Gender, Race, Taste in Media

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course investigates the relationship between taste and hierarchies of race and gender. As we discuss television shows, novels, films, and print media like tabloids and magazines, we will ask the following questions: What is the relationship between taste and respectability? What is the history of the distinction between “lowbrow” and “highbrow” cultural texts? How does authorship influence the “value” of different kinds of texts? Upon completion of the course, students will be able to perform close reading and textual analysis in order to consider how cultural texts engage and challenge the broader sociopolitical contexts from which they emerge, be acquainted with some major modes of thought from cultural studies, and also be able to think critically about the stakes of the relationship between taste and identity hierarchies in today’s culture.