Sarah Blumenberg
Annotated Bibliography – CMC 200
Bach, Jacqueline. 2006. “From Nerds to Napoleons: Thwarting Archetypical
Expectations in High School Films.” JCT 22 (2): 73-86
This article examines the new “nerd” role model that Napoleon Dynamite
provides that’s different from characterizations past. Though this is a new
representation of a “nerd,” it does not resist, reject, nor oppose existing
definitions. This article traces the evolving character of the nerd, examines
the discourse around Napoleon’s “nerdiness,” looks at the “realness” of
the high school depictions, and looks at how the films influences
adolescent behavior.
This article directly connects the information I have about students to the
rest of their lives. The author states, “These stereotypes are not just limited
to students either.” (Bach 2006, 76) It additionally connects the media
representations to the real life influences that it has. This article looks at
adolescent identity formation and provides a background for me to
understand why the characters of Big Bang Theory categorize themselves
the way they do.
Baron-Cohen, et al. 2001. “The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ): Evidence from
Asperger Syndrom/High-Functioning Autism, Males and Females, Scientists
and Mathematicians.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 31
(1): 5-17,
http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.rollins.edu:2048/10.1023/A:1005653411471
Where as there used to be no quick test to try and place a person on the
autism spectrum, the authors of this study propose a new test called the
Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) to better quantify this social disorder.
The study was interesting in how it differentiated the high functioning
autistic from the low functioning, especially where it differentiated
between males and females.
Considering that I am focusing on male nerds in my paper, the fact that
this test focuses on males in the realm of the high-functioning autistic.
Additionally, the fact that there is a “need” to quickly differentiate the
autistic from the “normal” conveys to me a societal problem with being
obsessed with the “other.”
Bednarek, Monika. 2012. “Constructing ‘Nerdiness’: Characterization in The Big
Bang Theory.” Multilingual: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage
Communication 31, no. 2: 199-229, doi: 10.1515/multi-2012-00100
This article discusses linguistic deviance and “nerdiness” within Big Bang
Theory and the viewers’ perception of the characters as a result. It also
discusses why the study of television is useful in the discussion of viewer
emotions and how they’re invested in the characters in the parasocial
relationships that align them to the people they see on screen. They
describe this using a term called “double articulation.” Very specifically,
this article characterizes Sheldon and describes the premise of the Big
Bang Theory. They use character based analysis and scene based analysis
in order to examine Sheldon and his societal implications.
I find this article useful because I argue that the double articulation on
screen mimics and perpetuates the relation that society has to those they
deep to be “nerds.” In discussing the (im)politeness theory connects nicely
to the extrapolations I make from my content analysis as it shows the nerd
construction to be made of negative social relationships. I find that the
stereotypes that this television show illuminates will be interesting to
deconstruct in terms of how society views “others” and power relations.
Bishop, John H. et al., 2004. “Why We Harass Nerds and Freaks: A Formal Theory
of Student Culture and Norms.” Journal of School Health 74, no. 7:
235-251, doi: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2004.tb08280.x
This article examines student reaction to stigmatization with the school
setting. It describes the qualities that are socially dominant and those that
are socially negative, giving the “nerd” physical identifiers, but ultimately
alluding to the nerd’s social stigma. It discusses the relationship between
the study behavior and academic behavior and engagement of individual
students, the norms and attitudes of close friends, and the peer culture of
the institution of school. I categorizes people based on 3 groups within the
social hierarchy the jocks, preps, and populars comprising the upper level,
the normals in the middle, and the lower level being comprised of freaks,
Goths, lowers, druggies, and finally nerds. The authors also examine that
it seems as if people in the lower social class system are more accepting of
new comers into their caste than those of the upper popularity group.
I argue that this stigmatization is mirrored into our television
programming that is further reflected back into our societal relationships,
perpetuating nerd construction circularly. I also think that this provides a
counter argument to those that I make in my paper. I argue that nerds other
themselves from upper social groups as they are othered in reverse, where
as this paper makes the statement that lower class groups are more
accepting of outsiders.
Clark, Mark. 2008. “Science Fiction Fandom, Geek Culture, and the Image of the
Engineer.” Engineering Studies,
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=mark%20clark%20engineer%20gee
k%20culture&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fw
ww.inesweb.org%2Ffiles%2FClark.doc&ei=vF2FUZvuMpDA9gTu84GICQ&u
sg=AFQjCNFNxG04JGFGObqoOWcBDRwZJGYzHA&bvm=bv.45960087,d.e
WU
This article looks specifically about the construction of the engineer in
terms of identity and how they perceive themselves. This article overtly
connects “geek culture” to technological advancement. It extrapolates that
an engineer’s social image is assumed to reflect his professional status. It
makes the assumption as well that this is a male specific societal role.
I find this useful as it connects “geek culture” to professional achievement.
Additionally, the character Howard it an engineer in the Big Band Theory
and is the only one of the 4 “nerd” men to not have a Ph.D. Additionally,
this provides a counter argument to the one that I am making in this paper.
This is arguing that “geek” culture is about identity and personal
technological skills, not about social relations.
Cross, Tracy L. 2005. “Society’s Evolving Stereotypes of Our Students With Gifts
and Talents.” Gifted Child Today 28 (4): 26-27, 65
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&
_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ720371&ERICExtSearch_SearchTyp
e_0=no&accno=EJ720371
This article discusses the link between being intellectually “gifted” and the
terms “nerd” and “geek.” This article also makes the distinction between
nerd and geek. Where these are both socially derogatory terms, the term
“geek” is far worse. “Geeks,” additionally, are more connected to their
technological knowledge rather than just being “gifted.” Also, you can
positively spin these terms in regards being experts to using their
technological expertise as “helpers” when their talents intersect with mainstream people. Because of these, the term “nerd” has come to be more
socially neutral. People can be nerds and still succeed. Additionally, being
a nerd is a choice about behavior and how one portrays themselves, and
less of an ascribed attribute, and is something you can more or less grow
out of.
I think by distinguishing between the “nerd” and the “geek” better allows
me to socially categorize the men in the Big Bang Theory. This would
better explain why some of the men are more socially stigmatized than
others. On top of that, men can have the “nerd” stigmatization while still
succeeding socially within their confines.
Engelhart, Jasmine. 2012. “The Nerd as the Other.”
http://files.combinatori.at/univie/ps_paper_freak_shows/the_nerd_as_the_ot
her_by_jasmin_engelhart.pdf
This paper examines the American “nerd” in terms of the American “freak
show.” The author uses a discourse analysis to examine how people are
“othered” within popular cultural, specifically looking at the television
shows “The Big Bang Theory” and “Beauty and the Geek.” These
representations implicate on masculinity, sexuality, and societal norms.
These shows other the nerd so that they can be laughed at as they exhibit
“inept.”
This article shows all the ways in which a nerd is constructed in media and
then discusses how this is exhibited in the Big Bang Theory. Some of
these constructions include white, male, heterosexual, intelligent, and
physically unattractive. These characteristics are exaggerated when the
nerd is contrasted against someone who exhibits behavior of a “non-nerd,”
which in my case would be Penny contrasted against the male nerds.
Holderman, Lisa B. 2003. “Media-Constructed Anti-Intellectualism: The
Portrayal of Experts in Popular US Television Talk Shows.” The New Jersey
Journal of Communication 11, no. 1: 45-62, doi: 10.1080/15456870309367437
This article explores how society perceives expertise in a talk show field
and how that constructs a society of anti-intellectuals. Though experts in a
particular field have an obvious intellectual advantage, socially crowds
value their own experiences above that of the expert. Being a “nerd”
challenges the social order and threatens the power structure. It, like many
other articles, gives us a list of stereotypical nerd representations. This
article makes the distinction between intellectual and non-intellectual
experts and how the crowds perceive them.
As “nerds” and “geeks” gains prestige in that it signifies expertise and
what it brings to mainstream society. The quote that I find most
interesting for the use of my paper is “Cultivation theorists assume that
television, in particular, both selectively mirrors and leads society and that
patterned representations and narratives on television operate as a form of
social control and status quo maintenance.” I take this to mean that the
representations of nerds on television perpetuates the social order in which
they exist, giving the people who have the most potential for social change
the least power.
Kendall, Lori. 2011. “ ‘White and Nerdy’: Computers, Race, and Nerd Stereotype.”
Journal of Popular Culture 44, no. 3: 505-524, doi: 10.1111/j.15405931.2011.00846.x
This article discusses the depiction of the marginalized nerd identity as
closer to hegemonic masculinity by using things like computer expertise to
exhibit prowess, to show the contradictions inherent in nerd identity. It
examines the construction of the “nerd” to reveal signifiers of whiteness
and male gender as basic elements. It examines “nerd” subculture called
“nerdcore,” incorporating elements. The premise of this article is to show
how the nerd operates within today’s culture and how our society’s
reliance on computers and our attitudes towards those fluent in this
technology intersect to implicate on power relations. Kendall does this by
analyzing the Geek Squad Website, Weird Al’s “White and Nerdy,” and
the subculture of “nerdcore.”
I find this article relevant to my project because it examines the nerd
within the scope of masculine power. Considering that in my paper I argue
that the label of “nerd” is a social vehicle, rather than ideological, that is
used to both other and self-other, I think that putting this in terms of
stereotypical definitions of hegemonic masculinity would be quite useful. I
also think that putting the “nerd” stereotype in terms of pop culture
references and real-life examples is useful as it examines the construction
outside of the realm of television.
Lagerfeld, Steven. 2004. “The Revenge of the Nerds.” Wilson Quarterly 28, no. 3: 2834, http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/literary-criticism/13876379/revengenerds
This article examines the “cognitive elite” as we generally define by highIQ’s. It examines the societal inequalities inherent in delineating between
people based on a test that changes frequently. How we quantify
intelligence has inherent structural problems. Lagerfeld discusses the
privilege inherent in being part of the “high-IQ” group. The fascination
with “smart” people perpetuates the exultation of specialized instead of
general knowledge. Furthermore, high intelligence does not necessarily
correlate to leadership ability.
This article connects the most to my arguments about intelligence
perception in that it discusses individualism (and thus lack of social
interaction) and intelligence types. It discusses emotional intelligence as
an equally useful quality of the human brain. I think that this will be useful
in my discussion of Penny in contrast to the emotional construction of the
nerd.
Murray, Noel. 2013. “The Changing Face of “Nerds” (and Autism) in Popular
Culture.” The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-changing-faceof-nerds-and-autism-in-popular-c,91151/
This article provides a physical explanation of a link between “nerds” and
the autism spectrum, which is often alluded to in the discussion of nerds,
but not overtly referenced. He makes a points to premise his argument
with the first being that not every geeky person is autistic and the second
being that as a member of the dominant social hierarchy, it is okay to find
the autistic funny. The author, having an autistic son, links many of the
stereotypical traits of “nerds” to those of people who are on the autism
spectrum, and that by joking about these “nerds,” at least we see that these
types of people exist in society.
I think this article is relevant in that it explains that there is a possibility
that nerds are being more culturally relevant because they may be
becoming more socially accepted and are becoming less marginalized. The
nerds of society are gaining more public attention and evolving their
stereotypes. I think that part of my social relevance that I want to bring to
my paper so that it touches the reader is the idea of autism and it’s social
stigma.
Varma, Roli. 2007. “Women in Computing: The Role of Geek Culture.” Science as
Culture 16, no. 4: 359-376, doi:10.1080/09505430701706707
Varma discusses the immensely underrepresented sub-sub-culture of
female geeks. Within a culture in which the nerd is already subjugated, the
female nerd is seen as incompetent by comparison, making it harder for
women to go into computer-related careers. This article also makes the
distinction between “nerd” and “geek,” also constructing the geek as
significantly worse of a title. Part of these titles’ stereotypical construction
is that it is embodied by white males, implicating on people of color and
women. Varma discusses the concept of myth and how it perpetuates
(often overtly false) hegemonic values in order to meet the ideological
agendas of those in power.
Considering that in my paper I am focusing on male nerds, this article both
provides useful definitions about what it means to be one of those types of
nerds and what feminine nerds are by contrast. The nerd construct, in it’s
essence” is comprised of masculine-dominant traits like rational, empirical
knowledge, and the ability to secure the American Dream.
Zhu-hui, Yin, and Yun Miao. 2012. “Rhetorical Devices in Dialogues of The Big
Bang Theory.” Sino-US English Teaching 9, no. 6: 1220-1229,
http://www.davidpublishing.com/davidpublishing/Upfile/7/23/2012/20120723
82010977.pdf
This article examines the effectiveness of rhetorical devices within The
Big Bang Theory on learner awareness and appreciation of literary works.
This work also examines characterization of the people within the show. It
uses dialogue analysis to implicate how episodic narrative construction
uses devices such as irony, sarcasm, and parody further the construction of
the characters while simultaneously effecting viewer literacy and language
skills.
Whereas in this paper I’m not examining the show’s effect on people who
embrace English as a second language, it is interesting to me to see these
“American” characters categorized by authors who were not raised with
the same hegemonic values as the assumed audience of this show. This
article more primarily defines the show to describe it to a non-viewer,
which is helpful from an objective standpoint. It is also heavy in
characterization, so that is especially helpful in discussing my textual
analysis of the Pilot episode and how it characterizes.