Feminist Pop Culture

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

What does the Real Housewives of New Jersey tell us about gender roles, and how does Vanderpump Rules illuminate the workings of intimate relationships and power? From reality TV to viral social media responses, this class will consider reality TV, scripted series, film, and online discourses, to explore how popular culture moments and reality TV shape and distort our dominant understandings of gender, sexuality, and feminist thought. We will adopt an intersectional approach to examine how power relations, tropes, stereotypes, and spectacle are mobilized to reinforce—or challenge—normative ideas about gender, feminism, relationships, beauty, violence, sex work, and the body.