Diversity in the US course for Summer

CMCL-C 201: Race and the Media

Class Number: 13715 (6W1)

M-F, 12:45 PM-2:00 PM, SY 004

Required film screening: MW, 7:15 PM-10:15 PM, BH 006                                                                       

Carries CASE S&H Credit

Carries GenEd Breadth of Inquiry S&H Credit

Fulfills CASE Diversity in the U.S. (DUS) Culture Studies Requirement

Instructor: Zeynep Yasar

E-Mail: szyasar@indiana.edu

Office: C2 212

Phone: 855-7238

What is “race,” and why is it important to understand it as a social construction? How have media representations framed and shaped the way we think about “race”? In what ways do media representations of “race” relate to the material realities of our everyday lives? In this introductory course, students will engage with these questions in an effort to develop a better understanding of the relationship between historical and contemporary media representations, and the concepts of “race” and ethnicity in the US context and abroad. Focusing primarily on the cinematic, televisual, and online media representations of various groups, including but not limited to African Americans, European Americans, Latinos/as, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Middle-Eastern and Arab Americans, this course will provide students with the analytical, interpretive, and critical tools with which to navigate the densely mediated terrain of racial and ethnic issues and the socio-cultural politics thereof. By situating the production and reception practices surrounding the circulation of various media artifacts in their particular historical contexts, this course will help students develop the critical skills with which to discuss broader concerns such as ideology, power, privilege, and access. Class discussions will also incorporate issues of class, gender, and sexualities while addressing media representations of “race” and ethnicity, in order to expand our appreciation of the complexity that characterizes identity politics at large.

This is an introductory course that presumes no prior knowledge of film analysis, media theory, or cultural history. There are no prerequisites, and students from all majors who are interested in the relationship between race and media are encouraged to enroll.