Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2021 - CMNS 355 D100

Technologies of Gender and Sexuality (4)

Class Number: 7625

Delivery Method: Remote

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: Fri, 9:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Apr 23, 2021
    Fri, 11:59–11:59 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    60 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

The course takes an intersectional feminist perspective on exploring, critiquing and developing alternatives to dominant technologies of sexuality and gender. Topics may include: shifting notions of femininities and masculinities; (cyber)feminist methodologies in cultural studies; the body and subjectivity; gender and surveillance; post-feminism; work in the media and tech industries; gender and gaming.

COURSE DETAILS:

The end of ‘normal’ gender and sexualities has been upon us for some time, with identity politics and intersectional analyses at the forefront of public conversations about gender. But, still, gender inequalities persist. What role do media play in constructing our shifting notions of gender and sexuality, of femininities and masculinities? How do technologies enable us to embody, police and even hack genders and sexualities? How can we think of gender itself as a technology that we operate and perform in everyday life. This course provides a foundation, in the context of critical communication studies, for an analysis of the different ways that “gender” and “technology” are understood and applied within the study of media and technology. The course will take an intersectional feminist perspective on exploring, critiquing and developing alternatives to technologies of gender, at the same time tracking shifting notions of femininities and masculinities. Topics for the course include: feminist methodologies in cultural studies; cyberfeminism debates; theories of performativity, the body and subjectivity; gender and surveillance; post-feminism; gendered historiographies of technology; experiences of work in the media and tech industries; sexuality and spatial relations.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • To develop a theoretical foundation for understanding gender and sexuality as intrinsic to the introduction and social operation of media and technologies.
  • To consider feminism as a radical epistemology for understanding social constructions, including political and economic structures, media and technology.
  • To apply conceptual knowledge to a topic of personal interest that either critiques or proposes ways of designing technology with an equitable, anti-patriarchial, liberatory framework in mind

Grading

  • Class Participation 10%
  • 4 Reading Responses (5% per) 20%
  • Major Project Proposal 10%
  • Major Project 30%
  • Take Home Final 30%

NOTES:

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow Policy S10.01 with respect to Academic Integrity, and Policies S10.02, S10.03 and S10.04 as regards Student Discipline (note: as of May 1, 2009 the previous T10 series of policies covering Intellectual Honesty (T10.02), and Academic Discipline (T10.03) have been replaced with the new S10 series of policies).

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All required readings will be available on Canvas.

Full text available via the Library.

  • Hooks & Bell (2015). Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics (2nd ed.). Routledge, NY: New York. Available full-text via SFU Library

ISBN: 9780896086289

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).