Universität Wien

124185 VK BEd 08b.3: VK Cultural Studies for Language Teachers (2021S)

Representations of Race and Ethnicity in the Media

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work
REMOTE
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes

Online
Thursday 10:15-11:45
Starts on: 11.03.2021

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The media shape and influence our images of the world, ourselves and other people. In this sense, they are part of our cultural identity, and they can exert incredible power. However, we can also use media products to change and challenge identities and social expectations. Race and ethnicity are among the central categories shaping personal and cultural identities, and they have been heavily debated, rejected and redefined in research in recent decades.

The course uses material from English and Anglophone Media like television series and movies, advertisement, viral videos, graphic novels, or news media to show how race and ethnicity are represented. We will discuss how the media can reinforce stereotypes, but equally how media products and their use and re-use can help to uncover harmful and discriminatory social practices and identities.

Among the questions we will tackle are:


  1. How can we define race and ethnicity, and what is problematic about these terms?
  2. How do contemporary media represent race and ethnicity and where and how do stereotypes figure in these representations? Are stereotypes reinforced or challenged?
  3. What are strategies to 'read' and work with images of race and ethnicity in our daily lives and the lives of your pupils at school?
  4. Where and how can you incorporate a critical assessment of media images of race and ethnicity in your classrooms and what are the challenges in such a use?
  5. How can you integrate a critical analysis of media representations of race and/or ethnicity in an actual lesson plan?

Students will learn how to approach different mediations (e.g. comics, movies, internet memes and clips, television, advertisement) and representations of race and ethnicity and we will read key theoretical texts by Stuart Hall, Ania Loomba, Richard Dyer, and others.

The primary material of analysis is up to the group: you will have the opportunity to suggest and work with material of your own and you can pick which images and representations you work with in your lesson plans.

Assessment and permitted materials

• Regular attendance (also online) and preparation of weekly session material
• General participation in class on- and offline, including individual contributions as well as work in groups
• Expert work on assigned readings: each student will be assigned to one source material of the syllabus and provide expert input in the respective session
• A portfolio of three short writing tasks that prepare you for your term paper of BA thesis.
• BEd paper or small research paper (for people who are not writing BEd papers)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Active Participation on- & offline, including one expert presentation (20%)
3 written portfolio tasks to be handed in during the semester (30%)
Final written paper (either short paper or BA-thesis, 50%).
You need to complete and pass all individual requirements to complete the course.

The overall grading scheme is (1): 100-91%, (2): 90-81%, (3): 80-71%, (4): 70-61%, (5): 60-0%

Examination topics

• Input phases combined with group work and classroom discussion
• Student input from your expert session
• Students' written research projects (paper and portfolio)
• Assigned readings (both secondary and primary texts)

Reading list

Theoretical Reading:
Dyer, Richard. White. London: Routledge, 1997.
Hall, Stuart. “The Spectacle of the Other.” Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Ed. Stuart Hall. London: Sage, 1997. 239-279.
Loomba, Ania. Colonialism/Postcolonialism. London and New York: Routledge, 2005.
Miles, Robert, and Malcom Brown. Racism. London: Routledge, 2003.

Primary Material:
Will be decided upon with the whole class and depends on students' suggestions and input.

Association in the course directory

Studium: BEd 046/407
Code/Modul: BEd 08b.3
Lehrinhalt: 12-4686

Last modified: We 21.04.2021 11:26