Course introduction

The University of Strathclyde Glasgow has developed this course on “Gender Representation in the Media.”  This course will help you develop essential skills for analyzing the media from a gender perspective.

Nowadays, feminist issues are more than ever popular in the media. However, research still consistently suggests the under-representation of women in the media, especially amongst marginalized groups. So, this course will introduce you to substantial gender issues. You’ll explore female representation in arenas from news to sports to feature films, and find out why equal representation still needs much to deal with.

Furthermore, you’ll also consider what can be done to offer alternative depictions of women to the mainstream media.

Course quick details:

Course developer: University of Strathclyde

Language of instruction: English

Course provider: Future Learn

Delivery mode: Self-paced

Subjects: Creative Arts and Media

Price: Free with limited access, Monthly Subscription: $27.99 or One-time purchase: $59/one-off payment
Free course access expires 12 Sep 2022

Duration: 7 weeks (4 hours/week)

Course instructors:

1. Karen Boyle

Karen is a Professor of Feminist Media Studies and the author of #MeToo, Weinstein, and Feminism (Palgrave, 2019).

2. Rachael Alexander

Dr. Alexander is a Research Assistant in Journalism and Teaching Assistant in English Studies at the University of Strathclyde.

3. Petya Eckler

She is a senior lecturer at U of Strathclyde. Dr. Eckler teaches journalism and health communications.

Learning objectives:

By the end of the course, you would be able to:

• Understand key concepts for studying gender in the media, with a certain focus on how we understand gender in connection to other structural inequalities, including race, age, sexuality, and disability.
• Develop crucial skills for analyzing contemporary media texts through a gendered lens.
• Discover how the approaches considered in this course apply in your own regional contexts.
• Investigate how feminist and women’s organizations have struggled to challenge and change mainstream media representations.

Who can enroll?

This course is of special importance for anyone who wants to be able to engage with media more meaningfully, or anyone who wishes to learn more about gender inequality, female media representation, media studies, feminist activism, and feminist analysis.

Course syllabus and content

What topics will you cover?

It can be challenging to research gender and the media. You will first create a critical toolkit for considering and analyzing the media, which will include:

• Important terms and definitions
• In both fact and fiction, media monitoring

They’ll use your critical toolkit once you’ve developed it. You’ll look at how women are portrayed in 5 key areas:

1. Politics
2. Violence
3. Sports
4. Sexualization and body image
5. Feminist media and digital media

These different topics will allow you to understand the relationship between the media and gender, especially in connection to other structural inequalities, including race, age, sexuality, and disability.

Throughout this course, the teachers will ask you to contribute examples of the media where you are relating to these topics.

 Course benefits

• Shareable certificate (only for self-funded candidates)
• 100% online

How to apply?

You can apply for this course by completing the enrollment in the given link.

Apply Now

To learn more about University of Strathclyde Free Online Course on ‘Gender Representation in the Media’, please visit FutureLearn’s website.

You may also be eligible for these opportunities:

• Free Online Course on ‘Understanding Modern Business & Organizations’
• Princeton Arts Fellowships for Outstanding Artists ($88,000 Stipend available)
• TRACE Investigative Reporting Fellowship for journalists (fully-funded)
• Maxwell King PhD Scholarship at Monash University, Australia