J475: Race, Gender and the Media

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J475 Race, Gender, and the Media Prof. Radhika Parameswaran

Classroom: 220 Ernie Pyle Hall Office: 200L Ernie Pyle Hall

Day/Time: Tue & Thur 4:00 to 5:15 p.m. Phone: 855-8569

Semester: Spring 2002 Mailbox Location: 200 Ernie Pyle Hall

E-Mail: rparames@indiana.edu Office Hours: Tue & Thur, 11:00 to 12:15 p.m. & by appt. on Wednesdays.

Voice-mail [On Office Phone]

J475 RACE, GENDER, AND THE MEDIA

Course Description

As consumers and producers of media, this course on media and diversity is highly relevant for your career objectives in journalism, advertising, and communications. This course will critically examine the role of the media in enabling, facilitating, or challenging the social constructions of race and gender in our society. We will consider the mass media to be one among many other social institutions such as religion, education, and family, which strongly influence our everyday notions of race and gender. The course will address a variety of entertainment and news content in print and electronic media. In studying the social construction of race and gender, we will consider and investigate all sides of issues and not restrict ourselves to the perspectives contained in the readings.

In covering race, many of the readings in the course will primarily address the experiences of African-Americans in the United States. However, this course will also include discussions of the experiences of other minorities such as Native Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos, lesbians, and gays. With regard to gender, this course will address the social construction of femininity as well as masculinity.

This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to analyzing race and gender issues related to media ownership, media representations, and the media workforce. Since the mass media constitute only one social institution among many others, we will be drawing on research and theories from other disciplines--history, Women's Studies, sociology, literary studies, and cultural studies--to discuss the impact of the media on our concept of race and gender identities.

Race and gender in this course will be viewed as interlocking social systems and not as separate or competing systems of power. Additionally, we will explore the connections among media representations of race and gender and other social constructions, which will include class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and disability.

To enroll for this course you must be a journalism major. For journalism majors, this course will fulfill two requirements, that is, the journalism elective requirement and the culture studies requirement.

Class Format

Classes will consist of a variety of the following methods:

Lectures
Small and large group discussions
Video presentations of news segments and educational videos
Group presentations by students
Guest speakers

Course Objectives

After taking this course, I expect that you will:

Learn to critically examine media representations and their role in shaping, reinforcing, or challenging our concepts of race and gender.
Acquire analytical skills to explore race and gender issues in media organizations and understand diverse audiences' responses to media representations.
Learn about some different theories and approaches to doing research on race, gender, and the mass media.
Develop the ability to speak and write honestly and sensitively about race and gender.

Required Readings

Coursepacket of readings: This text is available at the IMU Bookstore.
Study questions on readings: I will provide you with a list of study questions on all the readings for the course during the first week of class.

Recommended Readings

Readings useful for your group projects:

Creedon, Pamela. (Ed.). 2nd ed. (1993). Women in Mass Communication. Newbury Park: Sage.
Healey, Joseph. (1997). Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the United States. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Biagi, Shirley and Kern-Foxworth, Marilyn. (Eds.). (1997). Facing Difference: Race, Gender, and the Mass Media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Dyer, Carolyn. (1993). Gender and Mass Communication. A Bibliography. Placed on reserve at the Journalism Library.

Reading used as a source for some lectures:

Rothenberg, Paula. (Ed.). 3rd ed. (1995). Race, Class, and Gender in the United States. New York: St. Martin's Press.

How to Think about this Course

I enjoy teaching this course and place a high value on listening to students' opinions on race and gender issues regardless of what these opinions might be. After every semester that I have taught this course, I find that I have learned new and interesting perspectives from students. I will help you grow and develop but expect that you will take responsibility for your own education. I would like you to think that you are actively "claiming" your education not merely "receiving" information passively.
I encourage you to enjoy the course and focus on learning. In a class on race and gender, which is primarily a conceptual and discussion-based class, grades are important but not to the extent that you sacrifice the joy of learning and of expressing your observations.
In this discussion-based course on the social construction of race and gender, students learn from each other and hopefully learn to understand and appreciate different perspectives. I believe that learning is a collaborative and social experience and therefore you owe it to your classmates to come and make your contribution to their learning. My strong belief in collaborative learning is the reason why I think attendance and participation are important in this course.
Since many of the race and gender issues we will discuss in class may affect you personally, I hope that you are prepared to be challenged and to challenge the readings. I do not personally endorse each and every reading I have assigned. Remember that the views you read are those of the authors' and they do not necessarily reflect my own views. If you do not want to express some opinions in class, I hope you will come to my office to talk with me one-on-one.

Course Grading

Your grade will be made up of two exams, one paper, four quizzes, one group project, and class participation.

The value of assignments will be as follows:

Assignment Weight Points Date due

Exam I 20% 200 pts. February 6, Tuesday

Annotated Bibliography 10% 100 pts. March 6, Tuesday

Exam II 25% 250 pts. April 12, Thursday

Five Pop Quizzes 10% 100 pts. 2 announced (Feb 13 and Mar 27) & 2 unannounced

Group Projects (Total) 25% 250 pts.

Presentations [75] pts April 17, 19, 24, & 26

Papers [175] pts April 30, Monday

Class participation 10% 100 pts Every class

TOTAL 100% 1000 pts.

Exams 1 & 2: Exams will cover class lectures and discussions, assigned readings, audio-visual presentations, and guest speakers' lectures. For assigned readings, you will be provided a handout of study questions and exam questions on the readings will be drawn only from these study questions. Exams will consist of a combination of multiple choice, short answers and essays. Exam reviews will be provided in class.

For the exams and quizzes, I expect you to do the readings thoroughly and to answer the questions by drawing on specific details and arguments from the readings. Vague and general statements about how the media oppress women or minorities will not be rewarded. In my experience in teaching this class, I have found that students who do the assigned readings carefully and according to the course schedule perform well on the exams.

Annotated Bibliography: A short 2-3 page review of sources for your group project will constitute your annotated bibliography assignment. I expect you to locate three to four sources that relate to your project. You will summarize these sources and point out connections or differences between the sources you describe and your project. I will provide a handout of guidelines for the annotated bibliography in class.

Pop Quizzes: Four pop quizzes (each worth twenty-five points) will be given over the course of the semester. Of the five quizzes, three will be unannounced/surprise quizzes and two quizzes will be announced. Pop quizzes will be short tests that will primarily evaluate your retention of readings. Quiz questions will also be drawn only from the study questions.

Group Project: I will be assigning you to teams of three or four students to work on group project papers and presentations. The group project will give students the opportunity to observe and analyze the representations of gender and race in the content of a medium of their choice; print (newspapers, magazines) or electronic (television, film, radio, Internet). Examples of group projects may be analysis of news on a particular network, advertisements in magazines, television sitcoms or talk shows. I will provide a more detailed handout on what I expect from group project papers and presentations.

Class Participation: Class participation from each and every one of you will be critical for the success of this course. I encourage you to comment and to ask questions on the lectures and readings. The grade for oral participation will include the following:

Your discussion of the readings in class
Your responses to the questions I raise during lectures
Your comments and questions for guest speakers
Your responses to video segments
Your questions for classmates after their project presentations.

Participation assignments: I will assign brief observation and writing tasks throughout the semester. These assignments will be announced at the end of class. Some of these assignments are already listed on the syllabus. You will be expected to hand in participation assignments and to discuss them in the following class period. I will read these assignments but they will not be formally graded. Each of these brief assignments will carry five points each. Participation assignments cannot be made up if you were absent to class. I will not accept late assignments. The rest of the 100 points besides those set aside for written participation assignments will be allocated to discussion and attendance.

Policies and Expectations:

Attendance: Although I will not be recording attendance, it is in your interest and mine that you attend classes regularly. I am eager to hear each and every student's reactions to the readings and videos. Although many of the class videos are available in the library, if you miss class, you will miss the discussion of the videos. Also, I will be showing you video clips in class that are not available in the main library. Remember that only those participation assignments that are handed in class the day they are due will be counted for your grade. Most importantly, once the group project assignments begin, I will be providing you in-class time to work on your projects. Your teammates will grade you on your in-class attendance and this grade will contribute to your final grade on the project.

E-mail: I check my e-mail regularly throughout the week, however, I cannot guarantee that I will check e-mail over the weekend so do not expect immediate responses to messages you send me late Friday nights, Saturdays or Sundays.

I expect students to check e-mail regularly. I will be sending e-mail messages to the whole class to provide information regarding minor changes in the syllabus or to request you to read newspapers or watch television for current issues we want to discuss in class. When you respond to the e-mail messages I send to the whole class make sure you are responding to me and not the entire class! Use e-mail appropriately and judiciously. Please DO NOT use e-mail to:

ask me routine information that may already be on my syllabus.
ask me what you missed in class when you were absent.
discuss in-depth a major problem with an assignment or with a team member's work. If you have a major problem, please e-mail me to set up an appointment and briefly describe the problem, but the bulk of our discussion should happen at a one-on-one meeting in my office.

Class behavior/Discussions: I expect students to interact with each other in a mature and respectful manner. Many of the issues discussed in class may be controversial and challenging. I encourage you to approach discussions with a spirit of openness and tolerance.

Conferences: I encourage you to meet me throughout the semester and to contact me whenever you encounter any difficulties. You can see me during my office hours or by appointment. You may call me at home (765-352-0023) if you have something urgent to communicate. You can also leave voice-mail messages on my office phone at anytime. I check my e-mail regularly--my e-mail address is rparames@indiana.edu.

Lectures: Lectures for this course will not last the entire class period. Lectures will primarily be short oral presentations. The primary objectives of the lectures will be to clarify difficult concepts, to emphasize important ideas, to supplement assigned readings, and to answer students' questions.

Guest speakers: Many of the guest speakers who come to lecture in this course are very busy people who have to rearrange their professional and personal commitments to come to our class. Often, guest speakers refuse payment because they enjoy meeting and interacting with students and sharing their experiences. I request you to assist me in creating a rewarding and fulfilling environment for our guest speakers this semester. I hope you will ask them questions, share your comments, and show your appreciation for their generosity.

Deadlines: There will be no make-up examinations unless a student can provide written documentation of an extreme emergency. Students unable to take an exam because of serious, unavoidable circumstances should let me know before the examination so that a make-up may be scheduled. Late papers and group projects will be penalized one letter-grade for each day following the due date.

Missed Quizzes: Missed quizzes cannot be made up unless you have a documented absence due to illness. Quizzes also cannot be made up if you come very late to class. Those who walk in late will not get any extra time and will have to turn in their quizzes at the same time as the rest of the class.

Missed Video presentations: All the educational videos shown in class are available either at the Journalism Library or Media Services, Main Library. You may view the videos you miss in class at these two locations. For all the video presentations, I will have a list of questions on the video that will be provided in class. It is your responsibility to get the list of questions from me if you miss a video clip. Additionally, some video presentations in class will consist of taped news segments from television news, which will not be available at the any of IU's libraries. Please check with me if you miss any of these taped in-class video presentations.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism and cheating may result in severe consequences for your final grade or an automatic grade of F for the course. Please refer to the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, and Conduct of your Spring 2002 Schedule of Classes for the procedures concerning academic misconduct. Make sure you use proper footnotes and citations in all written work. The stylebooks I recommend for the proper forms for citations and bibliographies are Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers and the APA style manual.

About the Instructor

I joined the IU journalism faculty in Fall 1997. My areas of research are gender, race, and the media, audience studies, qualitative methods, and popular culture. My scholarly work has been published in Journal of Communication, Gazette: The International journal of Mass Communication, Frontiers: A Journal of Women's Studies, and Journal of Communication Inquiry. I have worked as an editor for Harcourt Brace College Publishers in Fort Worth, Texas. I have journalism experience from my work as a reporter and feature writer for two English-language dailies in India. I also gained experience in the field of public relations through my work for a non-profit organization in India.

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE
(subject to change as necessary)

WEEK ONE: Introduction to Social Construction of Race and Gender

January 8/Tuesday

Introduction to the course, discussion of syllabus/Read syllabus carefully

January 10/Thursday

Lecture: Social Construction of Race and Gender
Kellner, Douglas. (1995) Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism and Media Culture. In Gail Dines and Jean Humez (Eds.), Gender, Race and Class in Media (pp. 5-17). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Leo, John. (1993, April 26). The Demonizing of White Men. U.S. News & World Report, 114 (16), p. 24.

WEEK TWO: Historical perspective: Gender, Race, and the Media

January 15/Tuesday

Video: Ethnic Notions
Kern-Foxworth, Marilyn. (1994). Slave Advertisements: A Mirror to the Peculiar Institution. In Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (pp. 1-28). Westport, CT: Praeger Publications.

January 17/Thursday

Video: In Whose Honor? Images of Native Americans
Steele, Jeffrey. (1996). Reduced to Images: American Indians in Nineteenth Century Advertising. In Elizabeth Bird (Ed.), Dressed in Feathers: The Construction of the Indian in American Popular Culture. Colorado: Westview Press.

WEEK THREE: Social Construction of Femininity and Mass Media

January 22/Tuesday

Lecture: Semiotic Analysis
Rapping, Elayne. (1999). Gender, Melrose Place, and the Aaron Spelling Legacy. In Marian Meyers (Ed.), Mediated Women: Representations in Popular Culture. Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Projansky, Sarah and Leah Vande Berg. Sabrina, the Teenage . . . ? In Fantasy Girls: Gender in the New Universe of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

January 24/Thursday

Video: Clip I, doll, The story of Barbie
Scott, Linda M. (1993) Fresh Lipstick- Rethinking Images of Women in Advertising. Media Studies Journal, (Winter/Spring), 141-155. The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center, New York: Columbia University Press.
Berman, Nina. (1993, March/April). Disappearing Acts: Accounts of Anorexia. Ms, pp. 38-43.

WEEK FOUR: Progressive Images/Feminist Responses to Media Messages

January 29/Tuesday

Lecture: Feminist Analysis
Bellafante, Gina. (1998, June 29). Feminism: It's all about me! Time, pp. 54-60.
Labi, Nadya. (1998, June 29). Girl Power. Time, pp. 60-62.
Gioseffi, Daniela. (1992, September-October). Beyond Stereotyping, Ms, pp. 70-72.
EXAM I REVIEW

January 31/Thursday

Guest Speaker: Dr. Robert Jensen, Pornography and Gender
Zeisler, Andi. (1999, August-September) What's the Deal, McBeal? Ms, pp. 77-78.
Rapping, Elayne & Susan Douglas. (1997). Are Media Messages about Women Improving? In Alison Alexander and Jarice Hanson (Eds.), Taking Sides: Mass Media and Society (pp. 34-53). Guilford, CT: Dushkin Publishing Group.

WEEK FIVE: News and the Social Construction of Race and Gender

February 5/Tuesday

EXAM I

February 7/Thursday

Video: ABC, Local news and race
Woodbury, Marsha. (1998). Media Stereotypes of Jews: From JAPs to MDs. In Yahya Kamalipour and Theresa Carill (Eds.), Cultural Diversity and the U.S. Media (pp. 99-109). New York: SUNY Press.
Reeves, Jimmie L. & Campbell, Richard, (1994). Coloring the Crack Crisis, Media Studies Journal (Special Issue--Race America's Rawest Wave), (Summer), 71-80. The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center, New York, Columbia University Press.
BREAK INTO GROUPS/DISCUSS TOPICS FOR GROUP PROJECT

WEEK SIX: News and the Social Construction of Race and Gender

February 12/Tuesday

Video news clip: Anita Hill on ABC'S 20/20 evening news
Ricchiardi, Shirley. (1998, January-February). Getting the Picture: Women are Coming to the Fore in the Long Male-Dominated Field of Photojournalism, American Journalism Review, pp. 27-32.
Meyers, Marian. (1997). The Murder of a Battered Woman. In News Coverage of Violence Against Women (pp. 40-51). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
ANNOUNCED QUIZ

February 14/Thursday

Lecture: Broadcast news and analysis of race
Video news clip: The Klu Klux Klan on ABC's 20/20 evening news
Campbell, Christopher P. (1995). A Myth of Difference: Racial Stereotypes and the News, In Race, Myth and the News (pp. 59-85). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
GROUP PROJECT TOPIC/TOPICS DUE

WEEK SEVEN: Hispanics, Arabs, and Asians in the Media

February 19/Tuesday

Lecture: Content Analysis
Larmer, Brook. (1999, July 12). Hispanics are hip, hot and making history. Newsweek, pp. 48-51.
Leland, John and Veronica Chambers. (1999, July 12). Generation N. Newsweek, pp. 52-58.
DISCUSS ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY/HANDOUT WILL BE PROVIDED

February 21/Thursday

Lecture: Media Representations of Asians
Video: Edward Said on Orientalism
Little, Greta. (1998). Representing Arabs: Reliance on the Past. In Yahya Kamalipour and Theresa Carill (Eds.), Cultural Diversity and the U.S. Media (pp. 261-272). New York: SUNY Press.

WEEK EIGHT: Race, Masculinity, and the Media

February 26/Tuesday

Video: Tough Guise, Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity
Faludi, Susan. (1999, September 13). The Betrayal of the American Man. Newsweek, pp. 49-58. (Excerpted from the book by Susan Faludi. (1999). Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man. New York: William Morrow & Co. Inc.
Halpern, Sue. (1999, September-October). The Mother Jones Interview with Susan Faludi. Mother Jones, pp. 36-38.
Strate, Lance. (1992). Beer Commercials: A Manual on Masculinity. In Steve Craig (Ed.), Men, Media, and Masculinity (pp. 78-92). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

February 28/Thursday

Video: Clip from Home Improvement
Marriot, Michael. (1997, November). One Dark Body. Essence magazine 28 (7).
Harvey, Mary. (2000, August). Magazines: Let's Hear it for the Boys. American Demographics, pp. 1-5.

WEEK NINE: Popular Music, Race, and Gender

March 5/Tuesday

Video: To be announced (on rap music and race)
Farley, Christopher. (1999, February 8). Hip-Hop Nation. Time, pp. 54-64. With Boxed Inserts: Chistopher Farley, Lauryn Hill and David Thigpen, Puffy.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE IN CLASS.

March 7/Thursday

Possible Guest Speaker: Prof. Will Counts, Photography, History and Race
Brabazon, Tara and Amanda Evans. (1998, April). I'll Never be your Woman: The Spice Girls and New Flavors of Feminism. Social Alternatives, 17 (2), pp. 39-42.
Rothschild, Matthew. (2000, May). The Progressive Interview with Ani DiFranco. The Progressive, pp. 32-38.
HANDOUT ON GROUP PROJECTS.

WEEK TEN: SPRING BREAK!

WEEK ELEVEN: Race and Class Issues in the Media

March 19/Tuesday

Lecture: Marxist Analysis
Possible Video: To be announced
Mantsios, Gregory. (1995) Class in America: Myths and Realities. In Paula Rothenberg (Ed.), Race, Class and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study (pp. 131-143). New York: St Martins Press.
Thomas, Sari. (1995). Myths in and about Television. In John Downing and Anabelle Sreberny-Mohammadi (Eds.), Questioning the Media: A Critical Introduction (pp. 444-459). Oakland, CA: Sage Publications.

March 21/Thursday

Video clip from PBS "Henry Louis Gates"
Taylor, Chris. (2000, December 4), Digital Divide: So Close and Yet so Far. Time, pp. 109-111. (Special issue on Inventors and Inventions).
Drummond, Tammerlin. (2000, December 4). The multi-million Dollar Dash. Time, pp. 112-114.

WEEK TWELVE: Sexual Orientation and the Media

March 26/Tuesday

Video: Off the Straight and Narrow: Gays and Lesbians in the Media
Signorile, Michelangelo. (1993). Smashing the Celluloid Closet. In Sex, the Media, and Closets of Power (pp. 250-285).
Raab, Barbara. (1996, July). Gays, Lesbians, and the Media: The Slow Road to Acceptance. USA Today Magazine, 125 (2614), pp. 56-59.
ANNOUNCED QUIZ

March 28/Thursday

Alwood, Edward. (1996). The Consequences of Outing. In Straight News: Gays, Lesbians, and the News Media (pp. 265-285). New York: Columbia University Press.

WEEK THIRTEEN: Race, Gender and New Media/Alternative Media

April 2/Tuesday

Rosen, Jeffrey. (1997). Pornography: Cheap Speech�Will the Old First Amendment Battles Survive New Technologies? In Shirley Biagi and Marilyn Kern-Foxworth (Eds.), Facing Difference: Race, Gender, and Mass Media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Thom, Mary. (1997). At Birth. In Inside Ms: 25 Years of the Magazine and the Feminist Movement (pp. 1-19). New York: Henry Holt and Company.

April 4/Thursday

Streitmatter, Rodger. (1994). Charlotta Bass: Radical Precursor of the Black Power Movement. In Raising her Voice: African-American Women Journalists who Changed History (pp. 95-106). Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky.
REVIEW FOR EXAM II
WORK ON GROUP PROJECTS IN CLASS!!!

WEEK FOURTEEN: The Media Workforce: Race and Gender Issues

April 9/Tuesday

Video: The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords
Newkirk, Pamela. (2000, September-October). Guess Who's leaving the Newsrooms. Too Many Journalists of Color Don't Stick Around. Why? Columbia Journalism Review, pp. 36, 38, 39.
Jennings, Ryan. (1999, Spring). Driving Miss Dempsey: From Cub Reporter to Globe-Trotting Columnist. Ryerson Review of Journalism, pp. 35-39.

April 11/Thursday

EXAM II

WEEK FIFTEEN: GROUP PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

April 16/Tuesday

GROUP PROJECT PRESENTATIONS: Teams 1, 2, 3, 4

April 18/Thursday

GROUP PROJECT PRESENTATIONS: Teams 5, 6 , 7, 8

WEEK SIXTEEN: GROUP PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

April 23/Tuesday

GROUP PROJECT PRESENTATIONS: Teams 9, 10, 11, 12

April 25/Thursday

GROUP PROJECT PRESENTATIONS: Teams 13, 14, 15, 16

WEEK SEVENTEEN: FINAL WEEK

April 29/Monday

GROUP PROJECT PAPERS DUE IN MY MAILBOX BEFORE 5:00 P.M.

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