Assignment:
Essay Requirements
Topic/Theme: Stereotypes: Identify in media a salient and specific social/cultural stereotype related to your meta-major or desired career. Stereotypes most often relate to representations of people (therapists) but at times we also have stereotypical representations of place (the therapist's office).
You will do a cause and effect analysis of a media (mis)representation (see the process below).
What are the socio-cultural causes of the stereotype? What are the historical causes of it? How is the stereotype created and perpetuated by media?
Identify specific films and television shows that feature the chosen career.
Is this a positive or negative stereotype? What are the effects of this stereotype on individuals, on the profession, and on American society/culture more generally?
How does pop-culture (e.g. advertisement, television, or movies) contribute to the stereotype (creating, promulgating, resisting, subverting, etc.)
Example career topics include nurse, doctor, fireman, engineer, teacher, writer, police officer, etc. You may also choose to focus on a stereotype related to the populations your career serves; for example, if I am interested in a career in social work, I might look at representations of foster children, welfare recipients, the mentally ill, etc. You might also consider professional settings and their depiction in media: e.g. law firms, prisons, advertising firms, etc.
You may also choose to compare and contrast the representation in different time periods focusing on how the representation has evolved or changed over time: for example, the evolving representation of male nurses or female cops.
1100-1500 words (4-5 pages) excluding works cited
Minimum of three secondary sources, including at least one source accessed from TCC library catalog or databases and one source in the form of an interview.
MLA format for presentation (typed, double-spaced, 12-pt. Times New Roman font, 1" margins) and source documentation (in-text citations and Works Cited page)