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RACE/ GENDER/CLASS/MEDIA

MEJO 442/WGST 442

Fall 2017

CA 128 (Halls of Fame Room), MW 9:30-10:45 AM

Instructor: Dr. Barbara Friedman Office: 357 Carroll Hall

E-mail: Office hours: Tuesdays 2-3 p.m. &

by appt. (inc. Skype)

“Let’s get liberated.”

Peggy Olson, Mad Men

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to explore the relationship between gender, race and class and media. Topics to be discussed will include: theories of media studies and the methods and concepts used to understand the impacts of gender, race and class on the production and consumption of messages communicated across a range of media. Topics will be explored via readings, lectures, and class discussions, and may include guest speakers, media examples/analysis, hands-on projects, blogging, student papers and presentations.

Learning Objectives

  • To become more critical consumers/creators of media content.
  • To explore the relationship between gender, race and class and the media.
  • To acquire the analytical tools useful to understanding media images of gender, race and class.
  • To understand academic research in our field and translate it into everyday language and practice.
  • To examine the sociocultural forces that contribute to mediated constructions of gender, race and class and how these portrayals have and have not changed over time.
  • To make connections between your personal experience, and your formal and mediated learning.
  • To examine the role of the media professional in shaping notions of gender, race and class, as well as the effects of those portrayals on the audience, at both the individual and societal levels.
  • To identify and enact points of intervention.

AEJMC Values & Competencies

The School of Journalism & Mass Communication’s accrediting body outlines a number of values that our majors should be aware of, and competencies our majors should be able to demonstrate by the time they graduate from our program. You can learn more about them at the following link, under the heading “Professional Values & Competencies.”

http://www.journalism.ku.edu/acejmc-professional-values-competencies

Required Reading

  • Rebecca Ann Lind, Race, Gender, Class, Media 3.0: Considering Diversity Across Audiences, Content and Producers (Boston: Pearson, 2013).
  • Additional material as assigned by instructor via Sakai
  • Note: You are responsible for any and all material in lectures, videos, class discussions and assigned readings (even if we don’t cover the material in the readings in class.) I will not cover in detail all of the material in your assigned readings but I do expect you to know the material and to be able to use it in our class discussions and to know it for your assignment, exams and/or projects.

Strongly Recommended

To keep up with current events as they relate to the study of media and gender, race and class, I recommend you follow good bloggers or media-focused projects on social media. The Women’s Media Center offers commentary and research on media. Feministing publishes critiques of media (see, for example, their Daily Feminist Cheat Sheet) as does BitchMedia and Bust. Ms. Magazine is another good source for feminist critique of the media, and devotes a blog to it here. (I have my preferences, and I’m sure you do, too – whatever they are, find a reliable source and peruse it regularly this semester.

“Now discrimination is more subtle.

It’s more unconscious.

I think unconscious bias is the hardest

thing to get at.”

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Supreme Court Justice

Attendance & Participation Policy

You have a vital role to play in the success of this course. Attendance at every class session is expected; roll will be taken. We will spend much of our time together discussing the assigned readings and analyzing media images. To make substantive contributions, you must also come to class prepared -- that means completing assigned readings before you arrive to class. Reading quizzes will encourage this important habit (if you miss a class, you might miss a quiz).

I will evaluate your participation using these criteria: a) Content and understanding: Do you follow the class discussion and build on others’ ideas? When you don’t understand something, do you ask questions? b) Creativity: Do you generate your own insights and examples and share them with the class? c) Curiosity and interest: Do you bring enthusiasm to the classroom? Do you contribute consistently? Do you share ideas or issues you’ve come across in outside reading, other coursework, current events, or through personal experience?

I understand, however, that some absences are unavoidable – but please don’t ask me if an absence is “excused.” Following the custom of other MEJO courses, more than three absences for any reason (including illness, university-related activities or other obligations) will result in a one-letter-grade drop in your final grade. More than five absences will result in a two-letter-grade drop in your final grade; more than seven, a three-letter-grade drop in your final grade. If you have more than nine absences, you will earn an F.

Being late is not fashionable; it’s inconsiderate. Excessive tardiness will not be tolerated. Late arrivals will result in an absence unless you can provide a compelling reason (after class, of course) why you were late. If a quiz is under way, you may participate but you will not be given extra time to complete it.

Signing the roll sheet for someone else constitutes a violation of the honor code and will result in disciplinary action.

And About That Laptop…

We’re in this together. My focus, when I am in class, is on the class. Yours should be, too. Cell phones must be muted or powered off and out of sight. Notes are to be taken by hand whenever possible, rather than laptops. This policy is not intended as punishment, but rather, a response to research and testimonials indicating technology is distracting and disruptive to everyone in the class. Further, that taking notes on computer turns students into stenographers and denies them the opportunity to critically engage with the material. As one professor put it: “Effective note taking is not a one-step process where classroom content travels directly into your laptop via your hands ... Instead, it is a two-step process where the material must first travel through your mind, to be inspected and rewrapped, and only then recorded via your hands.” In addition, instant-messaging, the most-common use of technology by students, has been correlated with poor performance on assignments.

Course Requirements and Evaluation

 Participation/Attendance/Social Media 10%

 Discussion leadership 10%

 Quizzes10%

 Writing Assignments40%

 Final Project & presentation30%

Participation/Attendance/Social Media (10% of grade): See above for more information about the participation policy of the class, but, in general, changing the conversation about gender, race, class in the media requires that we educate ourselves and engage in dialogue with the material we’re reading and encountering in and out of class. Appropriate for a media-related course, we will make liberal use of a closed Facebook group for posing questions, sharing examples, anecdotes, and epiphanies.

Discussion leadership (10% of grade): Each week, 1-2 students will take responsibility for facilitating discussion of the day’s reading. No formal presentation is needed, but you must come prepared with prompts for the group that encourage us to dig deeper into a topic or issue of concern. You are welcome to show examples such as TV clips, music videos, to the class, though they must be brief (< 3 mins.) and related to our dedicated topic. When you are the discussion leader, you will turn in a short self-assessment describing how you prepared for the role and what materials you consulted.

Reading Quizzes (10% of grade): Quizzes will be given during the semester as an additional way for me to know you are keeping up with and comprehending the reading and concepts therein. The quizzes are closed-book and closed-notes. They will be unannounced and can be administered at any time during the class session. At the end of the term, I will drop your lowest quiz score (including ‘0’ scores). If you miss a quiz, you may not make it up. Grades will be calculated this way: 100% (answered the question correctly); 50% (did the reading, answered the question incorrectly); 10% (you were present for the quiz); 0% (you were absent for the quiz).

Short Writing Assignments (40% of grade):

  • Media response papers (prompts provided by instructor) (4)
  • Your grade will be based on how well you respond to the prompt, clarity of thought, marshalling and citation of evidence in support of your position/conclusions, organization, and grammar/usage.
  • Book report (titles provided by instructor)
  • Your grade will be based on your ability to synthesize the book with concepts, theories and/or issues we’ve covered this semester; clarity of thought; use and citation of evidence from the book to support your perspective/conclusions; organization; grammar/usage.

Details and deadlines provided via Sakai.

Final Project (30% of grade): Choose from options provided by instructor in class and via Sakai.

Grades for this course will be determined as follows:

A = 95 and above / B+ = 89-91 / C+ = 79-81 / D+ = 69-71
A- = 92-94 / B = 85-88 / C = 75-78 / D = 60-68
B- = 82-84 / C- = 72-74 / F = 59 and below

Note: Grades are assigned according to criteria established by a UNC-CH Committee on Grading. For example, an “A” grade indicates superior work, whereas a “C” grade indicates sufficient performance. For an understanding of what the various grades mean, see the UNC Faculty Council’s statement here.

Special Needs: If you have any disability or other special situation that may make it difficult to meet the requirements described above, please discuss it with me as soon as possible. If you have not done so already, you should also contact the Department of Accessibility Resources & Service (AR&S) at 919-962-8300 or .

Safe@UNC. The University’s Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment and Other Misconduct states that violence and harassment based on sex and gender are Civil Rights offenses subject by federal law to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources here.

Grading Policies for Written Assignments

The primary purpose of every written assignment should be to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the conceptsonveyed in class. As you must realize, there is a connection between good writing and clear thinking. Therefore, points will be deducted from written assignments if your presentation is unclear and/or ineffective. Likewise, you will lose points for poor grammar or poor spelling.

How to Earn an “F” on a Written Project

Miss a deadline. Misquote or misrepresent someone. Rewrite or submit a paper that was produced for another class. Fabricate. Plagiarize. If you need clarification of these things, please consult the Writing Center.

Honor Code

Students must adhere to the letter and spirit of the university honor system. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated – this includes plagiarism, cheating or any false means of obtaining a grade – and may result in failure of the course, and suspension or expulsion from the university. If I suspect academic dishonesty, I have a duty to report it to the School’s Associate Dean, the Student Attorney General, or the judicial programs officer in the Dean of Students’ office for further action.

Sakai

In addition to our Facebook group, UNC-CH’s Sakai site is an important way for me to communicate with you outside the classroom. That means you are responsible for checking the site regularly. Correspondence sent via Sakai routes to your UNC e-mail address, so be sure to check that regularly, too. When I send a note to the class, I will include our course number in the subject line. When you send a note to me, please be sure to put your name in the subject line (e.g., MEJO442/WGST 442 – FRIEDMAN) so that I will not overlook your message.

A Note on Course Content

Course content will inevitably address sensitive topics, and you may be confronted with graphic images and profanity. This section of the syllabus functions as fair warning for the semester. Students who experience discomfort during one of our class sessions are welcome to step out briefly. It is my aim to create a safe space while preserving the goal of exploring topics that prompt us to examine the ways that our personal experience and informal and formal knowledge impact and are impacted by the media. If you want to know more about trigger warnings and their use in academia, read this and/or this.

A Note on Civility

The classroom is a particular environment in which students and faculty come together to promote learning and growth. It is essential to this learning environment that we maintain respect for the rights of others seeking to learn, for the professionalism of the instructor, and for the general goals of academic freedom. The content reflects a range of perspectives and I anticipate our responses will vary, as well. I expect you to approach the inevitable disagreements with a willingness to listen and thoughtfully consider differing opinions – I urge you to challenge your assumptions and explore new ideas that may be uncomfortable or difficult. I encourage you to express yourself with reason, clarity and compassion. Student conduct that disrupts the learning process will not be tolerated and may lead to disciplinary action and/or removal from class. For more, see “Discussion Etiquette Guidelines” on Sakai.

PROPOSED* SCHEDULE

Individual readings will be provided in class and on Sakai. The material you’ll consume this semester represents a combination of scholarly (~15-30 pages each), popular media (short reads), videos and podcasts. Readings from our required text are indicated as “Lind.” Other reading assignments are fully cited and indicated by their availability on Sakai or online. Videos and podcasts are indicated as “Watch/listen on your own.” Remember, all assigned material is to be read/viewed/listened to before you arrive to class. For readings, it is strongly recommended that you bring printed copies to class with you – minimal laptop use will be permitted in class.

* Themes and reading/video/audio are subject to change, so be sure to check Sakai regularly.

Note: Opportunities for additional guest speakers may necessitate slight changes in the schedule. Advance notice will be given when possible.

Aug. 23

Aug. 28-30

Sept. 4 – Labor Day, No Classses Held

Sept. 6

Sept. 11-13

Sept. 18-20

Sept. 25-27

Oct. 2-4

Oct. 9-11

Oct. 16-18

Fall Break begins 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18

Classes resume 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 23

Oct. 23-25

Oct. 30-Nov. 1

Nov. 6 -8

Nov. 13-15

Nov. 20

Nov. 22 – NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING RECESS

Nov. 27-29

Dec. 4-6

Final Exam