Classes » Winter 2007

Gender, Culture and Communication Com. 348

This course is a comprehensive study of culture, communication and gender. It introduces students to the field of gender and communication and some of the principal questions of feminist theory, as viewed from linguistics, media studies and sociolinguistics. It provides an introduction to debates surrounding gender and technology, including historiographical and theoretical perspectives on feminism and technology from various perspectives. This course will explore an approach to gender and communication that emphasizes the grounding in social practice of both. The course has a strong international and multicultural focus, drawing on descriptions of women and men's speech across the globe. The lectures and in-class activities explore the principal concepts and issues that 3define the field of gender, culture and communication. These areas include: sociolinguistics, discourse and interaction, gender and culture, communication theory, gender and media, cultural studies, political economy, and symbolic communication. In particular, we will examine how everyday interactions, media, film, popular culture and journalism, incorporate gender and sexuality and at times perpetuate stereotypes of men, women and sexuality in general.