Instructor: Catherine H. Palczewski, Ph.D.

Office: Lang Hall 341

Office hours:

Tuesday: 1:00-3:00pm
Wednesday: 8:00-8:30pm

no office hours October 23

 

If these times do not work, feel free to call or email to make an appointment.

Office Phone: 273-2714 Mailbox: Lang Hall 326 e-mail: palczewski@uni.edu

Course Description: Critical examination of how communication creates, maintains, and challenges diverse gender identities and of how gendered communication in and about social institutions can be sources of liberation and subordination.

People "do" gender through their communicative practices, and gender is constructed through the communication produced by social institutions. The purpose of this course is to raise students' awareness regarding the ways in which gender is created, maintained, and/or changed through communication. Students will gain theoretical insights and develop analytical skills to identify gendered expectations and learn how such expectations serve to limit and enable behavior for all people. The course will enhance understanding of how predominant social assumptions and communication norms can devalue and silence women and other non-dominant groups and how students can become change agents to enhance our collective lives.

Course Objectives: At the end of the course, students should understand that gender in communication is complicated by a variety of factors beyond sex.

*Identify the ways in which communication creates, maintains, and/or changes gender.
*Understand how other identity ingredients (e.g., race, ethnicity, social class, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion) intersect with gender.
*Understand how social scientific, humanistic, and critical methods contribute to the study of gender/sex in communication.
*Understand how gendered expectations affect all people.
*Understand gender as diversity, not difference. *Understand how predominant social assumptions and communication norms can devalue and silence women and other non-dominant groups. *Identify the way your own gendered practices hold the potential for personal and social change.

Undergraduate Assignments

Assignments are worth a total of 100 points. However, for each assignment you can earn fractions of points (so, you can think of it as a 1000 point scale if it makes you feel better). If you need to figure your letter grade at any point in the semester, simply divide the number of points you have by the number of possible points you could have earned. For your final grade, simply add up all the points for each assignment. Points are noted in brackets. Simply doing the base requirements of each assignment will earn you a "C" -- this means you have done acceptable work. To earn a "B" you must go beyond the assignment expectations or fulfill them in an above average way. To earn an "A" you must go far beyond the assignment expectations and fulfill the base expectations in an exceptional manner.

Detailed descriptions of all assignments appear on this syllabus. You are free to ask questions in class about the assignments, or contact me outside of class by email or phone. But, please be aware, I will NOT answer any questions about an assignment in the 48 hours before it is due. I recognize that students procrastinate, so, consider this an inducement to begin work early. This means if you have a question, you need to be prepared to ask it in the class session before your assignment is due. I will not answer questions after that time. Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date listed.

Page limits on all assignments will be rigorously enforced. You should spend time finding ways to write more concisely and clearly. If I find your paper long-winded,and you go over the page limit, I will quit reading. (If, however, you are brilliant and keep me captivated, I may not notice). And, given the expectations of each of the assignments, you probably will need to use the number of pages required. If, however, you are exceptionally concise, then I may not notice if your paper falls short of the required pages.

A bibliography should be turned in with every assignment. It will not count toward your page limit. On the top of the page, indicate the style (APA or MLA) that you think you are using.

TurnItIn requirement: For assignments 1, 2, and 5a, students are required to use TurnItIn in order to check they are not plagiarizing. Thus, for an assignment to be considered "turned in", students must have submitted an electronic version to TurnItIn before the assignment's due date and time and also turn in a paper copy to the professor at the assigned due date and time. I have activated the TurnItIn website in such a way that you are allowed to submit drafts of your paper and receive originality reports. These reports should be used to assist you in making sure you are attributing authorship in an ethical way. The only originality report I will see is the final report on the version of the paper you turn into me. Students can access the TurnItIn website for each assignment via the class's eLearning site. Check the TurnItIn file, and then select the icon for the appropriate assignment. Please understand: using TurnItIn is only the first step in making sure your are abiding by citation guidelines and providing fair attribution. TurnItIn is only one way to check the originality of your work, and just because your work passes the TurnItIn check does not guarantee you have not plagiarized. You are responsible for using style manuals to make sure your citation format is correct and consistent.

1) Gendered Lens Analysis of the Intersectional Self: [10 points]. (5 pages). Apply course readings and class discussion to reflexively identify and examine the social construction of your own gender identity. Include specific observations and descriptions from your life. Explore how your sex, race, class, religion, citizenship, age, etc. intersect with your gender. In other words, do not only identify the identity categories to which you belong, but also explore how you perform identity given those ingredients. Your goal is to apply an intersectional view of gender (and 3 other relevant course concepts) to examine your own gender identity. Be sure to demonstrate your understanding of the terms you use, rather than merely name-drop. Write a coherent essay that features your voice, not just a list of concept applications. No external references are required. When analyzing yourself, you do NOT need to reveal EVERYTING about yourself. (Face it, I will not know if you choose to leave something out). Just to be clear, you only need to discuss what you are comfortable discussing. If there is an aspect of your gender/sex identity that is private, do not feel compelled to discuss it.

Although this paper is short, it is worth 1/10th of your final grade and, thus, should reflect a proportional amount of work. It should be well-written, organized, free of typographical or grammatical errors, and present and support a clear thesis. In order to do well on this assignment, you may need to write a much longer draft, and then edit down to the 5 page limit.

Due: October 17

2) Gender Analysis of Institutional Artifacts: [10 points]. (5 pages). A sign up sheet for institutions will be distributed in the early weeks of the class. Select a social institution of interest: family, education, work, media, religion. Select an artifact (or if it is short, a combination of artifacts) from this institution that can be analyzed from a gendered perspective. An artifact must be something original from the social institution, such as a specific grade school’s curriculum, textbook, anti-bullying policy; a university’s guidelines for athletes or it sexual assault reporting policy; media advertisements; a movie or television sit-com; a selection from brochures or speech texts of religious groups; businesses’ policy statements on sexual harassment or guidelines for promotion; laws on equal pay, rape, marriage; health care guidelines or advice; an advice book on family communication, parent/child communication, etc. A gendered analysis means that you select relevant concepts from this course to apply as you conduct a close analysis of the artifact, and answer the following questions:

A) How is this artifact (and thus its institution) gendered or how does it gender? Describe and analyze the artifact. Consider both the visual and verbal components of the artifact. How do you believe gender (and perhaps race, social class, heterosexism, etc.) is being constructed, maintained, and/or changed through this institutional artifact?

B) How does the use of a gendered lens expand, alter or inform your analysis?

C) Does this act of communication matter and, if so, what change to it do you recommend?

D) Attach a copy of the artifact to the paper and bring a version of it to class that can be seen by the entire class (advertisements can be placed on the elmo projector, a digital image of a billboard could be shown on the computer, a song could be played, but bring a copy of the lyrics for everyone to read).

You must apply 3 or more relevant concepts from the course to defend your interpretations. Be prepared to share your analysis in class as we discuss each social institution.

Possible Due Dates: October 29; November 5, 12, 19; December 3

Although this paper is short, it is worth 1/10th of your final grade and, thus, should reflect a proportional amount of work. It should be well-written, organized, free of typographical or grammatical errors, and present and support a clear thesis. In order to do well on this assignment, you may need to write a much longer draft, and then edit down to the 5 page limit. Remember to use TurnItIn.

3) Reading responses (RR): [5 responses at 2 points each] The goal of these 2 page papers (double spaced) is to help process the assigned readings and also prepare for in-class discussions. The response should focus on the readings assigned that week (not the previous week); so, a reading response turned in during week 3 should respond to the readings assigned for week 3. They are not meant to be "book reports" or mere descriptions of the readings. You should engage the readings: summarize, highlight, agree, disagree, apply, extend, rework, combine, synthesize, play. I expect work that has been proofread and edited. A paper rife with typographical, grammar, or citation errors will be returned ungraded. These short papers should be good practice for your analysis papers. You are required to complete 5 of these. (Should you choose to write on more than 5, you earn the top 5 grades).

2 of your responses should respond to chapters 1-6.

Possible due dates for first set: September 3, 10, 17, 24; October 1, 8, 15.

2 of the responses should respond to chapters 7-12.

Possible due dates for second set: October 29; November 5, 12, 19; December 3

FORMAT FOR CHAPTER RESPONSE: Each response should adhere to the following format:

1. Concisely state a main point of the textbook chapter (or assigned pages).

2. Respond to any two of the following prompts:

• I agree with this argument and this is why.
• I disagree with this argument and this is why.
• This relates to my life in this way.
• I am confused about _______ and this is why.

3. Given what I learned in this chapter, I would respond to the non-textbook reading (or video) by saying ______.

FORMAT FOR VIDEO/LECTURE RESPONSE (if applicable): For the video response, please follow this format.

1. Concisely state the main point of each video and lecture. Identify a common theme.

2. Respond to any two of the following prompts:

• I agree with this main point and this is why.
• I disagree with this main point and this is why.
• This relates to my life in this way.
• I am confused about _______ and this is why.

3. I now understand ________ better. (In other words, did the video/lecture clarify something in the textbook?)

Submit via email by 5pm, Sept 20.

4) Midterm Exam: [15 points] Understanding the concepts introduced in the first 6 chapters is essential to understanding the chapters examining social institutions. The midterm exam will focus on reading comprehension with a combination of definition and short essay questions. You should use the key terms listed in the syllabus to construct a study guide sheet. No notes will be allowed in exams. Due Date: October 24.

5) Final Exam: The final exam will be composed of two parts.

A) A take home essay exam. [20 points] (5-7 pages). The exam will ask you to incorporate work done in your response papers, your analysis papers, and class discussion. Thus, as you make choices about those assignments, think about which can most help you with the final. For the final, you will write a companion piece (or answer) to one of the popular press pieces we read in class (you could find a popular culture text of your own, and write a corrollary or response to it; if you go this route, you MUST have the idea approved by me first). For example, you could write

• "7 Ways You're Hurting Your Son's Future" or "7 Ways You're Hurting Your Child's Future"as a corrollary to "7 Ways You're Hurting Your Daughter's Future" (LearnVest. (2912, June 28). 7 ways you're hurting your daughter's future. Forbes.com. link)
• "How to Talk to Little Boys" or "How to Talk to Children" as a corrollary to "How to Talk to Little Girls" (Bloom, Lisa. (2011, Jue 22). How to talk to little girls. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com)
• "XXX Country 2020" as a corrollary to "Cowgirl Country 2012" (see Rebecca Traister. (2011, January 21). Cowgirl country. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.newyorktimes.com) or "xxxx Country" (whatever you think is happening in election 2016)
• "What if dude xxx posed like lady xxx" or "What is person xxxx posed like person yyyy" (this one would require a visual, as well as written, component)
• "Ten more words every girl should learn" or "Ten words every boy should learn" or "Ten words everybody should learn" as a corrollary to "10 words every girl should learn."

Whatever you choose to write, you need to make sure you:

• incorporate scholarly research (from the textbook and from additional research you do). I am asking you to make arguments based on scholarly research, not on the basis of social stereotypes or popular culture literature
• advance a coherent argument about gender and communication
• make sure communication is a central component to the argument and analysis
• organize your argument (this should not be a stream of consciousness essay)
• use the key terms: whenever appropriate, use the language learned in class to more precisely word your arguments. You should use at least one concept from each of the chapters. Bold the concepts when you use them. Provide citations. Also, please indicate which chapter the concept comes from: APA (DeFrancisco, Palczewski, & McGeough 2007, ch. 2, p. 47) or MLA (DeFrancisco, Palczewski, and McGeough, ch. 2, 47)

Good Essay link: All papers should put into practice the skills and techniques learned in basic writing classes. Here is a link to a general checklist to consult when preparing an essay.

B) Oral presentation: [5 points]. Students will have 5 minutes to present their exam answers. Please bring 2 copies of your presentation outline (one for you to use and one for me to write on). Depending on class size, the duration of the presentation may be altered. You can take a more performative turn in your presentations, or you can choose to combine your time for a group presentation/debate. If you do choose to combine your time, make sure it is a GROUP presentation, and not just a series of 3 speeches. The presentation should focus on the core point the student made in the final exam.

More helpful hints:

1) Do NOT simply read your exam for your presentation. The presentation should be formal and professional, but not scripted. I suggest you speak from a detailed outline (remember to include quotations from the textbook in the outline to illustrate the points you want to make). Please bring two copies of the outline: one to speak from and one for me. DO practice the presentation to make sure your outline fits within the time limits. Time limits will be strictly enforced.

2) Presume the audience is not familiar with your exam, but is educated about gender in communication. Your presentation does NOT need to include detailed definitions of common terms from the textbook. However, do provide sufficient theoretical explanation of more complicated concepts so that the audience can follow your analysis.

3) Do not try to present all the arguments in your exam. You will not be able to cover everything in just 5 minutes. Instead, give a brief overview of all your arguments, and then pick one or two on which to focus the presentation.

4) Good Speech link: All presentations should put into practice the skills and techniques learned in Oral Communication and/or Public Speaking classes. Here is a link to a general checklist to consult when preparing a speech.

Due date: 10:00-11:50 a.m. Thursday, December 19

• the original, or a high quality reproduction, of the visual artifact
• full information about the image (source, creator, description of content, date, place, etc.)
• information on how to access the original (i.e., bibliographic citation, url)
• a 1 page explanation of how and why the image illustrates the concept. Make sure you clearly identify the concept or passage from the textbook which you are illustrating (include a page number), and then provide a clear description of how the visual enhances your understanding of the concept or passage and/or how the passage or concept helped you understand the image.

The point of this assignment is to encourage you to think about how you might visualize research and make a verbal concept come alive. It also should help you see how concepts in the book can help you analyze and understand things you see in the world.

Examples turned in before October 1 can receive up to 10 points.

Examples turned in before November 21 can receive up to 9 points.

Examples turned in on December 10 can receive up to 8 points.

Due date: Any time during the semester before the end of class on December 10.

7) Discussion: [20 points]. The success of this class depends on your participation. You will be expected to read assignments prior to the date assigned and to join in ALL class discussions. Students are encouraged to participate by bringing in relevant artifacts (newspaper articles, advertisements, TV shows, songs, job ads, etc.) to discuss. It is expected that we will have varying view points on issues discussed in class, and that we can learn from such disagreement. The professor should serve as a muse or a guide, but not a drill sergeant. For a class to be a location of invention, and not just regurgitation, you must come ready to talk, to think, to rethink, and to engage. Otherwise, a seminar format class can devolve into just being an instance where the professor tells you what to think. Being a good participant does not mean that you always have the answer; it can also mean that you know when to ask the right questions and when to recognize that the answers have already been offered by the class but need to be synthesized. Discussion is a central component of this class insofar as each person's analysis of the readings can be enhanced by others' insights. For a detailed description of the criteria used in the assessment of discussion, see my discussion link.

Graduate Assignments

Major project: You can choose one of the following options. Regardless of the option, they all share the following characteristics: you will begin with an exhaustive bibliographic search, each project will be written in stages so you may receive feedback, each should involve immersion in the literature on gender in communication, and each should have some connection to communication. Method, format, and end product is up to you. If none of these options work for you, feel free to propose an alternative assignment track.

1. Project proposal: [5 points] The proposal should identify a) which project option you are choosing; b) the topic on which you will focus; c) the connection between between gender and communication; d) the general thesis/argument/RQ you will pursue e) your goals for the project, e.g. standlone paper, part of thesis, information for advocacy. (2 pages, double spaced) Due: September 17

2. ALL PROJECTS will start with an exhaustive topic search: [10 points] Printouts of all searches should be attached (this could be a very large stack). Due: October 1. The cover page should:

*Identify the bibliographic format used (APA or MLA).

*List the search terms and databases used (e.g., CMMC, Lexis/Nexis, EBSCO's Gender Studies Database)

*Provide preliminary research questions (RQs) for social science projects, or preliminary arguments for criticism projects, or preliminary goals for other projects.

*Include a practice bibliography that YOU type that includes sample citations. I want to make sure everyone knows how to do citations forms for typical sources. Thus, you need to include bibliographic entries for at least one of each of the following (even if you are not citing it yet):

1. book

2. book chapter from an edited collection

3. newspaper article (if electronically accessed, correct form for that should be included)

4. magazine article (if electronically accessed, correct form for that should be included)

5. scholarly journal article (if electronically accessed, correct form for that should be included)

6. web source (blog, webpage, tweet, etc.)

3. Project options

A) Research paper. [55 points total] (20 pages) This would be a traditional scholarly paper. The method is open to you, but if you use human subjects, you must receive IRB approval and this will take some additional time.

1) Draft of first 5 pages [10 points] Due date: October 29

2) Draft of first 10 pages [10 points] Due date: November 21

3) Final project [35 points] Due date: December 19, 10am

B) Review essay. [55 points total] (20 pages) For models of this approach, see the journal Review of Communication. With this assignment, instead of conducting original research, you would write up a summary of the "state of the literature" on a given topic. You would need to find all the research on a topic (say, disordered eating, sexual violence prevention, media representations of trans folks, etc.), identify themes, make judgments about utility, and identify future directions for research.

1) Draft of first 5 pages [10 points] Due date: October 29

2) Draft of first 10 pages [10 points] Due date: November 21

3) Final project [35 points] Due date: December 19, 10am

Good Essay link: All papers should put into practice the skills and techniques learned in basic writing classes. Here is a link to a general checklist to consult when preparing an essay.

3) Teaching project: You could either develop a gender in communication unit for a class on a broader topic (or identify how you would weave gender throughout the class) OR develop a complete syllabus (with readings, assignments, exercises, lectures, etc.) for an entire class on gender in communication. The oral presentation component of this assignment would be replaced by you teaching a class during the regular class period. In your project proposal, you will need to include a proposed date for when you would teach a session of the class.

1) Draft of 25% of content [10 points] Due date: October 29

2) Draft of half of content [10 points] Due date: November 21

3) Final project [35 points] Due date: December 19, 10am

4) Oral presentation: [5 points]. Students will have 5 minutes to present their projects during the final exam period. Please bring 2 copies of your presentation outline (one for you to use and one for me to write on). Depending on class size, the duration of the presentation may be altered. You can take a more performative turn in your presentations, or you can choose to combine your time for a group presentation/debate. If you do choose to combine your time, make sure it is a GROUP presentation, and not just a series of 3 speeches. The presentation should focus on the core point the student made in the final exam.

More helpful hints:

A) Do NOT simply read your exam for your presentation. The presentation should be formal and professional, but not scripted. I suggest you speak from a detailed outline (remember to include quotations from the textbook in the outline to illustrate the points you want to make). Please bring two copies of the outline: one to speak from and one for me. DO practice the presentation to make sure your outline fits within the time limits. Time limits will be strictly enforced.

B) Presume the audience is not familiar with your exam, but is educated about gender in communication. Your presentation does NOT need to include detailed definitions of common terms from the textbook. However, do provide sufficient theoretical explanation of more complicated concepts so that the audience can follow your analysis.

C) Do not try to present all the arguments in your exam. You will not be able to cover everything in just 5 minutes. Instead, give a brief overview of all your arguments, and then pick one or two on which to focus the presentation.

D) Good Speech link: All presentations should put into practice the skills and techniques learned in Oral Communication and/or Public Speaking classes. Here is a link to a general checklist to consult when preparing a speech.

Due date: December 19 or our final graduate student meeting, 10am

5) Discussion: [20 points]. Graduate students will meet (approximately ten times) for one hour a week outside of the regular class time (depending on your schedules). During this time, we will discuss both the textbook readings and additional assigned readings. The extra readings can be accessed via the hyperlinks embedded in the syllabus (if you are on a university computer), by looking up the reading on the Rod Library website, or via eLearning.

The extra meetings will be your primary time for discussion, although you also are expected to participate during regular class sessions. The success of this class depends on your participation. You will be expected to read assignments prior to the date assigned and to join in ALL class discussions. Students are encouraged to participate by bringing in relevant artifacts (newspaper articles, advertisements, TV shows, songs, job ads, etc.) to discuss. It is expected that we will have varying view points on issues discussed in class, and that we can learn from such disagreement. The professor should serve as a muse or a guide, but not a drill sergeant. For a class to be a location of invention, and not just regurgitation, you must come ready to talk, to think, to rethink, and to engage. Otherwise, a seminar format class can devolve into just being an instance where the professor tells you what to think. Being a good participant does not mean that you always have the answer; it can also mean that you know when to ask the right questions and when to recognize that the answers have already been offered by the class but need to be synthesized. Discussion is a central component of this class insofar as each person's analysis of the readings can be enhanced by others' insights. For a detailed description of the criteria used in the assessment of discussion, see my discussion link.

Preface and Ch 1 (available on eLearning if you do not yet have a copy of the textbook)

McDermott, Maeve. (2015, July 23). Voices: Swift, Minaj VMAs feud about more than music. USA Today.

Keane, Erin. (2014, July 22). 10 questions Taylor Swift could have asked herself before picking a fight with Nicki Minaj. Salon.

GRAD STUDENT readings:

Jack, Jordynn. (2012, March). Gender copia: Feminist rhetorical perspectives on an autistic concept of sex/gender. Women's Studies in Communication, 35(1), 1-17. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2012.667519

Sloop, John. (2004). Introduction (not chapter 3). Disciplining gender: Rhetorics of sex identity in contemporary U.S. culture. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. 

West, Candace, & Zimmerman, Don H. (1987). Doing gender. Gender & Society, 1(2), 125-151.

androgyny
binary
communication
essentialism
ethnicity
gender
gender fluidity
gender queer
gender/sex
heteronormativity
identity
intersectionality
intersex
queer
race
rhetoric
sex
sexual orientation
socioeconomic class
transgender
violence continuum

cis

normativity

trans

1. What is intersectionality? Because people are unique intersectional beings, given their sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, class, physical ability, and more, how will the concept of intersectionality inform your specific approach to the study of gender in communication?

2. What is sex? What is gender? Why CGD use these together as gender/sex? If you are unclear on why sex is a complicated term, see: Intersex Society of North America website: FAQ “What is intersex?” FAQ “How common is intersex?” FAQ “What's the difference between being transgender or transsexual and having an intersex condition?”

3. What does it mean to “do gender”? In what ways is the study of communication central to the study of gender?

Ch 2 pp. 29-41

Cooper, Anderson (Anchor), & . (2011, 6-7). The sissy-boy experiment. In David Doss & Charles Moore (Executive producers), AC360º. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com

Bloom, Lisa. (2011, Jue 22). How to talk to little girls. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com

GRAD STUDENT readings:

Chávez, Karma R. (2010, April). Spatializing gender performativity: Ecstasy and possibilities for livable life in the tragic case of Victoria Arellano.  Women's Studies in Communication, 33(1), 1-15. DOI: 10.1080/07491401003669729

Sloop, John M. (2012, June). "This is not natural:" Caster Semenya's gender threats. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 29(2), 81-96.

biological determinism
biological theories
cognitive development
interpretive
objective
psychoanalytic theories
psychological theories
social learning
social reality
stereotype threat

1. What expectations do you have for appropriate gender-related behaviors? Where do you think these expectations come from? What are your underlying theories about gender given what you have identified as the sources of gender?

2. How do biological theories explain the formation of gender and its role in communication?

3. How do psychological theories (psychoanalytic theory, social learning theory, cognitive development theory) explain the formation of gender and its role in communication?

Ch 2 pp. 41-55

Option 1: Stanford University Medical Center. (2006, July 14). Transgender experience led Stanford scientist to critique gender difference. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com

and

Barres, Ben A. (2006, July 13). Does gender matter? Nature, 442(7099), 133-6. doi:10.1038/442133a

Option 2: Rupert, Maya. (2012, August 6). What are little girls made of: The dangers of the new Olympics gender tests. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffpost.com

GRAD STUDENT readings:

LeMaster, Benny. (2015). Discontents of being and becoming fabulous on RuPaul's Drag U : Queer criticism in neoliberal times. Women's Studies in Communication, 38(2), 167-186. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2014.988776

Sept 10: RR possible

critical/cultural theories
culture
ethnocentric
gender diversity persp.
postcolonialism
queer theory

power/domains of power

hegemonic masculinity

hegemony

privileges

1. How do critical/cultural theories explain the formation of gender and its role in communication?

in class, watch:

Martin, Russell, & Nibley, Lydia. (Producers). (2010). Two Spirits [DVD]. Available from http://www.twospirits.org (54:00)

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi . (2009, July). The danger of a single story [Ted talk]. Available from http://www.ted.com/talks/ (18:49)

Wright, iO Tillett. (2012, December). Fifty shades of gay [Ted talk]. Available from http://www.ted.com/talks/ (18:18)

Dreger, Alice. (2010, December). Is anatomy destiny? [Ted talk]. vailable from http://www.ted.com/talks/ (18.48)

Sept 20: RR possible -- email to me

Sept 17: GRAD project proposal due

Ch 3

Option 1:

From upsoeak to vocal fry: Are we 'policing' young women's voices? (2015, July 23). Fresh Air. NPR. listen or read

AND

Option 1: Wolk, Lesley, Abdelli-Beruh, Nassima B., & Slavin, Dianne. (2011). Habitual use of vocal fry in young adult female speakers. Journal of Voice, 26(3): 111-116.

OR

Option 2: Anderson, Rindy, C., Klofstad, Casey A., Mayew, William J., Venkatachalam, Mohan. (2014). Vocal fry may undermine the success of young women in the labor market. Plos One. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097506

Option 2:

Holden, Madeleine. (2019, August 12). The exhausting work of LGBTQ code-switching. Vice.

GRAD STUDENT readings:

Griffin, Rachel Alicia. (2012, January). I AM an angry black woman: Black feminist autoethnography, voice, and resistance. Women's Studies in Communication, 35(2), 138-157. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2012.724524

Wolk, Lesley, Abdelli-Beruh, Nassima B., & Slavin, Dianne. (2011). Habitual use of vocal fry in young adult female speakers. Journal of Voice, 26(3): 111-116.

Anderson, Rindy, C., Klofstad, Casey A., Mayew, William J., Venkatachalam, Mohan. (2014). Vocal fry may undermine the success of young women in the labor market. Plos One. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097506

“doing gender”
altercasting
conversation
conversation work
conversational style
identity work
rapport talk
relationship work
report talk

indirect/direct commuication style politeness relationship work vocal fry

1. Have you observed the construction of gender through conversation in classrooms? At work? In social groups? In church? In your family? Describe them.

2. Describe your own conversational style and ask a friend to describe it as well. Look for similarities and differences in your descriptions. Do either of you include assumptions about gender, race, or class? If so, which identities are noted and which are not? Why not? What can you learn from this activity about your gender identity and performance via conversation?

3. How might employing diverse gendered styles become a communication resource for individuals? What are examples of this?

4. Did Julia Wood’s (2007) girls’ and boys’ “rules of play” seem familiar to you? Did you know children in grade school who did not comply with these norms? How were they treated by other children and the teachers?

Ch 4

you have the following options for additional readings:

Option 1: Superheroes:

JOS. (2012, May 9). What if dude superheroes posed like lady superheroes [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://feministing.com/2012/05/09/what-if-dude-superheroes-posed-like-lady-superheroes/

and

Romano, Aja. (2015, May 11). Marvel's toy line just erased Black Widow from her own scene in "Age of Ultron." The Daily Dot.

Option 2: "handsome revolution project"

Nichols, JamesMichael. (2015, May 31). "Handsome revolution project" documents the spectrum of masculinity. HuffPost.

Option 3: Patriarchy chicken

Beyer, Anna Lee. (2019, May 10). How I am teaching my small daughters to play patriarchy chicken. Huffpost.

GRAD STUDENT readings:

Kelly, Casey Ryan, & Hoerl, Kristen E. (2015). Shaved or saved? Disciplining women's bodies. Women's Studies in Communication, 38(2), 141-145. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2015.1027088

AND

Jack, Jordynn. (2009). Acts of institution: Embodying feminist rhetorical methodologies in space and time. Rhetoric Review, 28(3), 285-303. DOI: 10.1080/07350190902958909

AND

Woods, Carly S. (2013, September). Repunctuated feminism: Marketing menstrual suppression through the rhetoric of choice. Women's Studies in Communication, 36(3), 267-287. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2013.829791

OR

Rand, Erin J. (2013, June). An appetite for activism: The Lesbian Avengers and the queer politics of visibility. Women's Studies in Communication, 36(2), 121-141. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2013.794754

October 1: RR possible

October 1: GRAD student topic search due

agency
embodied communication embodied movement
surveillance
disciplining gender
embodied space
gender performativity
gendered attractiveness
objectification
proxemics
self-objectification
refusing the command
performance

1. Have you heard of or experienced the claims of “throwing like a girl” before?

2. Do you agree with Whitehead that men do not tend to experience their bodies in this guarded way?  Why/why not?

3. Why is Butler’s notion of gender as performance particularly relevant here?

4. Identify examples of how objectification is present in your everyday life.

5. Do you note any common themes in the research attractiveness, clothing trends, embodied space, and movement?  Explain.

6. What are the primary ways in which persons have refused the command performance?  Are there any ways you have refused a command performance?

Ch 5

you have the following options for additional readings:

Option 1: Desmond-Harris, Jenée. (2015, June 11). Why I'm finally convinced it's time to stop saying "you guys." Vox.com. Retrieved from http://www.vox.com 

Option 2: Rollins, Lisa Marie. (2015, June 14). Transracial lives matter: Rachel Dolezal and the privilege of racial manipulation. Lost Daughters. (spaking for others/speaking as others)

Option 3: Vagianos, Alanna. (2015, April 23). Laci Green on the problem with reclaiming the word "bitch". HuffPost.

and

Peterson, Britt. (2015, April). Meet the new bitch. The Atlantic.

GRADUATE STUDENT readings

Campbell, Karlyn Kohrs. (1973, February). The rhetoric of Women’s Liberation: An oxymoron. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 59, 74-86.

AND

de Onís, Kathleen M. (2015). Lost in translation: Challenging (white, monolingual feminism's) <choice> with justicia reproductiva. Women's Studies in Communication, 38(1), 1-19. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2014.989462

AND

Lloyd, Moya. (2007). Radical democratic activism and the politics of resignification. Constellations, 14(1), 129-146.

OR

Dow, Bonnie J., & Wood, Julia T. (2014, January). Repeating history and learning from it: What can SlutWalks teach us about feminism? Women's Studies in Communication, 37(1), 22-43. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2013.867918

OR

October 8: RR possible

de-verbing of woman
developing a new lang.
falsely universal we
he/man language
lack of vocabulary
language as violence
marked terms
moving over

patriarchal univ. of disc.

resignification
rhetorics of difference
semantic derogation
semantic imbalance
semantic polarization
sexual harassment
strategic essentialism
talking back
terministic screens
trivialization
truncated passives

1.   The authors argue language can oppress and liberate. Why is recognizing both the liberatory and oppressive potential of language important?

2.   What is the ethical debate regarding “speaking for others”? How do the authors suggest we address the debate? Do you agree or disagree and why?

3.   Do you think resignification is possible? Why or why not? Why would some groups or people choose such a strategy?

4.   What do the authors mean on when they say, “People literally speak and perform their bodies and identities into being”?

Ch 6

Angyal, Chloe. (2015, June 22). I don't want to be an excuse for racist violence anymore. New Republic.

Bianco, Marcie. (2015, January 22). The male virginity myth is getting women killed--so why is nobody talking about it? Mic.com.

Fitzsimons, Tim. (2019, January 8). American Psychological Association links "masculine ideology" to homophobia, misogyny. NBC News.

GRADUATE STUDENT readings

Kimmel, Michael. (2000). The gender of violence. The Gendered Society. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rowe, Aimee Carrillo. (2009, Spring). Subject to power--Feminism without victims.  Women's Studies in Communication, 32(1), 12-35.

Oct 15: RR possible

October 17: Gendered Lens Analysis of the Intersectional Self due -- remember to use Turnitin

cultural ideology
hegemony
institutionalized disc.
institutionalized viol.
social institutions

macro/meso/micro politics

systemic inequalities

1. What is privilege? Can you identify ways in which your sex, gender, race, sexual orientation, or able-body privileges you?

2. How do institutions wield power? What are cultural ideology and cultural hegemony?

3. What is institutionalized gendered/sexed violence? What evidences of it did you discover? Is it necessary to address violence in our study of gender in communication? Why?

4. Why is an institutional approach to gender in communication important?

October 22: in class prep

Oct 22: midterm prep

October 24: midterm

Ch 7

you have the following options for additional readings:

Option 1: Coontz, Stephnie. (2006, February 23). "Traditional" marriage has changed a lot [Guest column]. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved from http://www.stephaniecoontz.com

and

Coontz, Stephanie. (2005). The evolution of matrimony: The changing social context of marriage. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 8(4), 30+. Retrieved from Academic OneFile.

Option 2: Alderton, Matt. (2019, July 27). Raising better boys. USA Today.

GRADUATE STUDENT readings

Foust, Christina R. (2004, Fall). A return to feminine public virtue: Judge Judy and the myth of the tough mother. Women's Studies in Communication, 27(3), 269-293.

Bacon, Jen. (2012, January). Until death do us part: Lesbian rhetorics of relational divorce. Women's Studies in Communication, 35(2), 158-177. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2012.724523

Oct 29 : RR possible

October 29: GRAD student first paper due

October 29: Family artifact analysis due

•   David U
•   Emily G

childfree

domestic labor family

intensive mothering militant motherhood othermothers
gender/sex roles
heteronormativity
nuclear family

1.   What evidences do the authors give to illustrate Haddock et al.’s (2003) claim: “families and gender are so intertwined that it is impossible to understand one without reference to the other. Families are not merely influenced by gender; rather families are organized by gender” (p. 304).

2.   Does studying family as a social institution affect the way you reflect on your own family experience?  If so, how?

3.   How does family construct and constrain gender?

Ch 8

you have the following options for additional readings:

Option 1: Miller, Claire Cain. (2015, February 6). Is the professor bossy or brilliant? Much depends on gender. The New York Times.

and

Gendered language in teacher reviews. (n.d.). [Interactive website -- make sure you type in a few terms).

Option 2: Berlatsky, Noah. (2014, June 6). How boys teach each other to be boys. The Atlantic.

Option 3: Valenti, Miranda. (2013, May 24). What do dress codes say about girls' bodies? Ms. Magazine.

and

Haller, Sonja. (2019, July 15). Virginia school district adopts dress code that isn't sexist! Students helped draft rules. USA Today.

Option 4: Thompson, Nanette. (2015, March 5). Transgender students learn to navigate school halls. NPR.

GRADUATE STUDENT readings

Samek, Alyssa A., & Donofrio, Theresa A. (2013, February). “Academic drag” and the performance of the critical personae: An exchange on sexuality, politics, and identity in the academy. Women's Studies in Communication, 36(1), 28-55. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2012.754388

Patton, Tracey Owens. (2004, Spring). In the guise of civility: The complications maintenance of inferential forms of sexism and racism in higher education. Women's Studies in Communication, 27(1), 60-87.

November 5: RR possible

November 5: Education artifact analysis due

• Dani F
• Lucy W
• Sami C

affirmative consent harassment

bullying

emancipatory ed.
gender-relevant mod.
gender-sensitive mod.
gender-specific mod.
hidden curriculum
peer pressure

1. Do your own review of “Rate My Professor” (or a similar on-line tool). Do you see indicators that professors are being assessed according to binary gender expectations and stereotypes?

2. Find out the number of women, men, White, and racial or ethnic minority tenure-track faculty versus adjunct temporary faculty on your campus. How many are in higher administration on your campus. What do the results suggest about the gendered/sexed climate for faculty on your campus? How might this affect your educational experience outside and inside the classroom?

3. What are some ways in which the institution of education has constructed and constrained gender? Can you offer examples of any of these from your own educational experiences?

4. How has bullying and sexual harassment affected your educational experience or others you know?

Ch 9

you have the following options for additional readings:

Option 1: Carpenter, Julia. (2015, July 6). Google's algorithm shows prestigious job ads to men, but not to women. Here's why that should worry you. The Washington Post.

and

Cohn, Emily. (2015, April 10). Google Image search has a gender bias problem. HuffPost.

Option 2: O'Connor, Lydia. (2015, May 13). Women have a brilliant response to city's sexist training on how to deal with women. HuffPost.

Option 3: Miller, Claire Cain. (2015, March 12). The Keliner Perkins lawsuit, and rethinking the confidence-driven workplace. The New York Times.

and

Grant, Adam, & Sandberg, Sheryl. (2015, February 6). Madam C.E.O., get me a coffee. The New York Times.

Option 4: Anger and work

Salam, Maya. (2018, September 14). Serena's not alone: Women are penalized for anger at work, especially Black women. New York Times Gender Letter.

GRADUATE STUDENT readings

Pfafman, Tessa M., & McEwan, Bree. (2014, May). Polite women at work: Negotiating professional identity through strategic assertiveness. Women's Studies in Communication, 37(2), 202-219. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2014.911231

Meisenbach, Rebecca J., Remke, Robyn V., Buzzanell, Patrice M., and Liu, Meina. (2008, March). "They allowed": Pentadic mapping of women's maternity leave discourse as organizational rhetoric. Communication Monographs, 75(1), 1-24. link DOI: 10.1080/03637750801952727.

Nov 12: RR possible

November 12: work artifact analysis due

• Payton S
• Cameron M

capitalism
critical organizational communication
emotions
girl watching
hostile work env.
paid care work
quid pro quo
sexual harassment
work/family tensions

-Why is it that putting a child in daycare does not make a man a bad father?
-Discuss how this gives insight into the existence of double standards.
- Does motherhood influence women’s identity differently than fatherhood influences men’s identity? If so, how so? If not, why?

2. Apply Acker’s (1990) five reasons gender in organizations should be studied by identifying examples in this chapter to illustrate each reason. What does this reveal? 

3. What does it mean to say that the institution of work should be studied in the larger context of capitalism and consumerism? What is gained from this analysis? What questions remain?

Ch 10

you have the following options for additional readings:

Option 1: Blumberg, Antonia. (2015, April 22). Former "Real World" star thinks Christianity has become too "femnized." HufPost.

GRADUATE STUDENT readings

Gunning, Isabelle. (1992, Summer). Arrogant perception, world-travelling and multicultural feminism: The case of female genital surgeries. Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 23(2), 189-248.

AND

James, Stanlie M. (1998). Shades of othering: Reflections on female circumcision/genital mutilation. Signs, 23(4), 1031. Academic OneFile. Web. 18 July 2010.Maddux, Kristy. (2012, March). The feminized gospel: Aimee Semple McPherson and the gendered performance of Christianity.  Women's Studies in Communication, 35(1), 42-67. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2012.667520

AND

Piela, Anna. (2013, November). I am just doing my bit to promote modesty: Niqabis' self-portraits on photo-sharing websites. Feminist Media Studies, 13(5), 781-790. DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2013.838358

OR

Abbott, Jennifer Young. (2006, November). Religion and gender in the news: The case of Promise Keepers, feminists, and the "Stand in the Gap" rally. Journal of Communication & Religion, 29(2), 224-261.

Nov 19: RR possible

November 19: work artifact analysis due

• Lynzi H
• Patten T

November 21 GRAD student second paper due

complementarians
egalitarians
institutionalized religion
muscular Christianity
spiritual equality
spirituality
veiling practices

1.  Why is it necessary to understand relationships between spiritual equality and social equality?

2.   What “gendered communication principles, practices, and structures” of religion construct and constrain gender?

3.   What are some ways in which religion has liberated and/or empowered persons or groups?

4.   Using the critical gendered lens of a world traveller, how might you compare some of your own religious traditions to the traditions of other faiths?

Ch 11

Option 1: NPR Staff. (2015, April 18). Wordless ads speak volumes in "Unbranded" images of women. National Public Radio. (listen to story, too).

Option 2: Valenti, Jessica. (2015, March 30). Social media is protecting men from periods, breast milk and body hair. The Guardian.

Option 3: Serena Williams

Desmond-Harris, Jenée. (2015, June 7). Every Serena Williams win comes with a side of disgusting racism and sexism. Vox.

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem. (2015, July 20). Body shaming black femake athletes in not just about race. Time.

GRADUATE STUDENT readings

Dow, Bonnie J. (2003, Spring). Feminism, Miss America, and media mythology. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 6(1), 127-149.

AND

Vavrus, Mary Douglas. (2013, February). Lifetime's Army Wives , or I married the media-military-industrial complex. Women's Studies in Communication, 36(1), 92-112. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2012.756441

OR

Vats, Anjali, & Nishime, LeiLani. (2013, November). Containment as neocolonial visual rhetoric: Fashion, yellowface, and Karl Lagerfeld's “Idea of China”. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 99(4), p423-447. DOI: 10.1080/00335630.2013.833668

December 3: RR possible

December 3 Media artifact analysis due 

• Taylor S
• Holly B

commodification
hegemony
oppositional gaze
polysemous
polyvalence
sexualization
the gaze
U.S. hegemonic masc.
ways of seeing

1. The next time you watch a television show or movie, keep a record of:
            *the characters with whom you identify
            *the characters you want to emulate or be
            *the character you find attractive

What does this tell you about your gaze? Through whose eyes are you watching? Using an oppositional gaze, what might you see differently?

2. The next time you watch TV, go to a movie, play a videogame, or read a magazine, count the number of times characters are sexualized. How many times are women and men presented in a way that make sexuality their primary attribute? Are there examples of women characters whose sexuality is completely irrelevant to her identity? Are there examples of men?

3. What messages do the media you read and watch give you about masculinity. Is masculinity secure and certain? Is it something that is natural? Is it something that can only be maintained through action? If so, what actions must be taken?

4.  Can you think of ways in which individual agency (or gender) is commodified and sold (Goldman, Heath, & Smith, 1991; Talbot, 1998)?

Ch 12

Belinky, Biju. (2015, April). Teen feminsts changing the world in 2015. Dazed.

Henn, Steve, & Jiang, Jess. (2015, April 8). A 12-year-old girl takes on the video game industry. National Public Radio.

GRADUATE STUDENT readings

Shome, Raka. (1996, February). Postcolonial interventions in the rhetorical canon: An "other" view. Communication Theory, 6(1), 40-59. on eLearning

Chávez, Karma R.; & Griffin, Cindy L. (2014, September). Women's studies in communication still matters. Women's Studies in Communication, 37(3), 262-265. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2014.955434

Dow, Bonnie J. (2014, September). The lessons of history: Women's Studies in Communication approaches 40. Women's Studies in Communication, 37(3), 259-261. DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2014.955431

Dec 10: last chance to turn in a visual artifact

Final Exam, remember to use TurnItIn

GRAD student final paper due