Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality 290 - Gender, Sexuality and Popular Culture

This course considers the manner in which norms of gender and sexuality are reflected, reinforced and challenged in popular culture. The class uses theories of knowledge production, representation and meaning-making to support an analysis of the relationship between discourse and power; the engagement with these theoretical texts helps track this dynamic as it emerges in popular culture. Key queer theoretical concepts provide a framework for examining how the production gender and sexuality impacts cultural production. Through a critical engagement with a selection of films, music, television, visual art and digital media, the class discusses mainstream conventions and the feminist, queer and queer of color interventions that enliven the landscape of popular culture. Prerequisite: SWG 150 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 25.