Course Description

At the core of the course is the question how feminism has become a demonized and ridiculed “F-word” in an age when issues of gender and sexuality are at the center of constant, often explosive political debates. These debates often connect media representation and political representation but tend to do so in simplistic ways that bypass or distort decades of sophisticated feminist theory and practice. We will trace back such representations through the decades around case studies that encompass film, video, television and new media practices. The case studies come from the United States and beyond, taking into full account the global interconnectedness of media production and consumption as well as the transnational travel of feminist ideas. The main goal of the course is to evaluate how useful feminist thinking is to understanding the relays between media and political representation; and to develop a lasting critical apparatus to analyzing the politics of gender and sexuality in the media.


Friday, November 29, 2013

The Makeover in Reality Television

Hi all,

For our group project, we'll be focusing on the makeover in reality TV shows. We'll be discussing wardrobe makeovers as well as more drastic cosmetic surgery makeover programs. For Monday's class, we would like you to read the article "You Need a Makeover!": The Social Construction of Female Body Image in "A Makeover Story," "What Not to Wear" and "Extreme Makeover" by Amanda Hall Gallagher and Lisa Pecot-Hebert.

Here's the link to the article: Article 

Questions to consider:

1) Is the makeover a gendered phenomenon? Why or why not?
2) Can the notion of a makeover be perceived as empowering?
3) The authors argue that women are increasingly appropriating feminist rhetoric to justify plastic surgery and physical cosmetic alterations. How might we interpret or problematize this conceptualization of feminism?

We'll also have a class discussion focusing particularly on The Swan. If you haven't already seen the show, we strongly recommend you watch the clip below.








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