Intimate Violence on Screen

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

INTIMATE VIOLENCE ON SCREEN: ANALYZING REALITY TV AND POPULAR CULTURE: What does the Real Housewives of New Jersey tell us about gender roles, and how does Vanderpump Rules illuminate the workings of intimate relationships? From reality TV to viral social media responses, this class explores how popular culture and reality TV shape and distort our understandings of gendered violence. From reality TV to viral social media responses, this class explores how popular culture and reality TV shape and distort our understandings of gendered violence.In this class we will adopt an intersectional approach to analyze depictions of gender and violence on screen in popular culture, from series, films, and discourses on social media discourses. Students will examine how power relations—around gender, race and ethnicity, class, sexuality, gender presentation, and nationality influence public perceptions of violence and victims. As we progress through the course, we will consider the impact of sexual violence on campus and beyond, masculinity, sexual consent, and intimate partner violence in relation to race and class, as well as considering the experiences of LGBTQ+ victims/survivors.