Stories and Stereotypes: Discourses of Difference

This course focuses on forms of informal communication as the means
by which beliefs, stereotypes, attitudes, values, and prejudices are
transmitted through society.  We will examine many stories
(narratives, jokes, etc.), that people tell and beliefs people hold
about themselves, other people, and also about events.  Using texts,
movies, and music, we will attempt to understand the ways in which
ideas develop about difference and sameness, about one's own
experiences and that of others.  These ideas which sometimes develop
into prejudices, at other times into conspiracy theories, and even
into tolerance and understanding in some instances,  are encapsulated
in the discourses of everyday life.

Students will write papers that total at least 5000 words.  Some of
these will be responses to readings or videos, while others will
involve reporting on observations or personal experience that relate
to ideas of sameness and difference.  The class will devote
considerable time to developing writing skills, including rewriting
selected essays and learning to critique your own writing.

The class will work in groups quite often to discuss ideas and also
to develop writing skills.

The final writing project will be a study and analysis of discourse
that the student has observed and recorded concerning the topics we
discuss in class (difference and sameness, self and other,
conspiracies and realities, etc.).  The discourse and the situation
in which it occurs that form the topic of the paper should be drawn
from the student's campus or home life.

There are no exams.