a B demonstrate thorough preparation, creativity, and/or grasp of the material. This work is generally free of mechanical and other errors.
C: Adequate. This work meets the requirements of the assignment at an average level of competency (i.e. basic completion, reasonable effort and preparedness). This work contains some mechanical and/or style errors and/or needs continued idea development
D: Mostly adequate with some unacceptable aspects. This work is below average. Assignments earning a D are weak, fail to meet some of the requirements of the assignment, indicate misperceived objectives, or failure to grasp key concepts, but demonstrates reasonable effort.
E (fail): Unacceptable overall. Fails to meet one or more of the assignment criteria. Work earning an E was not completed, or demonstrated a failure to grasp key concepts due to lack of reasonable effort. This work is below the minimum level of acceptance.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Engaged Participation – 25 points
This is a largely discussion-based class. Therefore, regular attendance and participation is essential to your success in the course. I do not give points for attendance alone. Merely being physically present in class does not rise to the level of engaged participation. Instead, I will offer a variety of Point Earning Opportunities (PEOs) throughout the semester. We will typically have at least one assignment per class period that can count as a PEO (for example, a short written reflection on a course concept, an activity, or a quiz). You can also earn participation points by speaking in class and by visiting my office hours (you may earn up to 4 participation points by visiting my office to discuss course content* – each visit is worth 2 points). Additionally, there may be occasional discussion boards posted via canvas where you can earn participation points.
Because I do not award points for attendance, I make no distinction between excused and unexcused absences. If you miss class, you will not have an opportunity to make up that day’s PEOs. However, there will be an excess of available points in this category, meaning that missing one or two PEOs should not hurt your overall grade. Excess PEO points can count as extra credit but are subject to the 3-point maximum limit.
*appointments scheduled to discuss grades disputes are not considered PEOs. Office visits that are eligible for points must be centered on course content.
Reading Memos – 20 points
Most weeks, as part of your preparation for class discussion, you will write up an analysis and interpretation of one of texts under consideration. You will also craft one question to be used as class discussion or as moment to explore a passage in the text in more depth. A detailed assignment sheet will be included on our canvas course companion site, along with a student example. Reading memos are due at 5pm the night BEFORE the class in which we will discuss those readings. This will give me an opportunity to look through your readings and pull relevant discussion questions for our class discussion.
Gender Identity Paper – 20 points
Perhaps one of the most rewarding and engaging benefits of a college education is the ability to connect your personal and academic experiences to the material you learn in class. Therefore, this assignment is designed to help you put the course material to work in understanding and reflecting on your everyday experiences. The goal of this assignment is NOT for you to regurgitate course material or to write what you think I want to hear. Rather, it is a chance for you to process your experiences, reflect on the things you notice as you move through the world, and apply the course content in a real-world manner. I expect that you will pull on course readings, materials, and discussions to guide you in your reflections.
Some questions you might reflect on as you work on this assignment include: How do I define and label my gender identity? How does gender affect my everyday life? How do the course readings make me feel? What do I agree/disagree with? What significant experiences have contributed to my perceptions of gender, race, class, ability, religion, sexuality, nationality, etc? Do I identify as a feminist? Why or why not? From a feminist perspective, how has my access to privilege fueled the oppression of others? While this list is a starting point, it is not exhaustive. This is YOUR experience, and you may be animated by different questions. Additionally, while this assignment should center your reflection on your gender identity/ies, please feel free to incorporate other aspects of your identity as well. This is intended to be a space where you can reflect on your experiences, and I am looking for critical thinking and applying the course content to your experiences outside of the classroom.
For this assignment, you may either turn in a compiled list of journal entries (I suggest 2-3 entries per week) or a single full-length essay. The final assignment should be 5-10 pages long, and should follow all of the formatting requirements (12-pt Times New Roman Font, 1-inch margins, APA citation style, etc).
Analysis Paper – 25 points
For this assignment, you will select a text that you would like to analyze—something that interests or intrigues you. A text could be (but not limited to) a written document, an advertisement, a film or TV show, a space, a song, an object (such as a painting), or a website. You will write a 6-8 page paper with at least six academic sources (at least three of those academic sources MUST be beyond our reading list). You will situate your chosen text within its social or historical context, discuss what the text communicates about gender, and what the implications of such communication are. In addition to the final draft of this paper, you will be expected to turn in a topic proposal and rough draft, and to tell the class about your paper in a short presentation at the end of the semester. The points breakdown for these components is listed below:
Topic Proposal – 5 points
Rough Draft – 5 points
Final Draft – 10 points
Presentation – 5 points
Final Exam – 10 points
The final exam will consist of two sections: short answer and essay. The short answer portion of each exam will include three to four key terms that you will be expected to identify and explain the significance of. The essay portion will involve one question that asks you to make an argument about a concept we have discussed in class, and to apply that concept to your personal experiences.
Exams must be taken in class on the day they are assigned. I do not allow students to make up missed exams or to take exams early*. Please plan accordingly.
*In the case of an EXTREME, UNAVOIDABLE emergency that overlaps with a test date, it may be possible to reschedule an exam if you provide adequate documentation and justification. In these cases, you must provide me with a packet including the following information:
1) Adequate documentation of your situation (this may include, but is not limited to, published and dated obituaries, court summonses, timestamped pictures, or doctors’ notes – please do not schedule routine doctors’ appointments during our test periods. This exception applies only to extreme illness or hospitalization)
2) evidence that you contacted me as soon as possible after the situation arose
3) a one to two page paper making a compelling argument as to why you should be allowed to take the test at a different time. This paper should be well-written and persuasively attest that you are unable to take the test at the scheduled time due to circumstances outside of your control and that the emergency that prevented you from taking the exam as scheduled was unavoidable.