Social Media & Feminism in the classroom & beyond
In my recent interview with Ronak Ghorbani (part of a project exploring feminism and social media), she asked me about twitter as a tool of activism and the community of feminists I am connected with by my tweets. Can twitter help facilitate real change? Can it foster authentic relationships?
Yes and yes.
I’m teaching a new course in Women’s Studies this semester, WS 30: Women and Pop Culture, that explores the representation of women and feminists in pop culture while simultaneously examining the relationship between feminism and pop culture. But I didn’t think teaching a course on women and pop culture that merely examined these issues through text and lecture would be complete considering my experiences via social media and everything that is happening as a result of social media.
So, what have I done? I created a class blog that was built by the fabulous Anita Sarkeesian (click on the link, view her portfolio and you’ll see my class masthead in the center), allowing the class to learn hands-on blogging skills using Word Press, create a resource base and an opportunity to share their responses to assigned prompts in addition to optional posts that encourages them to share their observations, insights and experiences. This new class format has exceeded my expectations and the students are engaged and excited. What’s not to like?
