LACCD Difference between Denotation and Connotation Discussion Paper
What is the difference between denotation and connotation? Please give an example from the video lecture.
2.
What is lexical asymmetry? Give an example from the video lecture.
3.
Identify a male and female term (or see list below and select one pair to analyze). Is the female term equal to the male term?
Explain your opinion in one paragraph or more.
Possible Terms to analyze: (You may also select your own terms)
Barbie / GI Joe
Mr. Incredible / Elastic Girl
Jack / Jackie
Bachelor / Bachelorette
Batman / Catwoman
2) The second discussion (due Feb 28)
After you examine the following photograph, entitled "Our Super Family," please answer one set of questions.
QUESTION SET #1: IS THERE A GENDER CODE IMPLIED IN THIS PICTURE?
What are males doing and wearing versus the females?
Is there a difference in these representations and what do these differences imply about male and female roles within an ideal, "super" family? Also, what sexual partner preference is represented as an ideal, or "super" image?
If this is a symbol for America's ideal family, what ideologies or hidden messages does this sticker suggest about male and female identity in the United States?
QUESTION SET #2: WHO HAS THE MOST POWER IN THIS PICTURE?
You might want to look at the physical composition of the stick figures; who comes first, and who takes the most space? Also, which stick person has the least power in this picture?
You might also want to examine the body positions and even the hands of the stick figures. Do you notice a difference between the male and female hands and how they are located spatially? Why is is this significant, and what does this tell us about their status within the family? Also, if this is a symbol for America's ideal family, what ideologies or hidden messages does this sticker suggest about who is empowered in the United States?
QUESTION SET #3: IS THERE AN IMPLIED ECONOMIC MESSAGE IN THIS PICTURE?
What economic level is this family and how do you know? What education levels? What is the implied economic code about being a "super family"?
Other questions you may want to consider: Can you tell who makes the most money and the least money in this photograph? What specific details lead you to this opinion? (In other words, how is the money maker versus the money-taker represented differently?)
If this is a symbol for America's ideal family, what are its ideologies or hidden messages about economic power or class?
3)Summary& research (due March 4th)
For this assignment, please do the following:
Read Aaron Devor's "Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes" from your textbook, Signs of Life in the USA.
Summarize this article and add a thesis
Make sure to use MLA format for your work, include in-text citation(s) in your summary, and add a separate Works Cited page.
Click the red submit assignment button (at the top right-hand side of this page) and upload your file.This assignment is another opportunity to ask "why" about the signs we see along the way. This time, we will analyze a family car sticker and share our analysis with our peers.The purpose of this assignment is to reinforce your critical thinking skills and to get you used to "reading" signs that reflect social codes.OVERVIEW:
You will be using your super sleuth skills to analyze a photograph, entitled, "My Super Family." After examining its clues, you'll identify hidden social (semiotic) codes about family life in the US and answer a set of questions about the photograph.On the following page, you will post your answers about the implied message(s) of this picture and respond to two peers.INSTRUCTIONS:
After you examine the following photograph, entitled "Our Super Family," please answer one set of questions.
You will post your answer in our upcoming Discussion Activity (and respond to two other peers' posts)
PICTURE FOR SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS:
Note: The image's names may be fuzzy, so here they are for your reference:Dad (flexing figure), Mom (teacher), John (soccer player), Neil (skateboarder), Jessica (girl child), Beaker (dog) and Ruby (dog)YOUR TURN: ARE WOMEN MARKED?After you examine this family car sticker, entitled, "Our Super Family," pick one set of questions to answer. (Reminder: You will post this answer in our upcoming Discussion Activity):
If you'd like further explanation about these sociological theories of gender, check outGender, Sex, and Sexuality (Links to an external site.)Three Theories of GenderThrough this visual, we can see that gender (Links to an external site.) is how people express their identify through socially constructed norms. It is not the same as their sex, a binary of male / female that is assigned to people based on their genitals.In the past, people often conflated gender with sex. As a result, we were usually given only two choices for our gender identities: Male or Female. This is called a gender binary construct, and we now understand that this either / or choice ignores other possibilities for gender expression.Some of these possibilities are now represented in popular social media sites like Facebook:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CquRz_cceH8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkE4LtcCohk