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Women's Body Image in Popular Culture focuses on the representations
of women's body image in art and the media and shows how these representations
affect behavior. Topics covered include:
Women's changing body image in art and
the media
How media shapes behavior through internalization
How the body images of different racial and
ethnic groups are represented in the media
Controlling images of women in sports, arts,
entertainment, and the fashion industry
Consequences of socio-cultural influences
on women's body image: dieting, eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, etc.
Realities and limits of healthy women's bodies
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The goal of this course is to challenge students to analyze how the
influx of images from mass media serves to construct gender images, particularly
women's body image.
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The course is taught in a discussion/lecture format and emphasizes visual
illustration of women's changing body image over time. Students'
involvement as discussion participants and discussion leaders in the class
is important.
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Course activities include short papers, a group project, and an individual
creative project.
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This interdisciplinary course is appropriate for majors in humanities,
art, social sciences, education, and nursing as well as for any interested
students.
(For humanities' and social science students, the course is listed
for humanities' credit.)
