Communication Syllabus Summer 1 2020 PDF

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COMMUNICATION AND GENDER – SUMMER 1 2020 – DR. DONICA O’MALLEY

Northeastern University - Department of Communication Studies COMM 2304: Communication and Gender Online Instructor: Dr. Donica O’Malley Office: 218 Holmes Hall

Mailbox Location: 202A Holmes Hall Email: [email protected]

Office Hours: By appointment via Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate. Textbook: Wood, J. T. & Fixmer-Oraiz, N. (2019). Gendered lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture (13th edition). Cengage. ISBN: 978-1337555883. Other Reading Materials: Accessible via Blackboard. Required Films: • National Geographic. (2017). Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric. 20th Century Fox. • Newson, J. S. (Producer & Director). (2012). Miss Representation. New York, NY: Virgil Films & Entertainment, LLC. • Newsom, J., Anthony, J., Congdon, J. (Producers), & Newson, J. (Director). (2015). The Mask You Live In. New York, NY: Virgil Films & Entertainment, LLC. Note: The three films listed above are REQUIRED for this course. Some films may be available to stream, for free, through the Northeastern Library webpage or YouTube, or through paid streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon, depending on where you are located. Alternatively, you may need to rent them via iTunes or Amazon. Please plan ahead. Not being able to access the film the night before an assignment, quiz, or exam is due is not a valid excuse.

Course Description: In this course, we will engage with and discuss a range of theories and concepts regarding gender, sex, and communication. Through research grounded in feminist gender and communication studies, students will become familiar with the ways in which gender influences communication patterns and how communication influences gendered behaviors in our society. The class will focus on how the very idea of gender has been structured within different modes of communication, such as interpersonal relationships and mass media. Additionally, the class will foreground the role of culture and examine how the many cultures of which we are all part influence gender norms and expectations. Ultimately, students will critique gender’s power within larger social structures and develop an understanding of how gender and sex influence their everyday communicative patterns.

Course Objectives: By the end of this course students should be able to:

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COMMUNICATION AND GENDER – SUMMER 1 2020 – DR. DONICA O’MALLEY

• • • •

understand how social, cultural, psychological, biological, and medical constructs intersect and interact with each other in the production of gender and sex.  analyze how gender influences interpersonal communication in terms of power, language, and relationships. recognize that gender and sex cannot be fully understood without examining their relationships to class, race, ethnicity, religion, ability, sexual orientation, and other markers of identity. identify and analyze problematic mass/social mediated portrayals of gender as well as consider more positive and productive portrayals for the future.

Course Policies: Academic Integrity Northeastern University defines plagiarism as, “using as one’s own the words, ideas, data, code, or other original academic material of another without providing proper citation or attribution. Plagiarism can apply to any assignment, either final or drafted copies, and it can occur either accidentally or deliberately.” The academic integrity policy also covers other forms of cheating, unauthorized collaboration, and misrepresentation or fabrication of information or circumstances presented to instructors. Please review the full policy at: http://www.northeastern.edu/osccr/academic-integritypolicy/ and speak with me if you have any questions. Disability Accommodations If you have a disability that requires accommodations for any aspect of our course, please contact me as early as possible so that we can make appropriate arrangements in conjunction with the Disabilities Resource Center: http://www.northeastern.edu/drc/. Email You may email me with questions pertaining to assignments. I will answer emails during regular working hours (approximately 8am-5pm). Please plan accordingly and allow up to 24 hours for a response (excluding weekends). Questions sent the night before an assignment or an exam is due may not be answered – again, plan ahead. If your questions are lengthy or complicated, please make an appointment to speak with me during virtual office hours instead. All emails should be written in a professional and polite manner, including a specific subject line, clear content/questions, and saluations. Before emailing, please double check that the answer to your question cannot be found in the syllabus or other assignment materials. Schedule & Time Management It is important to approach this class as you would a traditional face-to-face course. While compared to a traditional course there is more flexibility, the time commitment is the same. To be successful, you will need to stay on schedule. I would recommend setting aside regular times each week to complete the work for the course. You are responsible for all assigned readings, films, and lectures. Note: Although I will lecture on each chapter, I cannot cover all of the reading material in lectures. It is important that you do all of the required reading to supplement your understanding—do not rely solely on lectures. Exams will cover all reading material, including material that is not covered in lectures. Exams and Quizzes

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COMMUNICATION AND GENDER – SUMMER 1 2020 – DR. DONICA O’MALLEY

Exams and quizzes are timed and must be completed in one sitting. In other words, you cannot start and stop, or save your work and return later. They must be completed within the time windows and prior to the due dates listed in the syllabus. Exams and quizzes count for a substantial part of your grade, so make sure that you prepare. There will be no re-takes and no make-ups without documented, universityapproved excuses. If you miss a quiz or an exam, you receive a 0 for that assignment. Written Assignments All written assignments must be typed and are expected to meet college-level standards of writing and grammar proficiency. All assignments should adhere to APA guidelines (e.g., Times New Roman, font size 12, double spaced, and 1-inch margins). Assignments will be submitted to Turn-it-in via Blackboard (unless otherwise stated). As such, assignments must be submitted as PDFs. Other document formats will not be accepted. **Please note: If assignments are submitted in other formats than PDF, an automatic 10-point deduction will be made. Late assignments are subject to a 20-point deduction per 24 hours, including weekends, beginning immediately after the due date and time listed for the assignment. For example, if a paper is due at 09.00 pm on Monday, a paper turned in at 09.01 pm receives a 20-point deduction. A paper turned in at 9.00 pm on Tuesday receives a 40-point deduction. Once the deduction is equal to or larger than the points value of the assignment your score automatically becomes 0. It is your responsibility to ensure that assignments are successfully submitted, on time. Turn-it-in will always send a confirmation email when assignments are successfully submitted. If you do not receive a confirmation message, the assignment was not successfully submitted and you must do it again. If you encounter difficulty, try using a different browser, and make sure both your computer and browsers are updated.

Grading table: A: 1000-930 points B+: 899-870 points C+: 799-770 points D+: 699-670 points F: 0-599 points

A-: 929-900 points B: 869-830 points C: 769-730 points D: 669-630 points

B-: 829-800 points C-: 729-700 points D-: 629-560 points

**Please note: Grades are earned, not “given” or “deserved.” Grades will not be debated over email. I provide feedback for all written assignments. If you wish for further detailed feedback on any assignments, please make an appointment with me within one week of receiving a graded assignment. It is inappropriate to contact any instructor and attempt to negotiate for a grade higher than the one that you have earned, based on your performance, after the semester has concluded. I will not respond to such requests in person nor via email. Grades are not rounded or curved (please see the table above). Aside from mathematical errors in calculation, final grades are final.

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COMMUNICATION AND GENDER – SUMMER 1 2020 – DR. DONICA O’MALLEY

Assignments and Points Break Down: Quizzes 150 points (50 points each) – Quizzes will be short, timed at 15 minutes, and consist of 4-5 questions. They are intended to make sure that you are keeping up with the reading, films, and lecture material in between exams. Exams 450 points (150 points each) - There will be three exams, consisting of multiple-choice, truefalse, and short answer questions. Lecture material, reading assignments, and films will be covered. Exams will be timed at 60 minutes. If you have DRC accommodations regarding extra time, please get in touch with me. Virtual Field Observation Assignment 200 points - For this assignment, each student will observe a recorded cultural context of their choosing. Contexts for observation could include a specific event (e.g., a wedding, a funeral, a graduation ceremony, a sporting event, a concert) or a cultural space (e.g., a coffee shop, a gym, a store, a café, a park, a train station). You should take detailed field notes while you observe, paying particular attention to gendered patterns of communication (verbal and nonverbal) and how these are related to the context. Then, you should answer a series of questions in short essay format (see Blackboard for prompts). In your responses, you are expected to apply course concepts and theories, as well as cite the readings. Please see Blackboard for specific assignment guidelines and detailed instructions. All papers must be submitted as PDFs via the appropriate Turn-it-in dropbox located on Blackboard. Plagiarism will result in a grade of zero and an official report will be filed with the University. All papers are due by the assigned due date listed in the course schedule. Please do not email me your papers; these papers will not be accepted. Media Analysis Paper 200 points - For this assignment, you will select one media text for analysis (e.g., a film, a music video, an Instagram post, a song, a television show, a popular magazine, an advertisement) to critically analyze (see Blackboard for requirements regarding media text selection). You will then analyze this content to locate problematic gender messaging, and/or messaging that challenges dominant discourses about gender. The final paper should be 5-7 pages. Please see Blackboard for specific assignment guidelines and detailed instructions. All papers will be submitted to turnitin.com, which is an online anti-plagiarism site capable of detecting non-original work. Plagiarism will result in a grade of zero and an official report will be filed with the University. All papers are due by the assigned due date listed in the course schedule. Please do not email me your papers; these papers will not be accepted.

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COMMUNICATION AND GENDER – SUMMER 1 2020 – DR. DONICA O’MALLEY

COURSE SCHEDULE (The course assumes 4 100-minute class periods per week. All due dates/times are in Eastern Standard Time). Week 1 [Monday, May 4 Friday, May 8] Introduction to Gender and Communication

Introduction to the class Readings: • Textbook Introduction: Opening the conversation  • Blackboard Reading 1  • Textbook Chapter 1: The study of communication, gender, and culture  • Textbook Chapter 2: Theoretical Approaches to Gender Development  Films: Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric Due: Quiz 1 due May 8 by 09.00 pm EST

Week 2 [Monday, May 11 – Friday, May 15] Social Movements, Privilege, & Intersectionality

Readings: • Textbook Chapter 3: The rhetorical shaping of gender (Women)  • Textbook Chapter 4: The rhetorical shaping of gender (Men)  • Blackboard Reading 2  • Blackboard Reading 3  Due: Quiz 2 due May 15 by 09.00 pm EST

Week 3 [Monday, May 18 – Friday, May 22]

Exam 1 (Textbook Chapters 1-4, Blackboard Readings 1-3, lecture, and Gender Revolution film) – The exam will become available on Blackboard

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COMMUNICATION AND GENDER – SUMMER 1 2020 – DR. DONICA O’MALLEY

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Monday, May 18 at 09.00 pm EST. It will become unavailable Tuesday, May 19 at 09.00 pm EST. Readings: • Textbook Chapter 5: Gendered Verbal Communication  • Blackboard Reading 4  • Textbook Chapter 6: Gendered Non-Verbal Communication 

Week 4 [Monday, May 25 – Friday, May 29] Socialization processes

Readings: • Chapter 7: Becoming Gendered  • Blackboard Reading 5  • Textbook Chapter 8: Gendered Education  Films: The Mask You Live In Due: Field Observation Assignment is due Thursday, May 28 by 09:00 pm EST via Blackboard.

Week 5 [Monday, June 1 – Friday, June 5] Media

Exam 2 (Textbook Chapters 5-8, Blackboard Readings 4 & 5, lecture, and The Mask You Live In) – The exam will become available on Blackboard Monday, June 1 at 09.00 pm EST. It will become unavailable Tuesday, June 2 at 09.00 pm EST. Readings: • Textbook Chapter 11: Gendered Media  • Blackboard Reading 6  • Blackboard Reading 7 

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COMMUNICATION AND GENDER – SUMMER 1 2020 – DR. DONICA O’MALLEY

Films: Miss Representation Week 6 [Monday, June 8 – Friday, June 12] Relationships and Organizations

Readings: • Textbook Chapter 9: Gendered Close Relationships • Blackboard Reading 8 • Textbook Chapter 10: Gendered Organizational Communication • Blackboard Reading 9 Due: Media Analysis Paper is due Thursday, June 11 by 09:00pm EST via Blackboard.

Week 7 [Monday, June 15 – Thursday, June 18] Gendered violence & social change

Readings: • Textbook Chapter 12: Gendered power and violence • Blackboard Reading 10 Due: Quiz 3 due June 18 by 09.00 pm EST

Final Exam

Exam 3 (Textbook Chapters 9-12, Blackboard Readings 6 - 10, lecture, and Miss Representation) – The exam will become available on Blackboard Saturday, June 20 at 09.00 pm EST. It will become unavailable on Monday, June 22 at 09.00 pm EST.

Enjoy the rest of your summer! J

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