This course is a great introduction into race, gender and popular culture studies. We are surrounded by literature, film, series and music videos on a daily basis, from listening to Beyoncé, to watching Orange is the New Black to films such as Carol. We will question how we engage with representations of race and gender in popular culture, exploring how identity is constructed (for example femininity and masculinity) and deconstructing the complex notions that are rooted in our cultural system.
Participating in this course has been an incredible experience and I wish it had been longer. We covered so many topics and shared so many ideas, I have never been part of a group where I have felt so able to share my thoughts and this is thanks to Aditi. Aditi created a space full of warmth and a genuine desire to encourage open discussion, to allow us to question ourselves and society as a whole. She is a credit to the short course department as is the Bad Girls course.
Participant, Spring 2018
This course was amazing. Aditi is so knowledgeable and articulate and truly listens and responds to every point made. She never made any point seem unworthy and always had a quote or a reference to respond with. The material was engaging and I have actively been encouraging my friends to attend next time. Please consider turning this into a degree course!
Jessica, Outreach Advocate, Spring 2018
This course provides introduction into the way popular culture shapes discourses on race and gender. Throughout the course issues such as feminism, queerness, colonialism, desire and the representations of race and sexuality within popular culture will be unpacked and explored to help us engage with the culture we consume in a more nuanced way. We will complicate fixed ideas such as male and female, questioning how popular culture functions as site for forming and constructing race and gender. We will achieve this understanding by examining a range of different topics, including popular culture figures such as Jennifer Lopez, of whom Guzmán writes: ‘[her] media visibility creates an opening for cultural resistance because the unclassifiable nature of her identity vexes established representations of U.S. ethnic and racial identity.’ Through examples such as J-Lo we will explore the argument that the representation of ambiguous racialised identities has the potential to interrupt the binary logic woven into racialised and gendered bodies in popular culture. This feeds into a broader conversation regarding the colonial histories that shape hierarchies of beauty and desire, exposing and problematising the norms of desire that are perpetuated through popular culture. We will look to underline the important role of popular culture as a site of communicating racialised and gendered norms about desire, beauty and power.
The course is designed for all levels, from complete beginners to those with more experience with critical race and gender studies. It will appeal to students who want engage in scholarship on how popular culture influences us, as well as those who want to learn the basics of gender theory and critical race theory. This course will also appeal to those who do not merely want an academic approach as we will also be engaging popular culture texts and question how we can come to a more inclusive understanding of feminist and queer research. Course materials and visual materials will pay special attention to questions of culture, identity, class, racism, colonialism, archives and the body.
Why Study this Course?
- Delve into understanding the intersection between race and gender through exploring the meaning of intersectionality
- Analyse popular culture operates through an intersectional framework
- Explore how contemporary images are historically positioned and located in colonial discourses
- Engage with different theoretical texts to deeper understand what is communicated through popular culture
- Understand how popular culture shapes our understanding of race and gender
Fees
£310
Booking information
Disability Support
We are committed to providing reasonable teaching adjustments for students with disabilities that may impact on their learning experience. If you require adjustments, please complete the relevant section on the booking form and also contact us at shortcourses@gold.ac.uk so we can respond to your requests as soon as possible.
Please note that our short courses sell-out quickly, so early booking is advisable.
Starting date, Thursday 28 Jan 2021
6.30-8.30pm | 10 weeks
Enquiries
If you have any questions about this course please contact shortcourses (@gold.ac.uk) .
For information on our upcoming short courses please sign up to our mailing list.
Location
Online
Tutor information