Fall 2022 - CMNS 355 D100

Technologies of Gender and Sexuality (4)

Class Number: 1498

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 7 – Dec 6, 2022: Wed, 2:30–5:20 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:

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 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?

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-patriarchal, liberatory framework in mind.

Grading

  • Lecture Attendance & Participation 10%
  • Tutorial Attendance & Participation 15%
  • Weekly Reading Reflections 30%
  • Take Home Midterm 20%
  • Take Home Final Exam 25%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Course readings will be made available online via Canvas.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website 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