Humanities and Fine Arts 191HFA64 - FYS- Nerds, Geeks, and Gender

This seminar will take an interdisciplinary American studies approach to the figure of the nerd/geek in popular culture and in other public discourses. We will follow the history of representing nerds and geeks in American culture with an emphasis on gender and on the ways in which changes in representation reveal a changing relationship between people and technology. We will also examine the shift of mainstream American pop culture toward "nerdy" entertainment in the past 20 years. The class will allow students to see how people with humanities training can make unique contributions to our understanding of technology and its role in culture. In considering the ways in which nerd and geek stereotypes have served to stigmatize intellectual and academic success, students will have opportunities to reflect on the relationship they wish to have with academic learning and intellectual growth in college and throughout life.

Open to first-year Humanities and Fine Arts Exploratory Track students and first-year HFA Majors.