You will work in a small group (3-4 members) and conduct a feminist discourse analysis, write a group paper and present your findings to the class. This project should connect with the course readings: try to expand upon an idea/concept/insight you are reading about in the course and create a project that analyzes discourses related to that topic.

roject Examples

Example feminist research question 1: What messages do feminine hygiene product advertisements send to women about their bodies? Your group could collect advertisements from four different advertising contexts (women’s magazines, social media, TV commercials and product packaging that advertise feminine hygiene products )– pads, tampons, douches, yeast infection medicine. What do these images in the ads suggest? What are common themes? What do the words and visual images tell readers? What messages do these say about women’s bodies? Conversely, you could also collect 5 advertisements from men’s magazines such as GQ, Maxim, Playboy, etc. that are selling masculine hygiene products. What do you find? What are the words, visual images? What do these differences (if any) imply about women’s bodies in contrast to men’s? How does this implication reinforce gender difference and subordination? Be sure to attach the ads to your paper.

Example feminist research question 2: How is heterosexuality represented in the media? Then, your group could go into the card section at your local grocery or drug store and peruse the love and anniversary cards, look at advertisements on TV commercials and magazines, watch sitcoms, soap operas or TV dramas, go observe in the mall or in a park. Or you could examine media that targets particular racial-ethnic groups. What do you notice about the different media contexts? How many performances of heterosexuality do you see? What is the script? What does this mean for individuals who do not identify as heterosexual?

Example feminist research question 3: What messages do women receive about cross-cultural friendships? Then, your group could interview 4 women (preferably of different ages, social classes, ethnicities, racial backgrounds, sexualities) about their experiences with friendship. Or you could review academic literature, course syllabi, popular culture, literature and online blogs and see what they say about women’s cross-cultural friendships. What is included in the discourse? What is excluded? (ie, what is being talked about and what is not) What themes do you notice? What effects do you think these have?

Presentation Guidelines: As a group, you will give a short 3 minute presentation to the class (online) and describe your research question and the results of your discourse analysis.

Group Paper Guidelines: 6-10 Pages. As a group, you will collaboratively write a 6 -10 page group paper using Shared Google Docs. You must use GOOGLE DOCS to write the paper. Each member can log in and work on the paper; either simultaneously or at different times. Collaborative writing requires that everyone work together and contribute equally to refine and finish the paper. GOOGLE DOCS allow you to share the paper with one another and the instructor. Email your instructor an invitation to mslaska@sdsu.edu. FYI—Google Docs tracks and time-stamps all work by each user; your instructor will be able to view this. The paper should “read” as a singular paper; while each group member will contribute uniquely—be sure to collectively edit and revise so that it “flows.”

Group Paper Grading Rubric (15 points):

Accurate and Thorough (8 points)

• Does the paper address all the prompts?
• Does it include references and connections to ideas in the textbook and course readings?
• Does it show comprehension of the key concepts of selected texts?

Grammar and Structure (7 points)

• Are paragraphs and sentences logical units of thought?
• Are statements clear and easy to understand?
• Are spelling, grammar and diction correct?
• Do you include a bibliography?
• Do you cite specific examples in text?