JOUR 4250-Aug. 30 Review

I selected Journalism 4250: Race, Gender and Media because it sounded interesting. I wanted a class that allowed lively open discussions on current topics regarding the media. Within the first few minutes of the first class, I figured this would be the case.

Each student individually introduced themselves to the class and said something interesting about themselves. Ms. Everbach made a comment about the diversity of the classroom, especially about the amount of men in the class. I thought the class was pretty diverse, too. Not diverse in just race and gender alone, but also diverse in interests and backgrounds. There were international students, graduate students, undergraduate students and students who had been all around the world writing about what they saw.

After the introductions were over with, Ms. Everbach reintroduced me to Antoine Dodson. Antoine Dodson made internet fame after being interviewed about an apparent rapist climbing through his apartment window and assaulting his sister. Ms. Everbach asked questions about how the media portrayed him and his family. Multiple students mentioned how the news station acted irresponsibly when filming Mr Dodson. I definitely agreed with the students who spoke out. The interview obviously turned a serious situation and made it humorous by casting Mr. Dodson and his family in a negative light. The result? More than 43 million views on YouTube.

The Dodson family discussion made for a great transition into the powerpoints Ms. Everbach then showed the class. We went over what schemas and stereotypes are and defined a few theories. One thing that really interested me was the “cultivation theory” we went over. This theory says that heavy exposure to something affects perceptions on reality. Ms. Everbach made an example of this by relating crime shows and how people who watch a lot of them often think. She said in one survey of people who watched a lot of crime shows, many of them thought the crime rate was much higher than it really was.

To tell you the truth, this only made me think about the things I watch or listen to and how I, in turn, visualize my surroundings. I read and listen to a lot of news dealing with public policy and politics. I know for certain these topics are on my mind quite often, even when I am not actively listening or reading something about it.

This class left me with something to think about after engaging me in intelligent discussions with my fellow classmates and teachers. I have had many 3 hour classes before, but this one went by quick.