Understanding  Beauty  Pageants  Race,  Gender,  Na,onal  Iden,ty  and  the  Media    

Welcome!  

•  I   am   Dr.  Manu   Avilés-­‐San3ago   and  I’ll   be   your   instructor   for   this  session.    –  How  to  reach  me?  

•  I’m   very   accessible   and   respond   to   e-­‐mails  preCy  quick.  –  maviless@asu.edu  

•  If   you   want   to   have   a   face-­‐to-­‐face  mee3ng,  we  can  definitely  arrange  that.    –  My   office   is   located   at   the   Polytechnic  

Campus  (Santa  Catalina  Hall).    »  But…  

•  …we   can   meet   at   a   more  convenient   loca/on   if   it   works  be4er  for  you!  

Why  a  course  on  Beauty  Pageants?    

•  You  probably  wondered  about  that   ques3on   before   enrolling  in  this  course  –  But  why  not?    

•  Beauty   pageants   have   become   an  intrinsic   part   of   popular   culture  during   the   last   century,   then   why  ignore  it?  AQer  all,  pageants  are:    – Widely  discussed  by  the  media.    –  A  hot   topic   of   conversa3on   among  the  masses.  »  i.e.   Steve  Harvey’s   announcing  the  wrong  Miss  Universe?    

–  Highly  cri3qued  by  some  scholars.  –  Celebrated  by  a  global  fan  base.    

–  Therefore,  why  not?    

What  will  you  obtain  from  this  course?  

•  AQer  taking  this  class,  you  will  be  intellectually   equipped   to   look  cri3cally  at  beauty  pageants  –and  other   mass-­‐mediated   popular  culture  events-­‐  as  a  site  on  which  narra3ves   of   race,   gender   and  na3onal   iden3ty   take   center  stage.    –  We  will   be   approaching   the   topic  through   several   case   study  analysis  of  the  following  pageants:  •  Miss  America  (Na3onal)  •  Mi s s   Un i v e r s e /M i s s   Wo r l d  (Interna3onal)  

•  N u e s t r a   B e l l e z a   L a 3 n a  (Transna3onal)  

•  RuPaul  Drag  Race  (Queer)  

How  are  you  going  to  be  evaluated?  

•  I  have  designed  this  course  in  a  very  simple  way.  –  The  course  is  divided  in  seven  modules.  

•  Each   module   contains   its   own   set   of   readings,   videos   &  assignments.    

–  You  will  have  two  weekly  assignments.  •  Quizzes  &  Media  Cri3ques.  

–  Your   deadlines   will   always   be   every   Sunday,   by  midnight.  

–  You  will   be  engaging   in   ac3ve  discussion  and  debate  on  our  Facebook  Group.    

•  Let’s  take  a  look  at  the  grading  criteria  in  detail!  

Quizzes  [45%]  

•  Every  module   contains   a   quiz   that   will   evaluate  your   comprehension   of   the   assigned   readings  (available  on  Blackboard).    –  There  will  be  a  quiz  for  each  module.    – Ques3ons  will  vary  between  mul3ple  selec3ons,   true  or  false,  and/or  matching.    

– Once   completed,   you   will   automa3cally   receive   a  score  for  the  quiz;  that  score  will  be  recorded  on  the  Grade  Center  on  Blackboard.    

•  Some  Important  Guidelines  about  quizzes:    

Guidelines  for  the  Quizzes  •  Make  sure  you  are  using  a  compa3ble  browser.      •  Make  sure  you  have  a  reliable  and  fast  Internet  connec3on    

•  Minimize  interrup3ons    •  Quizzes  are  Force  Comple3on/One  ACempt/Not  Timed.    •  Avoid  mul3tasking    •  Stay  ac3ve  in  the  test  window    •  Keep  your  computer  on  and  awake    •  Avoid  the  Back  buCon  and  delete  key    

Media  CriGques  [45%]  •  A   media   cri3que   is   a   wriCen   response   to   the  assigned  media  text.    –  Examples   of   media   texts   are   documentaries,   beauty  pageants,  films,  and  photo  essays.    

•  You   will   have   to   observe,   explore   and  problema3ze   the   assigned   media   text   using  concepts   and   theories   discussed   in   that  module  and  write  a  media  cri3que.    

•  Even   though   each   cri3que   will   have   its   own  prompt   ques3on   and   instruc3ons,   it   should  follow  the  following  general  criteria:      

Guidelines  for  the  Media  CriGques  –  The   length   should   be   500   words   –or   more,   never   less-­‐   (one   full   page  

single  space).    –  You   should   put   the  media   text   you  will   be   cri3quing   (i.e.   documentary,  

photo   essay,   etc.)   into   conversa3on   with   concepts   and/or   theories  discussed  in  that  learning  module,  par3cularly  those  in  the  readings.    

–  You  will  have  to  incorporate  those  concepts  into  your  cri3que.    •  Important:  It  is  not  just  men3oning  the  concept(s);  you  have  to  use  them  to  make  

your  argument.  Your  argument  can  be  suppor3ng  or  challenging  the  ideas  of  the  author  vis-­‐à-­‐vis  the  media  text.    

–  Correct  grammar  is  a  must.  Proofread!    –  You  will  have  to  submit  your  media  cri3que  through  the  Submission  Link  

that  will  be  available  in  each  of  the  course  modules  on  Blackboard.    –  If  you  do  not  submit  your  media  cri3que  by  the  deadline,  Blackboard  will  

register  it  as  a  zero.    •  Do  not  wait  for  the  very  last  minute!    

–  A   rubric  with   a   score-­‐based   feedback  will   always   be   included  with   your  grade.    •  If  necessary,  I  will  add  comments  to  the  rubric  sheet.    

ParGcipaGon  (10%)  •  This  is  an  online  course;  therefore,  your  presence  and   ac3ve   par3cipa3on   online   is   crucial   to   your  success.    

•  Par3cipa3on   online   does   not   mean   only  exchanging   messages   with   the   instructor,  answering   the   quizzes   and/or   comple3ng   the  assignments  online.    –  In   a   digital   environment,   par3cipa3on   means   ac3ve  involvement  with  the  class  material.    

•  For   that   reason,   I   have   a   created   a  Facebook  Group.    

Guidelines  for  ParGcipaGon  •  Being  part  of   the  Facebook  Group  is  mandatory  for  this  course.    

•  In   the   group   you   will   have   the  opportunity  to  par3cipate  in  polls,  post   comments,   share   interes3ng  links   and   engage   in   meaningful  debates   concerning   the   modules  of  learning.    –  Important:   Do   not   limit   your  par3cipa3on  to  the  “Like”  buCon.  If  you   want   to   succeed   in   this   class  and   ob ta i n   good   g r ade   i n  par3cipa3on,   be   sure   that   you   a)  post;  b)  comment;  c)  share;  d)  vote;  e)  and  like.    

How  am  I  evaluaGng  parGcipaGon?    •  To  make  things  easier,  I’ve  created  this  model  to  illustrate  how  I  will  be  evalua3ng  your  engagement  in  the  Facebook  Group:  

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How  to  approach  this  course?  •  Want  to  be  successful  in  this  course?  It  Is  not  a  difficult  task  

if  you  follow  these  rules:    •  Access  Blackboard  and:  

–  Read  the  ar3cle(s)  –  Answer  the  quiz  –  Watch  the  media  text  –  Write  the  media  cri3que  

•  Visit  the  Facebook  Group  and:  –  Post  original  content  –  Share  links  –  Comment  on  posts  –  Vote  on  the  polls  –  Like