Syllabus (readings subject to change)

Readings are subject to change and topics may need to be rescheduled. Always check the main page for the current assignments!

Sept. 9:
Identity and representation: Race vs. Ethnicity / Gender vs. Sex
We’ll introduce ourselves to one another, and talk a bit about the differences between race and ethnicity, and between gender and sex. Is the media doing a good job of making the distinctions?

Required Reading/Viewing:

• “The Year We Obsessed Over Identity” by Wesley Morris, The New York Times
• “Why Identity Matters” The Critical Media Project
• “What We Can Learn from an Indonesian Ethnicity that Recognizes Five Genders” by Sharyn Graham Davies, The Conversation

Sept. 16:
Gender, race, and political debates
We’ve come a long way since the 2008 race and concerns over whether Sarah Palin was being treated fairly by the media. Or have we? How does the way the media covers race and gender make a difference now, with so many women and a few people of color in the crowded Democratic field?

Required Reading/Viewing:

• Watch the Democratic presidential debate on Thursday, Sept. 12. Take note of how often and what kinds of questions are posed to female candidates or candidates of color compared with white males. Notice who gets interrupted, and who is doing the interrupting. Are the moderators allowing all candidates equal time to respond? Who is getting the most time, and on what topics? What are the pundits discussing after the debate? Take notes, and come to class prepared to discuss whether and how race and/or gender affected media coverage, or not.
• “Many Say the Press Has Been Too Tough on Sarah Palin” by Tom Rosentiel, Pew Research Center
• “Palin Attacks Media for Her Treatment During Election Race” by Ed Pilkington, The Guardian
• “Round 2 - Democratic Presidential Debates -- The Case of Herding Cats” by Powerful Panels
• “Democrats Need to Win Women in 2020. The Debate Showed the Candidates Know That” by Anna North, Vox
• “Puerto Rico Is a Presidential Issue That Must Be Addressed” by Sandra Guzman, Latino USA
• “How Sexist Will the Media's Treatment of Female Candidates Be?” by Margaret Sullivan, The Washington Post
• “Our Presidential Debates Have a Democracy Problem” by Time's Up

Sept. 23: 

The 1619 Project: Too Much or Not Enough?

What's the media's role in shaping national history? Is it significant that the so-called paper of record published this project instead of some other outlet? Was this project a public service or political propaganda?

Required Reading:

• "The 1619 Project" by The New York Times and the Pulitzer Center (full issue)
• Thread: Fascism and White Supremacy by N.K. Jemison via Twitter
• "The 1619 Project and the Far-Right Fear of History" by Ishaan Tharoor, The Washington Post
• "A Brief History of the History Wars" by Rebecca Onion, Slate
• "Setting the Historical Record Straight for the Critics of the New York Times Project on Slavery in America" by Kelley Fanto Deetz, The Conversation
• "The 1619 Project Hurts Blacks" by Robert L. Woodson, The Wall Street Journal (link may require a subscription; handout will be available in class.)
• "The New York Times Surrenders to the Left on Race" by Damon Linker, The Week
• "Opinion: NY Times Launches Propaganda Campaign on Race"by Newt Gingrich, via Fox News

Sept. 30:
Do Non-Traditional Media Outlets Do It Better?
Are non-traditional media better at handling issues of identity, race and gender, or are they making things worse by reinforcing harmful ideas and stereotypes? Let’s talk about social media, blogs, chat groups, non-mainstream outlets, non-news outlets, the late night talkies, comic books and graphic novels.

Required Reading/Viewing:

• “Are We Racist? A Family’s Conversation, Illustrated” by Mira Jacob, The Guardian
• “37 Difficult questions from my Mixed-Race Son” by Mira Jacob, Buzzfeed
• “Is Twitter the Underground Railroad of Activism?” by Feminista Jones, Salon
• “A Conversation on Race,” The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
• Peruse: “Just My Boy” blog by Elle White
• Peruse: “African American News” on Breitbart
• “Equal Rights Amendment,” Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
• “The Thing About Safety” by Ijeoma Oluo
• “Three Great Innovations That Show Gender Fluidity Has Become Mainstream” by Andrea Cheong, Foresight Factory
• “Why I’m Writing Captain America” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
• “I Now Publish #MeToo Stories on my Blog for Free. Here’s Why” by Michael Balter, CJR
• “Latino vs. Hispanic” by Terry Blas, Vox
• “Other: Mixed Race in America” podcast by The Washington Post

Want to read more? You can buy the books (optional):

• “Good Talk” by Mira Jacob
• “Captain America: Vol. 1 Winter in America” by Ta-Neishi Coates

Oct. 7:
Race and the Role of the Media

Has the need to cover a more-diverse world outpaced actual diversification in mainstream newsrooms? How is the media handling stories of Latinx people, indigenous people, Arabic people and immigrants of all nationalities?

Required Reading/Viewing:

• “The Crisis in Covering Indian Country” by Jenni Monet, Columbia Journalism Review
• “Bringing Native American Stories to a National Audience” by Jon Marcus, Neiman Reports
• “This Is What Latinos Think Everyone Got Wrong About El Paso” by Adrian Carrasquillo, Politico
• “Why Don’t Newsrooms Diversity Initiatives Work? Blame Journalism Culture” by Kathleen McElroy, Poynter
• “When Newsrooms Are Dominated by White People, They Miss Crucial Facts” by Jelani Cobb, The Guardian
• “The Modern Newsroom Is Stuck Between the Gender and Color Line” by Tal Abbady, NPR
• “The Race Beat, Revisited” by Jaweed Kaleem, Neiman Reports
• "Boston Globe Names New Editorial Page Editor" by Danny McDonald, The Boston Globe

Oct. 14:
NO CLASS (Columbus Day)

Use today to work on your midterms!

Midterms are due by 11:59 p.m. ET Wednesday, Oct. 16, via email. Remember: For every day that you miss deadline, you lose 20% of your grade for this assignment.

Oct. 21: 

Gendered Language
How many of us have yelled “Hey, Guys!” to a group of friends? Where does the word "hysterical" come from and how do we use it now? Today we’ll take a look at gendered language, and what it means in terms of unconscious bias.

Required Reading/Viewing:

• “From Mouth to Mind: How Language Governs our Perceptions of Gender” by Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine
• “It’s Time for ‘They’” by Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times
• “Guys, Can We Stop Calling Everyone ‘Guys’ Already?” by Julianne Ross, Mic
• “7 Ways to Make Your World More Transgender and Nonbianary Inclusive” by Lily Wasserman, The Odyssey Online
• “The Finkbeiner Test” by Curtis Brainard, Columbia Journalism Review
• “What I’m Not Going to Do” by Ann Finkbeiner, The Last Word on Nothing
• “The Uproar Over Taking ‘Man’ Out of ‘Manhole’” by Shannon Dea, The Conversation
• "#Covertheathlete" video campaign
• "Should Language Be More Gender Neutral?" by Maria Almeida

Oct. 28:
What are we teaching our kids? 

Kids consume mainstream media, too. What messages are they getting about race, sex and gender, and how do those message affect them? With a special guest lecturer: Dan Lothian of Little Park Media, former CNN White House Correspondent.

Required Reading/Viewing:

• “Should Sesame Street Introduce a Racist Muppet?” by Christopher Norris, The Good Men Project:
• “How the New Season of Sesame Street Stands Up to Racial Hatred” by Adam Gabbatt, The Guardian
• “What Are We Teaching Boys When We Discourage Them from Reading Books About Girls?” by Shannon Hale, The Washington Post
• “Highlights Children’s Magazine to Publish Image of Same-Sex Couple for First Time After Controversy” by Justin Wm. Moyer, The Washington Post
• “Watching Gender: How Stereotypes in Movies and on TV Impacts Kids’ Development” by Common Sense Media
• “10 Modern Kids Shows With Awesome Queer Characters” by Terra Necessary, Pride.com

Nov. 4: 

Covering LGBTQ Issues
What does the media get right? What do they get wrong? Where are the pitfalls, and how do we avoid them? We'll also talk about the quick assignment you'll have for next week, since we have no class on 11/11. With special guest lecturer Mason Dunn, director of advocacy for Keshet and the former executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.

Required Reading/Viewing: 

• “Transgender Americans Face Daily Struggles” By Susan Milligan, U.S. News & World Report
• “Boston City Councilor Althea Garrison raises a delicate issue for the media, surrounding gender identity” Beat the Press, WGBH-TV
• “Womyn, Wimmin, and Other Folx” by Mark Peters, The Boston Globe
• “For the Parents of Gender Non-Conforing Kids, a New Approach to Care” by Tey Meadow, The Conversation
• “My Daughter Identified as Transgender. I Was Powerless to Stop Doctors From Harming Her” by “Elaine,” The Daily Signal
• “Transgender Rights and the Great Outdoors” by Mason Dunn, via TEDxBeaconStreet.

Nov. 11:
NO CLASS (Veterans Day)

Use today to work on your assignment

Words are important, but if a picture speaks a thousand of them, then editors, writers, and multimedia journalists need to pay closer attention to the images they use to illustrate their stories. For this assignment, you will find an example of an image used to illustrate an article having to do with race, sex or gender. Write a short (200-300 word) essay explaining why the image that was published was problematic, and offer suggestions for at least two alternative images that might have worked better. Email the essay and links to the article showing the problematic image to me by Nov. 14. This assignment is worth 10 points, and will lose 20% of its value for every day that it is late.

Here's an example:

Image: https://www.linkedin.com/content-guest/article/very-dangerous-place-child-college-louis-m-profeta-md

Describe the problematic image: There are three images used to illustrate this article on the dangers young adults face in college. Two of them are of women, and one is of a child who looks to be about 5 years old.

Why is it problematic? The story leads with the author talking to a room full of men, and the story itself doesn't single out women, yet the illustrations leave the reader with the impression that their daughters are the ones who are too immature and most at risk -- and the ones they should be most afraid of sending off to college. Using an image of an actual child underscores the idea that women are less mature, more vulnerable, and less capable than men. Using these particular images also erases transgender people from the story, even though they face dangers in college as well.

What alternative images would have worked better, and why? It would have been better if the editor had selected images that showed a group of students of different genders, an image showing students of different genders and ethnicities at an off-campus party, an image of a student drinking alone, an image of a piled of used solo cups or drug paraphernalia or an image of many students in caps and gowns at a graduation ceremony. These alternative images would offer a more-inclusive and more-accurate illustration of the dangers described in the article.

Nov. 18: 
Into the Niche

Would creating smaller, niche media outlets better address gender, sex and race issues -- or would they limit understanding, with each one preaching to its own choir? Is the job of the media to reach new audiences and inform new people, or to develop dedicated ones where ideas are confirmed as they are explored? We'll also discuss the project you'll be working on for your final, which will be due to me via email by 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 9. With a special guest lecturer Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker.

Required Reading/Viewing:

• “Black Journalists Should Help Create African American News Network” by Luther Campbell, Miami New Times
• “The Lack of Dedicated LGBTQ Media Is a Disaster” by Katelyn Burns, The Outline:
• Peruse The Washington Post’s “Smart, Fun, unconventional” women-focused product, “The Lily”
• “Cultural Identity,” Basic Black, WGBH-TV
• “Deportation of African and Other Black Immigrants Is Quietly Increasing And No One Is Taking Note” by David Love, Atlanta Black Star
• “Here’s the State of Latino Media Today -- And Where It Goes From Here” by Christine Schmidt, Nieman Lab

Nov. 25:

What's Missing from Media Aimed at Women?

We'll explore how media sites aimed at women have transitioned from the old-school “Women’s Pages” to modern “Women’s Magazines,” and whether the #MeToo movement shaped how the media talks about -- and to -- women. With special guest lecturer Carolyn Libby, producer at WGBH-TV.

• “Shitty Media Men List creator Moira Donegan on the year in #MeToo” By Constance Grady, Vox
• “How #MeToo Is Changing Sex Ed Policies Even In Red States” by Keren Landman, Kaiser Health News/NBC
• “Media Manipulation of Conservative Women Is a Disgrace” by Heather Higgins, Fox News
• “How Media Portrayal Affects Women, and What Gina Davis Is Doing About It” by Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes
• "National Geographic Turns Its Instagram Account Over to Women of Impact" by David Cohen, Adweek
• "As We've Told Women's Stories, They've Changed the World," by Susan Goldberg, National Geographic
• "Former Fox News Staffers Demand to be Released From Their NDAs" by Diana Falzone, Vanity Fair
• Look at the posts on the National Geographic Instagram Account from Wednesday, Oct. 23 through Saturday, Oct. 26
• Peruse the November issue of National Geographic
• Peruse the site: Hello Giggles
• Peruse the site: The Lily
• Peruse the site: Good Housekeeping
• Peruse the site: Womensenews.org
• Peruse the site: https://www.nytimes.com/topic/subject/women-and-girls
• Peruse the site: https://www.vogue.com/magazine

Dec. 2:
Race, Racism, and Politics 

The election cycle started early -- and the issues of race and racism are already stronger than ever before. How do we deal with racism in this particular political climate?

Required reading/viewing

• Watch the Democratic Debate on Nov. 20, hosted by MSBNC and the Washington Post. Be prepared to discuss whether having four female moderators made this debate different from others we've experienced. 
• Twitter thread about the possible impact of Trump hinting at civil war by Michael Harriot, The Root
• “Black Journalists Push Media to Cover ‘Hyper-Racial’ Moment in Politics” by Michael Calderone, Politico
• “‘The Filter… Is Powerful’: Obama on Race, Media, and What It Took to Win” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
• “NYT Top Editor: Trump Racism Headline Was a ‘F*cking Mess’” by Lachlan Cartwright, Maxwell Tani and Lloyd Grove, The Daily Beast
• “Anger at being labeled racist is the new ‘cultural anxiety’ for Trump supporters” by Eugene Scott, The Washington Post
• “Go Back Where You Came From: The Long Rhetorical Roots of Trump’s Racist Tweets” by Colin Dwyer and Andrew Limbong, NPR

FINAL PAPERS DUE by 11:59 p.m. ET 12/9. Remember: Every day you miss deadline you lose 20% of your grade. Don’t make your hard work count for nothing!