CMST 13 - Gender and Communication

Transfer Status

CSU/UC

Unit(s)

3.00

• Lecture: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)
• Total: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)

Course Description: This course introduces students to gender-related communication, integrating theory and practice in order to heighten awareness of the importance of gender as a communication variable. Emphasis on perception, verbal, nonverbal similarities and differences are examined in interpersonal, small group, and public settings.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Distinguish between gender and sex as social constructs and explain their impact on communication behaviors.
2. Evaluate how verbal and nonverbal communication are affected by gender.
3. Apply theoretical approaches and analytical tools to identify and explain gendered phenomena.
4. Describe the influence of gender on communication in a variety of contexts such as family, the workplace, and public contexts.
5. Analyze gendered norms to examine how such expectations empower and/or disempower both women and men.
6. Examine historical and current movements that relate to sex and/or gender and explain how these movements affect gendered cultural expectations and interactions.
7. Analyze the relationship between gender, power and violence.

Topic Titles / Suggested Time Topic

Lecture

1. Class Activities
2. Discussion
3. Homework: Students are required to complete two hours of outside-of-class homework for each hour of lecture
4. Lecture
5. Multimedia Presentations
6. Reading Assignments

1. Exams/Tests
2. Quizzes
3. Oral Presentation
4. Homework
5. Class participation
6. Written Assignments

Reading Assignments

1. Read the textbook chapter on gendered verbal communication and come prepared to discuss the difference between "rapport" and "report" talk (i.e. feminine vs. masculine communication styles) and to provide specific examples of each.
2. Using the Butte College online databases, research at least three periodicals that report about gendered prescriptions/roles from a culture other than the United States. Come prepared to discuss your findings and how they relate to anthropological theories of gender.

Writing Assignments

1. Choose an artifact from pop culture (e.g. advertisement, movie, webpage, song, music video, etc.) and use at least four course concepts (e.g. nonverbal elements, stereotypes of men and women, etc.) to critically analyze its gendered components (e.g. Does the artifact perpetuate or challenge gendered stereotypes?) Conclude with a discussion of the implications of your findings. The paper should be 3 – 4 pages in length, typed and double-spaced. Cite and reference per current APA guidelines.
2. Gender (sometimes bender) Smile Experiment: Depending on the sex and/or gender with which you identify, conduct a smile experiment by breaking the non-verbal expectation for that gender. Record the results and analyze the consequences in a 2-3 page essay, reflecting both on the act of smiling and the expectations and consequences of gendered non-verbal communication. If you incorporate outside sources, be sure to cite and reference per current APA guidelines.

Out-of-Class Assignments

1. Watch the documentary “Killing Us Softly IV” and answer a list of questions related to the video (i.e. Why did Kilbourne begin this video series? What are the consequences of the objectification of women and their bodies?).
2. His/Her Timeline: Read Chapter 3: The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender--Women’s Movements in America and Chapter 4: The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender—Men’s Movement in America. With a partner create a timeline including the important dates and descriptions from both movements. Timelines can be created electronically or hand-made. They will be posted in the classroom! Creativity is key! Be sure to include images, color, etc. Timelines will be graded on content and originality. NOTE: The purpose of this assignment is to see if there are any interesting connections between both movements, to notice if each affected the other.

Wood, Julia, T. (2019). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender and Culture. Cengage, 13th edition. 978-1337555883.

Marnel Niles Goins Joan Faber McAlister Bryant Keith Alexander. (2021). The Routledge Handbook of Gender and Communication. Routledge, 1st. 9780367622497.

Teri Kwal Gamble & Michael W. Gamble. (2020). The Gender Communication Connection. Routledge, 3rd. 9780367421649.

Other Learning Materials

Still Killing Us Softly IV: Advertising's Image of Women [Video]. (2010). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge Documentary Films.

Tough Guise 2 [Video]. (2013). Northampton, MA: Media Education Foundation.

Miss Representation [Video]. (2011). San Francisco, CA: Ro*Co Films Educational.

Communication Studies