Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2026 - CMNS 315 D200

Topics in Media, Difference, and Intersectional Identities (4)

Technologies of Gender & Sexuality

Class Number: 6973

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 5 – Apr 10, 2026: Wed, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    17 CMNS units with a minimum grade of C- or 45 units with a minimum CGPA of 2.00.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Focus on how media play a role in the representation, construction, and circulation of difference and identities by drawing from feminist theories, cultural studies and/or political economy to critique dominant conceptions. Topics may include how difference and identities intersect with: gaming, film, and technology. This course can be repeated twice for credit if the topics are different (up to a maximum of three times). Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course provides a foundation in critical communication studies for analyzing the different ways “gender”, “sexuality,” and “technology” are understood and applied within the field of Communication. Media—from newspapers and magazines to film and television to Instagram and TikTok—have played a central role in both constructing and deconstructing normative ideas of gender and sexuality. This course will provide students with an overview of how issues of race, gender, and sexuality manifest in media and technology. Foregrounding intersectional analysis, this course will challenge students to think about questions like: 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:

The course takes an intersectional feminist perspective to explore, critique, and develop alternatives to dominant technologies of sexuality and gender. Topics may include shifting notions of femininities and masculinities; nonbinary and genderqueer identities; queer and feminist approaches to cultural and media studies; the body and subjectivity; gender, sexuality, and surveillance; artificial intelligence; and raced and gendered labor in the media and technology industries.

Grading

  • Lecture Attendance & Participation 25%
  • Reading/Screening Responses (5) 30%
  • Midterm 20%
  • Final Exam (Take Home, Open Book) 25%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

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

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


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.