SOCK 485: The Unreal World:
Race, Class, and Gender in the Media
Spring 2016
Class Location: Founder’s Hall 211
Day/Time: Tuesdays, 2:00 – 4:45 PM
Instructor: Roslyn Schoen, PhD
Office: Founder’s Hall 217H
Contact: roslyn.schoen@tamuct.edu
Office Hours: Wednesdays 1-4 PM, Thursdays 11AM – 2PM, and by appointment
Online Access: This is a face-to-face course that has online components. In order to
access your grades, certain learning materials, and to upload assignments, you will
need to log on to our course Backboard site at https://tamuct.blackboard.com.
Course Description: This course examines the multiple interactions of culture and the
media with a focus on representations of race, class, gender and sexuality in mass
media. Over the past century, “the media” has emerged as one of our most
influential social institutions. Today its impact can hardly be ignored. As a business
and a cultural phenomenon, the media industry has an enormous impact on our
political and social lives, both reinforcing and challenging the social order. With a
particular emphasis on contemporary mass media (music, film, television, print, and
digital media), the class will explore the unique relationship between media content,
the industry that endorses and creates it, and audiences whose interpretations and
desires constitute its market. Analyses will be anchored by mass media examples
from the United States while also exploring the media as an important global force.
Course goals: By the end of this course you should have gained significant knowledge
regarding the media and its impact on society and culture. You will be able to pose
questions and think critically about the business of media, the formats of media, and
the content of media messages. You will possess foundational knowledge toward
improved media literacy. Finally, you will be able to see the connections between
collective culture, individual socialization, and the media. Once your “sociological
imagination” has been turned toward the media, you may never look at the
institution and its industries the same again.
Required Books:

Popping Culture (2013), 7th edition, by Murray Pomerance & John Sakeris

Other materials listed on the syllabus will be available through Blackboard or
the course E-Reserves page. (eRes password = unreal)
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SOCK 485: The Unreal World:
Race, Class, and Gender in the Media
Spring 2016
Course requirements:
Below is a description of the five main activities for this course. They include (1)
regular attendance, (2) keeping up with reading assignments in order to participate
in class discussions and activities, (3) taking six quizzes online, (4) completing five
reflection essays, and (5) successful completion and presentation of one research
paper. You will notice that 75% of your grade is based on weekly work, which means it
is imperative that you keep up with readings, attendance, reflection essays, and
quizzes throughout the semester.
1. Attendance: Because we only meet once a week, regular attendance is
fundamental to your success in this course. I will take attendance using a signin sheet. Attendance points accrue at 5 points per day. You may miss up to 2
regular classes during the semester and still earn a B+ for attendance. After 3
or more absences, you will see a dramatic decline in your points for this class.
2. Reading assignments and discussions: Readings are listed in the course
schedule below. Please note that additional readings not in your reader will
be available via the course E-Reserves or Blackboard page. These are denoted
in the course schedule as “eRes” or “BB” readings and are just as important
as the readings from your book. I may also provide you with links to news
articles or video clips on Blackboard to enhance course concepts and topics.
You should complete all reading assignments before coming to class.
In-class discussions and activities will be assessed as separate from but related
to attendance. This means that, although discussion and participation are a
separate category from attendance points, it will be difficult for a student
who does not come to class regularly to earn full discussion and participation
points. Discussion and participation are worth 100 points and will be assessed
and posted at mid-term (week 8) and again at the end of the semester (week
16).
3.
Online quizzes: To keep us on track with readings, students will take 6 online
quizzes at regular intervals throughout the course. All quizzes will be available
on Blackboard and are worth 25 points each (6 x 25 = 150 points). Quizzes will
cover the readings and other material assigned since the previous quiz.
Prepare and manage your time wisely; you will not be able to re-take a quiz,
nor can you re-open a quiz once you have started it. Quizzes 1-5 will be
available from Wednesday afternoon to midnight on Sunday (i.e., Sunday @
11:59 PM CST). Due to the timing of graduation, Quiz 6 will close on Friday,
May 13, at midnight. There are no makeup quizzes.
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SOCK 485: The Unreal World:
Race, Class, and Gender in the Media
Spring 2016
4. Reflection papers: Students will complete five one-page reflection papers on
the assigned readings. These are brief essays of approximately 600 words.
Reflections should demonstrate that you have completed the readings and
have engaged in thoughtful consideration of the themes contained in the
weeks’ reading assignments. As always, grammar and spelling must
demonstrate college-level writing and all work must be your own. Essays are
each worth 25 points, for a total of 125 points.
5. Final paper and presentation: Students will complete one research paper on a
media-related topic of their choosing. Detailed instructions will be posted to
Blackboard at a later date. Points will be awarded for the following
deliverables: Draft = 50 points, final paper = 50 points, in-class presentation =
50 points, for a total of 200 points.
See also, Blackboard post on what an “A” paper looks like for this course.
A note on viewing media for this course:
Watching clips and television episodes for class is NOT like viewing them at home as a leisure
activity. You will not watch passively for the entertainment value. Instead, you will be viewing
these videos as critical course material. This means completing the readings first and then
thinking through the readings and course concepts as we view clips or episodes. The videos I
have chosen are meant to be examples as well as launching points for discussion.
It is normal for all of us to experience laughter, anger, sadness, confusion, disgust, etc. from
the content of the readings, clips, or videos. Try to turn your sociological perspective on to
those feelings and ask why the material provokes those emotions. Examine the content of the
media AND your personal reactions. This requires active viewing and critical thinking.
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SOCK 485: The Unreal World:
Race, Class, and Gender in the Media
Spring 2016
Final grades will be calculated in the following way:
Coursework
Points
Attendance
15 days @ 5 pts per day
In-class discussion
Quizzes
6 @ 25 pts each
Reflection essays
5 @ 25 points each
Research paper - draft
Research paper - final
Presentations
Total:
75
100
150
125
Points
Percent
Grade
540 - 600
90 – 100%
A
480 - 539
80 – 89%
B
420 - 479
70 – 79%
C
360 - 419
60 – 69%
D
0 – 359
0 – 59%
F
50
50
50
600
COURSE SCHEDULE
Many of the assigned chapters are from your book, Popping Culture, and are marked
with the initials “PS” (for Pomerance & Sakeris). Other readings not in your book are
labeled as such and will be available on our course E-Reserves (eRes) page or linked
from our Blackboard site (BB). This course schedule is a plan, not a promise.
Week 1.
Topic
Introduction
Jan 19 - 22
Date
Jan 19
Week 2.
Jan 25 - 29
Topic
Date
Texts, not just
Jan 26
on your phone
Week 3.
Feb 1 - 5
Topic
Date
Media and
Feb 2
Consumerism
Read
Course syllabus, handouts
Stop Saying Technology is Causing Social
Isolation, Hector Carral (BB)
Complete
Read
Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and
Media Culture, Doug Kellner
Encoding/Decoding, Stuart Hall
Ch. 4 - The Public Mind and the Pictures
in Our Heads, Stuart Ewen (PS)
Complete
Read
Ch. 3 – Fashion, Advertising, and the
Consumer Society, Doug Kellner (PS)
Ch. 17 – They Sing the Body Ecstatic,
Stephen Muzzatti (PS)
The Empire of Images in our World of
Bodies, Susan Bordo (BB)
Complete
Reflection
essay 1
Quiz 1
Film:
Consuming
Kids
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SOCK 485: The Unreal World:
Race, Class, and Gender in the Media
Spring 2016
Week 4.
Topic
Media
ownership
Feb 8 - 12
Date
Feb 9
Read
Hegemony, James Lull (BB)
The Economics of the Media Industry,
Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan (BB)
eRes: Media Ownership and Story Tone
in Campaign News, J. Dunaway
Week 5.
Feb 16 - 19
Topic
Date
Media literacy
Feb 16
Read
eRes: Media literacy and the challenge of
new information and communication
technologies, Sonia Livingstone (2004)
**Library instruction: Meet @ 2PM in the library.**
Week 6.
Feb 22 - 26
Topic
Date
Thinking About
Feb 23
the News
Week 7.
Feb 29 – Mar 4
Topic
Date
Social Class:
March 1
Meritocracy and
Myth
Week 8.
Topic
Social Class:
Visibility &
Invisibility
Mar 7 - 11
Date
March 8
BREAK
Topic
Mar 14 - 18
Date
Complete
Film: Media
Consolidation
and the
Erosion of
Democracy
Complete
Quiz 2
Read
Ch. 20 – Air Wars Live from Baghdad,
Linda Robertson (PS)
Ch. 21 – Embedded: The News of War and
the War Over News, William Hoynes (PS)
eRes: The Dissident Humor of the Daily
Show, Jamie Warner
Complete
Reflection
essay 2
Read
Saving Horatio Alger, Richard Reeves (BB)
Ch. 2 – Intelligence and Class in Good Will
Hunting, Thomas Wartenburg (PS)
Ch 29 – Melancholic and Hungry Games,
Matthew Leggatt (PS)
Complete
Film: TBA
Read
Media Magic: Making Class Invisible,
Gregory Mantsios (BB)
Class Dismissed? Julie Bettie (BB)
Complete
Film: The True
Meaning of
Pictures
Quiz 3
Read
Complete
No class – SPRING BREAK
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SOCK 485: The Unreal World:
Race, Class, and Gender in the Media
Spring 2016
Week 9.
Topic
Gender &
Sexuality in
Media I
Mar 21 - 25
Date
March 22
Week 10.
Topic
Gender &
Sexuality in
Media II
Mar 28 – Apr 1
Date
March 29
Week 11.
Apr 4 – 8
Topic
Date
Race & Ethnicity April 5
in Media I
Week 12.
Apr 11 - 15
Topics
Date
Race & Ethnicity April 12
in Media II
Week 13.
Apr 18 - 22
Topics
Date
Social Media and April 19
the State
Read
Ch. 7 – Girl Meets Boy, Kristen Hatch (PS)
Ch. 8 – This is for Fighting; This is for Fun,
Fred Turner (PS)
Ch. 12 – Funny Men in Pain, Susan White
(PS)
Complete
Reflection
essay 3
Read
Ch. 6 – The Love that Dared Not Speak
Its Name Goes Big, John Sakeris (PS)
Ch. 10 – Gus Van Sant’s History of
Homosexuality, Tison Pugh (PS)
Ch. 16 – Beautiful Ever After, Fiona
Whittington-Walsh (PS)
Complete
Quiz 4
Read
Ch. 15 – On Seeing and Not Seeing Race,
Giroux & Giroux (PS)
eRes: “Poverty As We Know It: Media
Portrayals of the Poor,” Clawson & Trice
(2000)
eRes: Racism and Popular Culture, Dirks
& Mueller
Complete
Reflection
essay 4
Read
eRes: The Prime-Time Plight of the Arab
American after 9/11: Configuration of
Race and Nation in TV Dramas, Evelyn
Alsultany
eRes: The Orientalization of Disney’s
Cartoon Heroines, Celeste Lacroix
Network TV Ate My Life: Eddie Huang on
Seeing his Memoir Become a Sitcom (BB)
Complete
Research
Paper Drafts
Due by 6 PM
on Friday,
April 15th
Read
eRes: “Twitter: Microphone for the
Masses?” Dhiraj Murthy, 2011
eRes: “Democracy@internet.org
Revisited,” Jason Abbott, 2012
Complete
Film: Enemy of
the State, BBC
Quiz 5
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SOCK 485: The Unreal World:
Race, Class, and Gender in the Media
Spring 2016
Week 14.
Topics
Media &
Globalization
Apr 25 - 29
Date
April 26
Week 15.
May 2 - 6
Topics
Date
Presentations
May 3
Week 16.
Topics
Final
May 9 - 13
Date
May 10
Read
Ch. 14 – Races, Classes, Globalisms in
‘Heroes.’ Peter Clandfield (PS)
Ch. 22 – A Spanish Summer Spreads
Around the World, Graeme Metcalf (PS)
eRes: Globalization and Media TBA
Complete
Reflection
essay 5
Read
No new readings; all students will
present their research this week.
Complete
Presentations
Read
Papers due, complete evaluations,
review for final quiz.
Complete
Quiz 6
Policies and Resources
Technology Requirements
This course will use the TAMUCT Blackboard Learn learning management system for class
communications, content distribution, and assessments.



Logon to https://tamuct.blackboard.com to access the course.
Username: Your MyCT username (xx123 or everything before the "@" in your MyCT
e-mail address)
Initial password: Your MyCT password
For this course, you will need reliable and frequent access to a computer and to the Internet.
Blackboard supports the most common operating systems:
PC: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista
Mac: Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks), 10.8 (Mountain Lion), and 10.7 (Lion)
NOTE: Computers using Windows XP, Windows 8 RT and OS X 10.6 or lower are NO
longer supported
Check browser and computer compatibility by following the “Browser Check” link on the
TAMUCT Blackboard logon page. (https://tamuct.blackboard.com) This is a CRITICAL step as
these settings are important for when you take an exam or submit an assignment.
Technology issues are not an excuse for missing a quiz – make sure your computer is
configured correctly and address issues well in advance of deadlines.
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SOCK 485: The Unreal World:
Race, Class, and Gender in the Media
Spring 2016
Technology Support
For technology issues, students should contact Help Desk Central. 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week: Email: helpdesk@tamu.edu, Phone: (254) 519-5466, Web Chat: http://hdc.tamu.edu
When calling for support please let your support technician know you are a TAMUCT student.
Late/Makeup policy
For late papers or other assignments, I will subtract 10% of your grade per day that it is late.
This policy has one exception: There are no makeups for online quizzes. Exams may be
rescheduled in case of a documented illness or injury. A student may makeup an exam if
there is illness, injury or another documented excuse. If a student misses an exam due to
illness, injury, something out of their control they must 1. Provide documentation (doctor’s
note, police report, etc.), 2. Notify me as soon as possible of intent to take a makeup exam,
and 3. Prepare to take the makeup exam within 1 week of the excused absence if possible.
Students who miss an exam without a documented excuse will receive a zero on the exam. If
the student foresees that s/he will be unable to complete the course, then s/he should drop
the course or accept the posted grade.
Drop Policy
If the student wishes to drop this class, she must go to the Records Office and ask for the
necessary paperwork. Professors cannot drop a student from a class roll; this is always the
responsibility of the student. The Records Office will provide a deadline date for which the
form must be returned, completely signed by the student. Once the student has returned the
signed form to the Records Office, she must wait 24 hours and then enter Duck Trax to
confirm that she is no longer enrolled in the class. If the student is still enrolled, she must
contact the Records Office immediately. The student should attend class until the procedure
is completed, in order to avoid penalty for absences. Should the student miss the deadline or
fail to follow the procedure, she will receive a grade of F for the course.
Academic Integrity
Texas A&M University - Central Texas values the integrity of the academic enterprise and
strives for the highest standards of academic conduct. A&M Central Texas expects its
students, faculty, and staff to support the adherence to high standards of personal and
scholarly conduct to preserve the honor and integrity of the creative community. Academic
integrity is defined as a commitment to honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility.
Any deviation by students from this expectation may result in a failing grade for the
assignment and potentially a failing grade for the course. Academic misconduct is any act
that improperly affects a true and honest evaluation of a student’s academic performance
and includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work,
plagiarism and improper citation of sources, using another student’s work, collusion, and the
abuse of resource materials. All academic misconduct concerns will be reported to the
university’s Office of Student Conduct. Ignorance of the university’s standards and
expectations is never an excuse to act with a lack of integrity. When in doubt on
collaboration, citation, or any issue, please contact your instructor before taking a course of
action.
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SOCK 485: The Unreal World:
Race, Class, and Gender in the Media
Spring 2016
Disability Support
At Texas A&M University – Central Texas, we value an inclusive learning environment where
every student has an equal chance to succeed and has the right to an education that is
barrier-free. The Office of Disability Support and Access is responsible for ensuring that
students with a disability enjoy equal access to the University's programs, services and
activities. Some aspects of this course or the way the course is taught may present barriers
to learning due to a disability. If you feel this is the case, please contact Disability Support and
Access at (254) 501-5831 in Warrior Hall, Ste. 212. For more information, please visit their
website at www.tamuct/disabilitysupport. Any information you provide is private and
confidential and will be treated as such.
Tutoring
TAMUCT offers its students tutoring, both on-campus and online. Subjects tutored include
Accounting, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, and Writing (MLA and APA). For hours, or if
you're interested in becoming a tutor, contact Academic Support Programs at 254-519-5496
or by emailing gnichols@ct.tamus.edu. Tutor.com is an online tutoring platform that enables
TAMU-CT students to log-in and receive FREE online tutoring and writing support. This tool
provides tutoring in Mathematics, Writing, Career Writing, Chemistry, Physics, Biology,
Spanish, Calculus, and Statistics. Chat live with a tutor 24/7 for any subject on your computer
To access Tutor.com, click on www.tutor.com/tamuct.
The University Writing Center
The University Writing Center (UWC) at Texas A&M University-Central Texas is a free
workspace open to all TAMUCT students. The UWC is located in 416 Warrior Hall. The Center
is open 11am-6pm Monday-Thursday during the spring semester. Students may work
independently in the UWC by checking out a laptop that runs Microsoft Office suite and
connects to WIFI, or by consulting our resources on writing, including all of the relevant style
guides. Students may also arrange a one-on-one session with a trained and experienced
writing tutor. Tutorials can be arranged by visiting the UWC. Tutors are prepared to help
writers of all levels and abilities at any stage of the writing process. Sessions typically last
between 20-30 minutes. While tutors will not write, edit, or grade papers, they will help
students develop more effective invention and revision strategies.
UNILERT – Emergency Warning System for Texas A&M University – Central Texas
UNILERT is an emergency notification service that gives Texas A&M UniversityCentral Texas the ability to communicate health and safety emergency information
quickly via email, text message, and social media. All students are automatically
enrolled in UNILERT through their myCT email account. Connect at
www.TAMUCT.edu/UNILERT to change where you receive your alerts or to opt out.
By staying enrolled in UNILERT, university officials can quickly pass on safety-related
information, regardless of your location.
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