Gender and American Popular Culture
Monday 10:00-12:00
Michelle Gardner-Morkert, Ph.D.
Office Hour: Tuesdays 10:30-11:30 and by appointment
Week 1 - Introduction to critical concepts of gender.
Distinguish between concepts of sex and gender, and analyze social construction of gender and ideas
within American popular culture regarding masculinities and femininities as a set of culturally-specific
meanings. Introduce primary concepts: social construction, gender identity, gender roles, gender
performativity, sex/gender system, and intersectionality.
Week 2 – Defining popular culture in contemporary U.S. society
Trace the history of U.S. pop culture noting historical moments that include : folk culture, mass culture,
high culture, hegemony, postmodern culture, cultural identities, global culture, commercial culture.
Reflect on student consumption of popular culture.
Reading Assignment due for week 2: Trier-Bieniek and Leavy, Chapter 1 pgs. 1-21
Week 3 – Production, representation, and consumption of gendered popular U.S. culture.
Multi-week overview of waves of the U.S. women’s movement to assist analyses of contemporary
U.S. pop culture. Examine the range of practices and rituals by which American culture produces and
consumes pop culture. Define media culture as one of the major agents of socialization through which
cultural norms and values are learned in the U.S.
Assignment: Popular consumption tracker and discussion
Group discussion of popular consumption and gender analysis.
Week 4 – First Wave History
Beginning with the 1848 Seneca Falls convention, the overview of first wave history spans from 18481920. Analysis includes legislation, key historical figures, and examples of activism within the early U.S.
women’s movement.
Reading Assignment due for week 4: Coryell Chapter 7, pgs. 267-314
Week 5 – First Wave History Part II
Analysis of the contemporary HBO film depicting US women’s suffrage, Iron Jawed Angels, as both a
representation of gender and a product of gendered popular culture consumed through the genre of
film.
Reading Assignment due for week 5: Coryell Chapter 8, pgs. 315-361
Screening: Iron Jawed Angels
Week 6 – Pre-Second Wave History
Discussion about the pre and post war media representations of militarized femininities embodied in
the iconic image of “Rosie the Riveter.” Examination through intersectional analysis of the longevity of
“Rosie” as a figure of women’s liberation.
Reading Assignment due for week 6: Coryell Chapter 9, pgs. 362-402
Screening: Rosie the Riveter
Film Summary Due
Week 7 – Second Wave History
Referencing specifically the decades of the 1960s and 1970s, analysis and discussion will include essays,
legislation, images, and interviews. Overview of radical, cultural, and women of color theories.
Reading Assignment due for week 7: Coryell Chapter 10, pgs. 408-458
Film Summary Due
Week 8 – Midterm Exam
Week 9 – Third Wave History
Interrogation of concepts of multiple identities and traditional categories such as male/female,
masculine/feminine, and the artificiality of gender binaries. Key concepts include the Clarence Thomas
confirmation hearings, Rebecca Walker third wave manifesto, and the problematizing intersections of
gender , sexuality, and age.
Reading Assignment due for week 9: Coryell Chapter 11, pgs. 459-507
Week 10 – Application of queer theory, transgender theory concepts and intersectional analysis
exemplified in Orange is the Netflix original series New Black (OITNB). Discuss the trajectory of the U.S.
gay rights movement and its effects on contemporary activism including marriage equality debates.
Reading Assignment due for week 10: Trier-Bienick and Leavy Chapter 2, pgs. 26-52
Week 11 – Social construction of gender identities in children’s media
Analysis of the impact of children’s media on viewers and parents including intersectional analysis of
race, class, gender, sexuality, and heteronormativity. Discussion will introduce an intersectional analysis
of Disney films.
Reading Assignment due for week 11: Orenstein Chapters 2-3 pgs. 11-53
Screening: Mickey Mouse Monopoly
Week 12 – Social construction of gender identities in children’s media
Exploration of U.S. society’s consumption of Disney products and the reciprocal relationship between
gendered representations and childhood internalization of gendered norms.
Reading Assignment due for week 12: Orenstein Chapter 4 pgs. 54-70
Assignment due for week 12: Disney Analysis
Week 13 – Social Media and Television Culture
Analysis of ways in which television programming assigns gender roles to characters and the relationship
between viewers and subjects. Emphasis on reality television and social construction. Distinguish
between schools of thought within cyberfeminism including utopian visions of gender
equality, disruption of patriarchy and power, and grassroots subversion of power through individualized
uses of technology.
Reading Assignment due for week 13: Trier-Bienick and Leavy Chapter 3 pgs. 53-79 and Chapter 8 pgs.
175-189
Week 14 – Sport Culture
Discussion of U.S. women’s history in sports with a sociological interpretation of how gender norms are
connected to and constructed by sports culture. Analysis of key male and female figures in professional
athletics.
Reading Assignment due for week 14: Trier-Bienick and Leavy Chapter 5 pgs. 103-120
Screening: Tough Guise 2
Week 15 – Sport Culture
Case study analysis of pay equity in professional tennis that includes historical references to causal
relationship between second wave and third wave histories.
Reading Assignment due for week 15: Trier-Bienick and Leavy Chapter 7 pgs. 151-53
Film Summary Due
Final Exam Paper Due via E-mail:
Assignments:
All papers should be written in MLA format and should include proper citation. One tzped page should
equal 250 words. Please include a total word count at the bottom of the final page of the text, excluding
the List of Works Cited Page.
Attendance and participation
Pop Culture Consumption Exercise
Film Summaries (3)
Disney Analysis
Midterm Exam
Final Exam Essay
Film Summaries:
Select one primary theme from class readings and lecture that was evident in the film. Write a three
page (750 word) analysis of that theme as it relates to course readings and lectures. Include at least
three textual references and a List of Works Cited Page. Students will write three summaries throughout
the semester.
Pop Culture Consumption:
Make a list of the popular culture that you consume throughout a 48 hour time period. What mode do
you consume the most and for how long? Talley the hours and write a one page assessment of the
influence of gender in one example popular culture from your list.
Disney Analysis:
Select one Disney-influenced product and conduct a gender analysis using the primary questions that
The class implemented in the first half of the semester. You may select may select an object that is
intended for children or adults. Film clips are not appropriate for this assignment.
Submit a three page (750 words, excluding List of Works Cited Page) in MLA format. Include textual
evidence and cite sources throughout the essay. Students will present their findings in class.
1. Where are the women/girls?
-Which women/girls?
-What roles do they play?
-In what ways do they exert their power?
-In what ways to they define femininities and/or masculinities?
-How do they represent their gender identities?
2. Where are the men/boys?
-Which men/boys?
-What roles do they play?
-In what ways do they exert their power?
-In what ways to they define femininities and/or masculinities?
-How do they represent their gender identities?
3. What concepts from Orenstein’s text can you apply to your analysis? Select at least two.
4. Analyze the politics of consumption for this product.
Prepare your 3 page written analysis (excluding bibliography) to present in class. Students must include
textual evidence and site sources throughout essay.