AFRC249 - RACE AND THE MEDIA

This course considers the theory and practice of miniority representation in the public domain: film, theater, television, music, advertising and museums. How has "minority" been defined - who is included and why? How have notions of "minority" status been constructed in our public languages and what may be the impact of those images on both minority and non-minority populations? Our focus will be on representation and how it may work to marginalize or empower members of minority populations. While we will concentrate primarily on ethnic minorities, we will also consider how these same issues might affect sexual minorities. Our discussions will be supplemented by film and video examples. While the course will be theoretically situated in communication, it will consider how the perspectives of anthropology, feminism, and literary and ethnic studies have affected our understanding of public representations.