Intersectionality of Race and Media Representation in Sitcom
Reflect on the intersectionality of race (Desmond and Emirbayer) and class (Mantsios) of media representation in your favorite sitcom.
For example, Kathy Cacace: https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/tmq/article/view/921
“Sitcom Moms: An Intersectional Case Study of Gender and Labor” introduces readers to theories of intersectionality through the highly ubiquitous figure of the sitcom mom, drawing on examples from popular programs such as Leave it to Beaver, Gilmore Girls.
Fancily Matters, and Fresh Off the Bocl. These varied media representations offer readers examples of motherhood that both challenge and reify popular notions of the ideal mother as white, upper-middle class, and married.
Readers are asked to identify and articulate the multitudinous identities of the on-screen moms they observe, as well as incorporate examples from their own lives to better understand hegemonic representations of the mother through a meaningful, personal engagement with difference and experience.
As a critical analysis, this assignment should NOT summarize/describe the topic of the week but rather analyze and synthesize the material in light of your response to the primary question of this class as listed on the syllabus.
Each paper MUST include at least a comment/analysis on the assigned weekly readings.
