Gender and Communication

Course Description

COURSE OVERVIEW. Explores the study of how gender shapes and is shaped by communication across interpersonal, organizational and public contexts. Examines how people express, interpret and negotiate gender in everyday interaction, media environments and/or institutional settings. Explores both stability and change in gendered expectations, roles and identities. Course content and discussions may touch on differing perspectives or points of disagreement for purposes of understanding communication dynamics surrounding gender. RELEVANCE AND APPLICATION. Supports career pathways in media, public service, advocacy, education, law, nonprofit work and other community-facing professions by examining communication as grounded in diverse communities and lived experiences. Enhances preparation for careers involving interpersonal interaction, public communication, education, health, social work, policy development, human relations, consulting, advocacy or management. Builds recognition of how communication norms vary across individuals, cultures and contexts, which is an essential competency for workplace effectiveness, civic participation and collaborative problem-solving. DEEPENING UNDERSTANDINGS. Explores how communication research addresses biological sex alongside cultural understandings of gender identity and gender roles and how each may influence interaction across different contexts. Highlights that everyday assumptions about gender and communication can vary across individuals, cultures and/or historical periods. Encourages examination of multiple scholarly perspectives on how gender-related patterns emerge, are perceived or are reinforced through communication, without prescribing a single interpretive lens. TOPICS AND THEMES. May include study of gendered language, voice and nonverbal expression; feminist and critical perspectives on communication and gender; communication across friendship, romantic, family and workplace relationships; leadership, authority and collaboration in professional settings; media portrayals of femininity, masculinity and gender diversity; intersections of gender with race, sexuality, class, nationality, religion and/or ability; communication surrounding health, body image, caregiving or identity disclosure; historical and cross-cultural perspectives on gender roles and expectations; analysis of humor, conflict, persuasion or storytelling through a gendered lens. Course material may reference real-world cases involving disagreement or controversy as relevant to understanding communication dynamics. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: WGST 420/COMM 420.

Code

COMM 420

Credits

3

Subject

COMM

Programs That Include This Course

• Minor Minor in Health Humanities
• Undergraduate Certificate Undergraduate Certificate in Communication Leadership and Conflict Management