Gender and American Popular Culture
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 .
Week 8 – 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.
Week 9 – 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.
Week 10 – 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.
Week 11 – 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. Screening of Mickey Mouse
Monopoly.
Week 12 – 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.
Week 13 – Social Media
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.
Week 14 – Sport Culture (Katz, Tough Guise 2)
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.
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.