General Course Information

Media and Identity — Fall 2017 — MSCR 3437:01 CRN#17500
Class: WF 11:45am-1:25pm (Ryder Hall 460)
Course Prerequisites: MSCR 1220; Sophomore standing
Course Attributes: NU Core Comp Stdy of Cultures, NUpath Difference/Diversity, UG Col of Arts, Media & Design

N.B. This syllabus functions very much like a living document and the course website will reflect updates on assignments or changes to the timeline. The original version of the timeline provides a general plan for the course and deviations may be necessary. Thus, check the website regularly.

Course Description

This course explores how identities are constructed within media and, through various modes of critical analysis, will complicate how we decipher the visible forms of identities in media we consume every day. The course begins by providing a theoretical framework to analyze the visible properties of identity categories. We unravel the complexities of identities in media by considering how identity can be read upon the surfaces of bodies, which will illuminate how and why categories like gender, race, class, and sexuality are visually and socially constructed rather than inherently “natural.” In this regard, our aim will be to interrogate why identities are often understood and conceptualized based upon reductive and binary notions of difference. Our engagement with a range of texts will also problematize how we attribute meaning to identities based solely upon their visible properties, allowing us to question the circumstances causing our visual perception of identity to fail (and the consequences that follow). Toward the end of the course we will explore various contexts where the properties of an identity twist and transform beyond the visible surfaces of bodies, beyond “normative” forms of embodiment, and beyond the human altogether. By that point, students will be asked to contemplate if and when it is possible to completely undermine representational concepts of identity within media.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Define key terms, concepts, and theories fundamental to the study of identities in media; and, demonstrate the ability to employ these terms, concepts, and theories within class discussion, presentations, and academic writing.
  • Conduct research specific to the study of identities within media.
  • Provide critical analyses about identities in media based upon a range of theoretical frameworks (e.g. feminist theory, psychoanalytic theory).
  • Plan, write, and present an original argument about identities in media, which should pursue a research question, proceed in an orderly fashion, engage smartly with theoretical readings and concepts, and rely on precise and relevant analysis of a media object.

Required Texts

  • Readings, available online.
  • Media screenings during and outside of class.

N.B. This course will contain materials some students may find offensive (e.g. controversial readings and/or media clips with foul language, nudity, sexual scenes, etc.). Review the syllabus carefully to determine your commitment to the course and all required readings/screenings.

Printable Syllabus (original version without web updates)