Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2024 - GSWS 319 B100

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

Queer Fandoms

Class Number: 2214

Delivery Method: Blended

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 4 – Dec 3, 2024: Thu, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    30 units including three units in GSWS or WS or GDST.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A specific theme 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:

QUEER FANDOMS

Slash fan fiction, shipping, queerbaiting, Bury-Your-Gays, yaoi... Over the past three decades, these fandom- coined terms have significantly shaped our understandings of popular culture and of mainstream media representations of genders and sexualities. How do fandoms interact with and transform media industries? How do fandoms themselves create and regulate discourses about queerness? In what ways do fans appropriate transnational media materials for their own local context and everyday practices?

This course introduces students to debates about fandoms’ potentials to transform hegemonic ideas about genders and sexualities. We will think about how textual meanings are produced and reappropriated within fan spaces, how technological affordances shape the formation of fan communities and their interactions with media industries, and examine the extents to which globalisation has contributed to transnational circulation of media across regional fandoms.

This is a blended leaning course consisting of 3 hours of in-person teaching supplementary, asynchronous online activities.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

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

Grading

  • Attendance 10%
  • Online Activities 5%
  • Creative Project 25%
  • Mid-Term Research Paper 25%
  • Final Research Paper 35%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All required readings are available for download on 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

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.