Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies (390-0-21)

Topic

Sex and the American Empire: Journalism and Frames

Instructors

Steven William Thrasher

Michael Francis Landez

Meeting Info

Fisk Hall 311: Mon, Wed 10:00AM - 11:20AM

Overview of class

Topic: Sex and the American Empire: Journalism and Frames of War

This course will be an intensive study in understanding the relationship between American journalism and the U.S. military in creating an American empire. By focusing on how the U.S. military has segregated service members by race, sexuality, gender and gender identity—and on how on U.S. media has covered the military—students will study how identity roles have been formed by both the military and the media in American society. Readings will include primary sources, works of journalism, and scholarship. Topics covered will include the histories of LGBTQ rights; "pinkwashing" and "homonationalism"; "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; racial segregation; the development of the condom; access to birth control; government management of HIV/AIDS; subjectivity/objectivity; critical theory; critical race theory; transgender studies; and, essentialism. In groups, students will study coverage of a single contemporary story in the news. The course is intended for journalism majors and non-majors alike, and will be centered on helping both analyze news media critically in order to better understand how race, gender, sexuality and American identity are constructed.

Class Materials (Required)

How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr ($13)
We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by by Mariame Kaba ($16)
The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America by Cannaday, Margot ($15)
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media by Chomsky, Noam and Edward Herman ($20)
The View from Somewhere: Undoing the Myth of Journalistic Objectivity by Wallace, Lewis ($16)

All other readings will be provided.