1. Participation (15%)
Regular attendance at both lectures and tutorials is essential, and attendance will be taken at tutorials. Students are expected to arrive before classes and tutorial sessions begin. Late entries as well as early exist are disruptive, and will be counted as absences.

Participation includes contributing to class and/or tutorial discussion, respectful listening, and a commitment to sharing the learning process with others.

Participation Guidelines
- students are expected to come to class preared to discuss the assigned readings & screenings
- every effort should be made to be sensitive to social, cultural and economic difference (eg. class, race, etc.)
- differences in education, social and political awareness should also be respected (no sneering or whispering please)
- attentive listening is a must
- respectful language; this includes not presuming to speak for others
- violence of any kind will not be tolerated, although verbal confrontation is allowed if thoughtful and respectful; in disagreements, use first-person statments and identify your views as your own
- you are responsible for understanding what is expected: assigned readings, due dates for assignments, etc.
- grievances should be brought to the Instructor

2. Tutorial Co-Presentation (10% per term - total 20%)
You and another tutorial member will be expected to make presentations on a topic that is relevant to the week's readings. Try to choose a topic of special interest or expertise. ("Expertise" here means fascination with, addiction to, collection of, etc.) You may also choose a topic that you are interested in learning about.

Co-presentation: Although each member will present individually, the presentations should be coordinated to form a coherent whole. Preparation in advance and consultation with each other are therefore necessary.

Preparation: Ask yourselves the following questions
- how does the specific topic I'm discussing relate to the assigned readings for the day?
- can this topic be covered in ten minutes?
- do the presentations complement each other?
- has the topic been researched using both mainstream and alternative resources?
- have you built into the presentation some catalyst for class discussion?

Length: five-to-ten minutes. A tip: one page of 12-point double spaced type takes about 2 minutes to read. Avoid summarizing assigned texts, although your presentation may address or critique them. Indicate the relevance of your topic to the assigned readings. Your presentation should be well-organized and practiced for length.

Hand-Out:
- have you prepared a relevant one-page hand-out? (eg. information, bibliography, recommended films, recordings or web-sites, significant dates, etc.)
- accuracy is essential, as well as formal bibliographical citations

3. Fall Essay (15%) - Due Date: Oct. 25, 2004.

Length: maximum 2000 wds.

Late Penalty: 2% per day including weekends.

Using the critical tools that you have learned so far - the three-pronged method of cultural studies, as well as the semiotic terminology introduced by Bignell and the concept of representation as per Stuart Hall - analyse at least three advertisements for the same product over at least three decades.

Examples: Chevrolet (or any make of car), shampoo, Tampax, Coca-Cola, Ivory soap, Tide, Aspirin, television, kitchen stoves, frozen dinners, etc.

You may use ads from a variety of media (eg. magazines, billboards, TV commercials, trade journals). Indicate how the ads have changed (or not) over time in terms of their conditions of production, textual strategies, and address to different race, class and gender groups. Be sure to investigate audience reception of the ads as well; you will need a range of research methods, including the internet as well as books and articles, or even personal interviews.

You must document all sources in proper scholarly style.

Always give your essay a title, support your arguments with examples, use proper scholarly format for documentation (if you don't know what that means, visit the writing lab), and double-space with generous margins. There is no need for an elaborate presentation (plastic covers, etc.); a simple paper clip in the corner is fine.

Length: 1500-2000 wds.

Late Penalty: 2% per day including weekends.

With regard to a specific cultural medium such as film, popular literature, or any of the variety of modes of television, discuss (including historical development) the conventional modes of representation of ONE of the following figures: 1) woman or ethnic authority figure 2) leading man/love interest 3) action hero 4) C.E.O. 5) comic 'sidekick' 6) the inter-racial/inter-cultural scandalous affair 7) protagonist of teen horror. You should use at least two examples of the figure you have chosen (ie. two different movies, TV shows rock videos, etc.)

When you have outlined the contemporary conventions of representation, giving specific examples, compare and contrast present modes of representation with at least two other examples from the past. Are there significant changes or has the figure been represented in more or less the same ways over time? What are some of the factors (social, economic, etc.) at work in either continuities or changes? What are some of the different views you have encountered in your research?

This essay requires that you employ the three-pronged approach of cultural studies - context, text, reception - as well as the skills of analysis developed in the course. It also requires a variety of forms of research, including traditional scholarship (library), the internet, and your own experience (watching TV, browsing the magazine racks, listening to radio, whatever). All sources must be properly documented.

Always give your essay a title, support your arguments with examples, use proper scholarly format for documentation (if you don't know what that means, visit the writing lab), and double-space with generous margins. There is no need for an elaborate presentation (plastic covers, etc.); a simple paper clip in the corner is fine.

5. Two Term Tests (Dec. & Apr) (total 30%)

These two term tests will cover all the materials required in the course, including readings, screenings, lectures and tutorial discussions.

Top/ Course Description/ Reading Schedule/ Other Courses/
Institute for Women's Studies and Gender Studies/ Kay Armatage