In this seven week seminar, we will study the historical and contemporary policing of bodies by US media and state apparatuses. We will discuss how the constructed public persona on TV and on social media can be read both as a result of conditioning under state control and a social survival tool. We will look at how politics have unfolded on television during the Jan 6 commission insurrection hearings, examine the SCOTUS legal decision on abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson, and discuss the onset of trolls and incels as policing entities. We will also explore historical and contemporary methods of artistic resistance to state and media control. These ideas will be framed in part by Giorgio Agamben’s work on the ancient concept of a political body vs. bare life and Saidiya Hartman’s work on how Black women/femmes survive violence, surveillance, and conditional citizenship. Based on readings, lectures, discussions and screenings, students will design and execute a short lecture series around these topics, to air in 2023 on GNAT cable access television.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will develop critical thinking and research tools in media studies.
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Course Level: 2000-level
Credits: 2
M 8:30AM - 12:10PM (2nd seven weeks)
Maximum Enrollment: 12
Course Frequency: One time only
Categories: All courses , Film and Video , Fully In-Person , Updates
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