Fall 2008

WGS 322 • RACE, CULTURE, AND MIGRATION- W

Course Description

We will review theoretical developments in the sociological study of 'race' and cultural theories of representation to better understand the production of gendered, racial and class differences. Throughout, attention will be placed on forms of popular culture (film, music, internet) and black cultural production to question how such practices are shaped by migrations, particularly those within the African diaspora. Emphasis will be placed on the representations of women in cultural texts and on the ways in which women contest and affect the means of representation. This course is part of the DIIA Second Life pilot project. One session will be conducted in this on-line forum during which students will explore questions of the body, mobility, gender and racialization on the Internet. This course places significant emphasis on gender as an analytical category. Students will be encouraged to develop critical reading and analytical skills through the examination of topics such as masculinities, transnational motherhood and gendered violence.

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