COM 462: Seminar in Critical Studies in Mass Communication

COM 462: Seminar in Critical Studies in Mass Communication:

Representations of Race, Class & Gender in Media

Spring 2016

Thursdays 6:30 p.m. – 9:20 p.m.

Fell 176

Instructor: Phil Chidester Phone: 438-7746 (office)

Office: Fell 465

Office Hours: 10-12 MWF, 5:30-6:30 WTR Email:

And by appointment

Course Texts:

A single text that offers an in-depth critical analysis of representations of race, class and gender across a broad range of media channels (television, film, magazines, video games, novels and the internet, to name just a few) simply does not exist in the literature. As a result, in order to learn how our various identities are shaped and reinforced by mediated depictions, we must look at a number of individual articles and chapters that together give some shape to the communicative function and persuasive power of these mass-mediated messages. I have prepared PDF files of those assigned materials that aren’t readily available online, and will make them available to you via e-mail as the semester proceeds. I have also included complete reference information for all of the semester’s reading materials in this syllabus, so you may access the other articles online or through other means if you prefer. I will also be assigning additional readings to individuals and teams throughout the semester; more information on these assignments is included below.

Course Objectives:

How do mediated depictions of difference both generate and reinforce our perceptions of self and other – key components in the overall process of communication? What is symbolic representation, and how does this concept relate to the process of identification? How are our various personal and group identities “managed” by the images and messages we are exposed to on a daily basis? Which media theories explain the importance of – and potential hazards posed by – the messages about self and other that we receive through media channels? How do media depictions and culture intersect and reinforce one another? Which analytical lenses (Marxism, postmodernism, critical analysis, cultural analysis) best explain the impacts of media representations? And how do messages of and about race, class and gender function independently – and in complex combinations – as tools to support structures of power in our contemporary world? Exploring and answering these and other vital questions about media representations will be the focus of this course, with the intent of both enhancing students’ facility with various critical communication theories and of fostering a more fundamental understanding of the relationship between mediated depictions and cultural perspectives on identity and difference. Classroom discussions, activities and assignments have been specifically designed to achieve these objectives.

Course Preparation and Attendance:

As a master’s level seminar, this course is highly dependent upon you as the student for its ultimate success. While much of your learning through the semester will come from your own efforts at reading and writing, a dynamic classroom environment will also add much to your knowledge and understanding of the subject we are exploring. As the course instructor, my role is not that of a lecturer, but rather of a facilitator – one who raises questions and directs the conversation. In other words, I am depending on you as students to be ready to share your informed opinions on the assigned topics, to seek consensus in a mature, cooperative way, and to “agree to disagree” when multiple perspectives persist. To ensure that such a discussion can take place, it is of utmost importance that you attend each class session, and that you come prepared to contribute to the discussion.

Late Work Policy

It is expected that all written and oral work for this course will be turned in or presented on the day that it is due and that it will represent your highest possible effort in quality. Late assignments will not be accepted; any exceptions are at the discretion of the instructor and must be arranged ahead of time.

Special Needs

Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), or 438-8620 (TTY).

Course Assignments

Assignments for the semester will include the following:

1. Paper – A journal-length article dealing with some aspect of representations of race, class and/or gender in media messages; the article should also be firmly rooted in some facet of critical/interpretive communication theory. Topics might include depictions of difference in a given film or television series; the reinforcement of power in coverage of political debates; or the effects of a music artist “crossing” race, gender or class lines. The paper will be written and submitted in three parts: a literature review, a description and an analysis. The final paper (a revised manuscript combining the three sections) will be due the final week of the semester. More specific information on the paper will be provided later in the semester.

2. Propositions – In order to encourage your reading of the course materials, I will from time to time assign “propositions” on given articles or book chapters. A proposition is not a summary of the material, but rather a short (one sentence) “observation” on the reading – an argument against the writer’s conclusion, an unusual or unexpected application of the author’s findings, etc. Propositions should be typed and ready to turn in at the beginning of class; you should also be ready to discuss and defend your proposition to the other students.

3. Additional Readings – Throughout the semester, I will assign individuals or pairs to read an article or book chapter and present that information to the rest of the class, focusing on those theories or findings that most directly apply to our study of media representations. Handouts are a helpful but not required element of your presentation.

4. Attendance and Participation – Being an active member of a master’s seminar is crucial to the learning experience. Therefore, a good share of my assessment of your performance will be based on your attendance and involvement in our classroom discussions.

5. Media Consumption – Finally, the most effective means of understanding the influences of media representations on our overall culture is to take these representations in – lots of them. I will encourage you to talk about the media messages you regularly attend to, and will from time to time ask you to bring examples of these messages to class so you can share your media experiences and observations with the other students. We will also engage in some in-class “analyzing sessions” to practice the critical analysis skills we learn about in our discussions.

Course Grading: Grading Scale:

Literature Review: _____100 540-600 points = A

Description: _____100 480-539 points = B

Analysis _____100 420-479 points = C

Final Paper: _____200 560-419 points = D

Propositions, Additional Readings <419 points = F

and Participation: _____100

Total Points Possible: _____600

Tentative Class Calendar and Readings:

January 14 Course Introduction: Mediated Culture or Media Culture?

January 21 Theories of the Media

Chidester, P. (2012). “Open-mouth awe”: ESPN’s Streetball and the

“transcendent simultaneity” of the mediated sublime. Mass Media & Society, 15(1), 98-114.

Craig, R. (2000). Expectations and elections: How television defines

campaign news. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 17(1), 28-44.

Northup, T. (2010). Is everyone a little bit racist? Exploring cultivation using implicit and explicit measures. Southwestern Mass Communication Journal, 26(1), 29-41.

Watkins, S. C. (2001). Framing protest: News media frames of the Million Man March. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 18(1), 83-101.

January 28 Identification

Burke, K. (1969). Traditional principles of rhetoric. A rhetoric of motives

(pp. 49-90). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Hardin, M., & Shain, S. (2006). “feeling much smaller than you know you

are”: The fragmented professional identity of female sports journalists. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23(4), 322-338.

Mastro, D. E., Behm-Morowitz, E., & Kopacz, M. A. (2008). Exposure to television potrayals of Latinos: The implications of aversive racism and social identity theory. Human Communication Research, 34(1), 1-27.

Russo, T. C. (1998). Organizational and professional identification: A case

of newspaper journalists. Management Communication Quarterly, 12(1), 72-111.

February 4 Postmodernism & Visual Theory

Birdsell, D. A., & Groarke, L. (2007). Outlines of a theory of visual

argument. Argumentation and Advocacy, 43(3/4), 103-113.

Keisner, J. (2007). Do you want to watch? A study of the visual rhetoric of

the postmodern horror film. Women’s Studies, 37(4), 411-427.

Metallinos, N. (1998). Aesthetic theories of the visual communication

media arts: Television. Journal of Visual Literacy,18(2), 217-231.

Ott, B., & Walter, C. (2000). Intertextuality: Interpretive practice and

textual strategy. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 17(4), 429-446.

February 11 Representations of the Racial “Other”

Calafell, B. M., & Delgado, F. P. (2004). Reading Latina/o Images:

Interrogating Americanos. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 21(1), 1-21.

Chidester, P., Campbell, S., & Bell, J. (2006, November) “Black is Blak”: Bamboozled and the crisis of a postmodern racial identity. Howard Journal of Communication, 17, 287-306.

Gray, H. (1994). Television, black Americans and the American dream. In

H. Newcomb (Ed.), Television: The critical view (pp. 176-187). New York, NY: Oxford Press.

Mastro, D. E., & Greenberg, B. S. (2000). The portrayal of racial

minorities on prime time television. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 44(4), 690-703.

February 18 Whiteness

Chidester, P. (2008, June). May the circle stay unbroken: Friends, the presence of absence, and the rhetorical reinforcement of whiteness. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 25(2), 157-174.

Dubrofsky, R. E. (2006). Whiteness in the harem. Critical Studies in

Media Communication, 23(1), 39-56.

Nakayama, T., & Krizek, R. L. (1995). Whiteness: A strategic rhetoric.

Quarterly Journal of Speech, 81(3), 291-309.

Watts, E. K. (2005). Border patrolling and “passing” in Eminem’s 8 Mile.

Critical Studies in Media Communication, 22(3), 187-206.

February 25 LITERATURE REVIEW DUE!

The Relationship Between the Racial Self and the Racial “Other”

Apple, A. L., & Messner, B. A. (2001). Paranoia and paradox: The

apocalyptic rhetoric of Christian identity. Western Journal of Communication, 65(2), 206-227.

Chidester, P. (2012) “Respect my authori-tah”: South Park and the

fragmentation/reification of whiteness. Accepted for publication in Critical Studies in Media Communication.

Hess, M. (2005). Hip-hop realness and the white performer. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 22(5), 372-389.

Hobson, J. (2008). Digital whiteness, primitive blackness. Feminist Media Studies, 8(2), 111-126.

March 3 Marxism & Ideology

Furia, S. R., & Bielby, D. D. (2009). Bombshells on film: Women,

military films and hegemonic gender ideologies. Popular Communication, 7(4), 208-224.

Kumar, D. (2001). Mass media, class, and democracy: The struggle over

newspaper representation of the UPS strike. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 18(3), 285-302.

Press, A. (1995). Class, gender and mass media reception. In P.

D’Augostino & D. Tafler (Eds.), Transmission Toward a post television culture (pp. 53-89). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Rosen, P. (1986). Introduction: Text and subject. In Narrative, apparatus, ideology: A film theory reader (pp. 156-171). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

March 10 SPRING BREAK – No Class!

March 17 DESCRIPTION DUE!

Capitalism & Consumer Culture

Balaji, M. (2009). Owning black masculinity: The intersection of cultural

commodification and self-construction in rap music videos. Communication, Culture & Critique, 2(1), 21-38.

Esch, M. S. (2010). Rearticulating ugliness, repurposing content: Ugly Betty finds the beauty in ugly. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 34(2), 168-183.

Kellner, D. (1993). Critical theory today: Revisiting the classics. Theory, Culture & Society, 10(2), 43-60.

Wu, E. C., Cutright, K. M., & Fitzsimons, G. J. (2011). How asking “Who am I?” affects what consumers buy: The influence of self-discovery on consumption. Journal of Marketing Research, 48(2), 296-307.

March 24 The Conflation of Race & Class

Chidester, P. (2008). “Que esse mundo e’ mesmo assim”: Gilberto Gil, the

Tropicalia movement and Afro-Brazilian identity in postmodern times. Paper presented at the Central States Communication Association annual conference, Madison, WI.

Hasinoff, A. A. (2008). Fashioning race for the free market on America’s Next Top Model. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 25(3), 324-343.

Shugart, H. A. (2006). Ruling class: Disciplining class, race, and ethnicity in television reality court shows. Howard Journal of Communications, 17(2), 79-100.

Yosso, T. J. (2002). Critical race media literacy: Challenging deficit discourse about Chicanas(os). Journal of Popular Film & Television, 30(1), 52-62.

March 31 ANALYSIS DUE!

Contemporary Representations of Women

Andsager, J. L., & Roe, K. (1999). Country music video in country’s Year

of the Woman. Journal of Communication, 69-82.

Cuklanz, L. M., & Moorti, S. (2006). Television’s “new” feminism:

Prime-time representations of women and victimization. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23(4), 302-321.

Ono, K. A., & Buescher, D. T. (2001). Deciphering Pocahontas:

Unpackaging the commodification of a Native American woman. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 18(1), 23-43.

Zaeske, S. (1995). The “promiscuous audience” controversy and the emergence of the early women’s rights movement. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 81, 191-207.

April 7 Masculinity in the Media

Brunner, L. A. K. (2010). How Big is big enough? Feminist Media

Studies,10(1), 87-98.

Butterworth, M. L. (2007). Race in “The Race”: Mark McGwire, Sammy

Sosa and heroic constructions of whiteness. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 27(3), 228-244.

Chidester, P. (2009). “The toy store of life”: Myth, sport and the mediated

reconstruction of the American hero in the shadow of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Southern Communication Journal, 74(4), 352-372.

Sender, K. (2006). Queens for a day: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and

the neoliberal project. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23(2), 131-151.

April 14 Mediated Representations of Relationships Between Women & Men

Kilker, L, (2006). All roads lead to the abject: the monstrous feminine and

gender boundaries in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” Literature Film Quarterly, 34(1), 54-63.

Meyers, M. (2004). African American women and violence: Gender, race

and class in the news. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 21(2), 95-118.

Pitcher, K. C. (2006). The staging of agency in Girls Gone Wild. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23(3), 200-218.

Wynns, S. L, & Rosenfeld, L. B. (2003). Father-daughter relationships in Disney’s animated films. Southern Communication Journal, 68(2), 91-106.

April 21 Pulling It All Together

April 28 FINAL PAPER DUE!

Final Presentations

May 2-6 Final TBA: Final Presentations