Disrupting Gender Norm Paper
Assignments & Grades
DO 2 OF THESE
Current Event Issue (Discussion Board)
Each week, you will be responsible for posting a “Current Event Issue” for class discussion. This should be a political topic, a pop culture issue, or something that has been debated in social media about gender and sexuality. It should somehow link back to our course. The goal is to recognize how gender is omnipresent in our lives. Make sure to (1) post a link to the news article and (2) write a minimum of 250 words to respond to the issue. Make sure to clearly explain how the current event issue links to our class (course concepts and topics). Your written response can be a short summary and include why you think the current event issue is important for us to know about (a little argument/opinion here). These are due EACH MONDAY of the week.
DO 3 of THESE
Reading Responses (reading and videos listed below) do not have to read all nor reply to all readings can pick 1 reading and one video and see how they correlate, or see how 2 readings correlate or just review 1 reading)
Disrupting Gender Norm Paper
This is a theoretically based course that includes a deep engagement of the reading materials. You are responsible for writing weekly reading responses that critically engage with the week’s readings. I am interested to learn how and what you are thinking about. While I will pose questions to guide you, your response is not limited to them. I encourage you to think “outside the box.” How are the ideas you read applicable to your life? What issues resonated with you? What were some concepts that you would like to challenge? Question, interrogate, argue, and reflect upon what you have read. All responses must be posted under “Reading Responses” in Blackboard. These responses should be a minimum of 500 words that demonstrate you have (a) read the assigned weekly readings and (b) are able to apply new concepts and vocabulary.
DO 3 of THESE
Images of Gender: Photographic Journal (Weekly)
For this assignment, you will be taking photos of what gender looks like and feels like, as well as spaces where gender is contested. Each week, you will journal about your understanding of gender visually. This will include both photos and written work. Use the new topics each week, using course materials and discussions (e.g., gender discrimination, gender in the media, gendered violence), to assist you. Some general questions to consider:
How can you visually articulate your experiences of gender? Where do you find gender? In what moments or spaces are dominant understandings of gender contested or solidified? Where do people learn about gendered roles? What do gender and violence look and feel like? How do you understand gendered experiences of labor/work?
Guidelines for photographs
For EACH journal entry have a minimum of one photograph (although you can have multiple photographs if there is a theme). You can take photographs in public spaces, but if you wish to take a photo of someone in a space considered private (e.g., home), you must have written permission to use the photo. Beyond these general parameters, I ask you to follow the “”60 Minutes” rule of thumbdo not turn in any photos that would not be permissible on the evening news.
Guidelines for written work
Narrate your photographs. Your writing can include but is not limited to quotes from course readings, class dialogues, or other related inspirations. In your written entries, explain why you took them, what they mean to you, and what you intend to convey to others. Use course materials to engage in sensemaking about your visual images, bringing in the objective to “use communication theory to understand gendered experiences.”
Your written reflection should be one page in length (approximately 500 words).
For this assignment, you will be “performing” outside your gender in some way. You will write a formal paper about your experience.
Find a behavior (activity, body language, speech pattern, dress, etc.) that is clearly marked as not something that someone of your gender should be doing. Then, do it! You want to violate a gender norm. Assess how you felt while performing outside of your gender. Observe the responses you get from others around you. Do not tell the people you’ll be observing that this is a class project until after the project is over. The purpose of this assignment is to better understand how strong gender norms are in our society. Once you have completed your gender norm violation, write a paper that is a minimum of 3 pages in length or approximately 1500 words (single spaced). It should include:
1. A brief description of the gender norm violation you committed and the context in which it occurred (dining hall, classroom, etc.) as well as a description of the reactions of others to the violation. Don’t forget to include your observations.
2. A careful examination of the possible reasons for
