Syllabus for Journalism & Media Studies Courses: Gender & Communication (CMS 303)

With the unbundling of Mass Communication programme in Nigeria, the face of communication education in the country has changed. The programme has transited into a full college/faculty while individual courses have adapted to the change. While several new courses now exist in the seven new departments, some of the courses you used to know before have also taken a new shape. We have done a thorough research on what these courses offer in universities across the world; and we have provided prototype syllabus for students to study ahead. This is also to assist lecturers who might be facing new challenges with several new courses to have an idea of what the syllabus of each course offers.

COURSE COMPACT

Faculty: Communication and Media Studies Department: Journalism & Media Studies

Course Code: CMS 303 Unit(s): 2 Semester: First

Course Title: Gender & Communication

Lecturer: Programme: B.Sc.

(A). BRIEF OVERVIEW OF COURSE

This course is approached from two perspectives: (1) communication about women and men, in terms of language and media depictions of the sexes, and how such language and depiction influence our understanding of biological sex as well as gender as a cultural construction; and (2) communication between men and women, that is, gender communication in a variety of relationships, such as friendships, romantic partnerings, family life, relationships in educational settings, and workplace relationships. The course further discusses the concepts of gender and communication with a view to providing an understanding of the fusion between the two key concepts. It examines the difference between sex and gender, the intersection of gender and culture, and theories of gender studies. It further examines how gender role constructions have impacted media content, exposure, information processing and dissemination, including ways in which social and political meanings attached to gender are communicated in various cultural institutions, practices, and contexts. At the completion of this course, students would have learned the ways in which gender relations are impacted by culture, conventions, policies, communication and media as well as other dynamics in society. Students will also develop an increased awareness of gender communication in their lives and the central role of communication in understanding and enactment of gender in society.

(B). COURSE OBJECTIVES/GOALS

By the end of this course, students will have learned:

1. Definition and explanation of key concepts associated with the study of communication and gender studies

2. Identification and explanation of basic theories, issues, and research trends in gender communication

3. Communication about women and men, in terms of language and media depictions of the sexes

4. How language and media depiction of sexes influence understanding of biological sex as well as gender as a cultural construction

5. Gender communication in a variety of relationships, such as friendships, romantic partnerings, family life, relationships in educational settings, and workplace relationships.

6. The concept of gender from the holistic perspectives

7. The fusion between gender and communication

8. To think critically about how gender is related to various cultural institutions, practices, and contexts

9. To assess critically the ways in which culture shapes gendered communication as well as how gendered communication shapes culture.

10. Understand how gender impacts media landscape and communication process

(C). METHOD OF LECTURE DELIVERY

Lectures
Quizzes
Assignments
Practical Classroom Sessions

(D). COURSE OUTLINE

1. Course Introduction and Overview

Introduction and Historical Context
Understanding basic concepts – sex, sexuality, gender
Gendered Communication
Gender Identity
Gender Landscape in Nigeria

2. Theories of Gender

Meaning of key concepts (theory; theory of gender)
Relevance of theory in gender studies
Theories of gender (feminist theory; post-modern and post-structural theory; standpoint theory; intersectionality; literary theory; queer theory; theories of the body and sexuality; postcolonial theory; psychoanalysis; law and bioethical theory; critical race theory; affect theory; feminist new materialism; performativity, Object Relations Theory, Hegemonic Masculinity, Patriarchal Dividend, Heterosexual Matrix)
Social theories of gender
Biological theories of gender
Theories of gender identity, e.g. biological, social, and cultural
Application of these theories in gender studies

3. Gender and the Media

Introductory overview of gendered media landscape (Print, Broadcast, Film, Music, New Media, Advertising, Public Relations)
Diversity across audiences, content and producers of media
Stereotypes of gender, race, class, and sexual identity in media portrayals
Gender and social construction of reality by the media
Gender and social media

4. Gender Culture

Concept of culture
Cultural meaning of gender
How Culture Shapes Gendered Communication
Gender and contemporary culture
Gendered communication in contemporary culture
Popular culture and gender

5. Gender, Sexuality, Identity and Space

Conceptual introduction: meaning of space and place in gender studies; concepts of spatial exclusion and spatial purification in gendered communication
Relationship between gender, sexuality, space and place
Processes by which sexual and gender norms are spatially constructed.
The importance of gender and sexuality within broader struggles for spatial and social justice
How the spaces we occupy are never empty or neutral, but are imbued with history, identity and meaning
Why certain bodies are understood as ‘naturally’ entitled to certain spaces, whereas others are excluded and positioned as ‘out of place’
Why certain spaces are seen as ‘masculine’ and others ‘feminine’
Rigid ideas about ‘appropriate’ gendered identities and sexualities which have historically resulted in the exclusion of certain groups such as LGBT communities and sex workers
Importance of intersectionality when thinking about the relation between identity, embodiment and place
Complex interplay of sexism, homophobia, transphobia, racism, classism and abelism
How domestic space has traditionally been designed for the nuclear family
How cities shape our sexual lives (what would a non-sexist city look like?)
Key contemporary debates concerning the relation of space, gender and sexuality