UMass Boston

Course Overview

Description

This course explores media stereotypes of social groups, both historically and in the context of the current day, with the goal of increasing students' ability to recognize and critically dissect media's underlying messages. In particular, the course examines patterns in the way media represent people of differing genders, races, sexual orientations, classes, religions, ages, body types, and abilities, with a primary focus on tropes and stock characters affecting those from marginalized groups. Students will also learn about the various theoretical frameworks used by scholars to study media stereotyping, as well as briefly explore the ways that media stereotypes are known affect individuals, intergroup communication, and culture at large. There will be a heavy focus on screen media, although examples from print, music, and social media may also be incorporated.