Spring 2021 - GSWS 320 D100

Special Topics in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies (4)

Feminist Rage and Popular Misogyny

Class Number: 7196

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: TBA, TBA
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    15 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A specific theme within within the field of gender, sexuality, and women's studies, not otherwise covered in depth in regularly scheduled courses, will be dealt with as occasion and demand warrant.

COURSE DETAILS:

#MeToo. Greta Thunberg. Insecure. Christine Blasey Ford. The Handmaids Tale. The list goes on of contemporary media products and news stories that reflects women’s collective rage and despair at the white supremacist, heteronormative, capitalist patriarchy. Yet such examples seem to counter the popular feminism (in the form of white feminism, postfeminism and neoliberal feminism) that currently shapes the cultural landscape; indeed, these moments of anger and frustration seem more like a direct response to the rise of “popular misogyny” as conceptualized by feminist media studies scholar Sarah Banet-Weiser. Therefore, this Special Topics course, is an attempt to parse out these current issues and concerns as they are constructed, reported on, and circulated in popular culture. The course will be organized around the following key ideas/issues: popular feminism and its relationship to popular misogyny, and examining and critiquing relevant dominant media discourses; exploring various media (film, TV, comedy, news) that mediate these feelings of rage and despair; thinking about ways to intervene in, and respond to the media as feminists and consumers. Popular culture has long operated as a balm for women’s rage against the patriarchal machine, so this course will also make important connections to what is happening in the current moment and earlier scholarly debates about feminism’s visibility in the public sphere and popular culture.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

For more detailed information please see the GSWS website: http://www.sfu.ca/gsws/undergraduate/courses/Educational_Goals.html

Grading

  • Participation in weekly discussions 20%
  • Take-home Midterm Exam 25%
  • Creative Group Project (presented at end of term) 25%
  • Final Paper (students will be required to schedule a meeting with me to discuss their final paper topic and get approval) 30%

NOTES:

The course includes a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning. Asynchronous lectures will be posted to Canvas each week. Students will participate in weekly synchronous (live) class discussions to discuss course materials and participate in group activities. Live discussions will last about 1-1.5 hours.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Banet-Weiser, Sarah. Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny. Duke University Press, 2018.

- The ebook will be available for purchase via the SFU Bookstore. Please see their website.

- The SFU library also has a print and digital copy of the book.

Other assigned readings available on the course Canvas or online. Links provided in the syllabus.


Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021

Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).