Apr 24, 2024  
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

WGS 3230 - Gender and Popular Culture

Credits: 4
Popular Culture is the US’s second largest export after weapons. This course will examine how gender is used in popular culture artifacts from popular entertainment including sports, films, music and more. Employing popular culture methods and theories including cultural studies, students will study how the meaning system is used to reinforce the status quo and also challenge it. By focusing on popular culture representations of women and gender in advertising, music videos, YouTube, television, magazines, and film, this course will explore how cultural values, fears, hopes and dreams are coded into gender scripts and representations and how race, class, ethnicity, sex, and nation are interlocked with gender. The course will also examine what is at stake both in negotiating gender in contemporary culture and in doing “feminist” cultural criticism. In addition, students will look at fan culture and uncover what pop culture gender representations have to do with the lives and experiences of real people.
Fulfills: D in LS Core.