Final Information

Hi everyone,

Here is your information for the final:

Your papers are due to my mailbox on the third floor of Ellis by 5pm on Thursday, March 18th. You do not need to turn in your annotated bibliography. However, you will need to submit a (correct) Works Cited page with your essay, and any other drafts that you've written. Use the handout that I gave you to help guide you, or feel free to ask me.

In reading through your final blogs, I am so happy that you all enjoyed this class as much as I did. Some of you commented that you feel as though you are empowered by your ability to critique the media; I want to encourage all of you to feel this way, because as someone said, you are the future, and have the power to change what we see.

I'm also glad to see you writing about how this class applies to your everyday lives. For me, this is something that is so important; even though I am your instructor, I also found myself analyzing the media much more than I previously did. I can watch a commercial and laugh, but at the same time, I am completely aware of how heteronormativity plays a part in the humor (Darby's Old Spice ads immediately come to mind).

And I am glad to see you talking about these issues with the people around you. I am part of a fantasy football league with my significant other. During the draft this year, several of the people (yes, Dylan, I'm sorry to say they were men) made homophobic comments that got me very upset. I wanted to speak up, and my significant other made me stay silent. That incident still upsets me, and I regret not speaking up, even in a "silly" atmosphere. I hope that you all have the opportunity to speak up.

Finally, I am glad to see you all reflecting on the fact that this class was about more than women in the media. Like Dylan, I feel that men often get a bad rap; as Andi says, it is equally important to look at representations of men in the media in order to understand where these stereotypes come from. Too often we focus on women and discuss stereotypes that are harmful to women; I believe that it's important to look at the stereotypes that are also harmful to men. That was one reason I chose Yep for this class; his article speaks to the violence of the institution of heteronormativity across genders, ethnicities, sexualities, and abilities.

You have all improved as writers, thinkers, and conversationalists. I have enjoyed every class this quarter, even at 9am :) I hope that you have as well.

Best,
Megan

Homework for 3/4

Hi everyone,

Here is your homework for Thursday, 3/4:

1. Read Butler, "Gender is Burning," Ch. 4 of Bodies that Matter and hooks, "Is Paris Burning?" (the last two readings on Bb).
2. Bring at least 2 how/why questions to class - one should relate to each reading. If you have questions about the film itself (plot, character, etc.), please bring those as well.