Syllabus Spring 2022
ANTH/SOCY 2410: "Stigma"
Spring 2022
Viewing Stigma Through Popular Culture
Contact Information:
Office: 224g AC Campus
Required Meetings: T/TH 8:30-10:20
Email: laurie.greene@stockton.edu (please include course name in subject line)
Office Hours:by appointment on ZOOM at your request. TEXT me for an appointment at 609.214.6596 (cell)
Room: Ac Campus 212
Handing in work:
You will be required to hand in your work via email to laurie.greene@stockton.edu. Please make sure that you indicate "Stigma: Assignment" in the subject line. Work should be handed in saved in a word format (no PDFs) with shared access (I have permission to edit). I will return your work in two formats so that you are more likely to be able to access the comments easily.
“Stigma”: Culture and Marked Identity in the United States
Cultural value systems in every society rely on sets of mutually defining terms -- for example, normal/abnormal, able-bodied/disabled, heterosexual/homosexual, white/non-white -- that largely determine local attitudes of acceptance or ostracism regarding particular categories of persons. Focusing on social stigma allows us to understand how specific cultural value systems affect our most intimate senses of self, contribute to our very notions of personhood, and inform the way we communicate and engage with others in the world.
Stigma theory speaks broadly to the nature of the social relationships that create “marked” categories of persons, regardless of which particular attributes are devalued. In this seminar we look both at theory and at particular cases of stigmatized persons and groups, as attention to the particularities of a given stigma keys us in to the cultural values that create and support it.
The theoretical centerpiece of this course is Erving Goffman’s 1963 study Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. We will read this text closely to appreciate Goffman’s insights, and attempt throughout the semester to update the language he uses to convey his points by applying his model to more recent historical and ethnographic case studies of stigmatized persons and groups.
Our focus will be on the range and efficacy of the various strategies available for managing and/or defying stigma. Since stigmas do change over time, identifying strategies that have been effective in creating social change is also a primary focus of the course. We will explore this principally by looking at the ways in which stigmatized groups have and continue to be portrayed in the popular media and entertainment industries in the United States. We will also explore attempts within groups to combat stigmatization and its effects through strategies like education, humor, language and other acts of defiance and revitalization.
You will be required to identify and observe a stigmatized population in our community and keep a journal about the things you have learned about this population throughout the semester. This will be done through the following methods of data collection and analysis.
1. Through observation
a. This may come from a combination of personal experience and reflection, and by observing images of this population in the media and in popular culture
2. Through Ethnographic Analysis/Fieldwork
a. Through interviews with members of this population and/or those who work with this population as “wise ones” or family members or by volunteering at a site where these members are served.
3. Through application of the concepts and knowledge introduced and discussed in class.
Journals will be turned in at the end of the term for a grade. This grade will be based on how thoroughly you observed and researched the population you have chosen, and how well you have applied the concepts and analysis which are introduced in class. Information learned through your observations will be compiled into an "empathy project" presented in class as a "poster session".
Texts (in order of syllabus): (all texts are available online USED for cheap!)
· Goffman, Erving. 1963. Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Simon &
Schuster.
Whiting, John W.M. 1985. Everyone here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on
Martha’s Vineyard.Harvard university Press.
Schuster.
Whiting, John W.M. 1985. Everyone here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on
Martha’s Vineyard.Harvard university Press.
· Murphy, Robert F. 1990. The Body Silent: the Different World of the Disabled. W.W. Norton
Press.
Press.
· Bogdan, Robert. 1988. Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and
Profit. University of Chicago Press.
Sontag, Susan. 1977. Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors. Picador Press.
Profit. University of Chicago Press.
Sontag, Susan. 1977. Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors. Picador Press.
· Lorde, Audre. 1990. The Cancer Journals. (Special Edition). Aunt Lute Books.
· Dreger, Alice Domurat. 2004. One of Us: Conjoined twins and the Future of Normal. Harvard
University Press.
Stigma Films
http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/you-cant-ask-that/LE1517H009S00#pageloadedhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWD12X0FfvU
Films: (May be amended)
· Freaks (Tod Browning)
· Philadelphia (Jonathan Demme)
· Away From Her (Sarah Polley)
· The Hensel Twins (Then & Now)
· Rolling (Gretchen Berland) http://www.thirteen.org/rolling/experience/thefilm
· See What I’m Saying? (Kimberly Peirce)
· Best Boy (Ira Grossman)
· Self-Made Freaks (excerpts from U-Tube)
· Mental Illness (Public Service Videos-U-Tube)
SYLLABUS & READING LIST:
I. Defining the Terms: What is “Normal”?
Readings: Goffman: Stigma pp. 1-40 (1/18)
Goffman, Stigma pp. 40-104 (1/20)
Goffman, Stigma pp. 105-139 (1/25)
II. The New Face of Stigmatization
Readings: Goffman, Stigma pp. 105-139 (1/27)
Goffman, Stigma pp. 140-147 (2/1)
The Pressure To Cover: (Kenji Yoshino) (2/1) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/15/magazine/15gays.html?ex=1294981200&en=089f6480fcfeb0e0&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
Film Viewing: See What Im Saying (2/3)- Introduction to Deaf Culture HERE
Film Viewing: See What Im Saying (2/3)- Introduction to Deaf Culture HERE
III. Stigma and Community, Shaping Social Worlds of the Deaf
Readings: Groce, Everyone Here Speaks Sign Language, pp.1-49 (2/8)
Groce, Everyone Here Speaks Sign Language, pp. 50-112 (2/10)
Due: Essay #1: Stigma & Its Role in Community Action-Lessons from Goffman – 5 pages (2/10)
IV. Stigmatization & Changing Social Worlds
: Murphy, The Body Silent, pp. 1-84 (2/15)
Film Viewing: The Sessions (2/17)- A view of Disability
Film Viewing: The Sessions (2/17)- A view of Disability
V. Becoming Stigmatized: Paralysis
Readings: Murphy, The Body Silent, pp. 85-164 (2/22)
Murphy, The Body Silent, pp. 165-232 (2/24)
On-line Film: Rolling (Gretchen Berland) (2/22)
http://www.thirteen.org/rolling/experience/thefilm (watch film at home, &
prepare discussion in class)
Due: Essay #2: Stigma: The Emic Perspective – 3 pages (2/24)* writing this paper will entail that you have viewed, analyzed and comment on the film “Rolling”.
VI. The History of Stigmatization: “Others” (no in-person class this week)
Readings: Bogden, Freak Show pp. 1-116 (2/22)
NO IN-PERSON or ZOOM CLASS MEETINGS 2/24-3/3
PODCAST ("Nobody's Normal" -Listen (3/1)
CRIP CAMP (watch 3/3)
VII. Stigmatizing “Cognitive Disability”
Readings: Bogden: Freak Show pp. 119-146 (3/8-10)
Due: Essay #3: Stigma in Our Community: -The Changing Role of Popular
Media & Entertainment (3/10)–5 pages
VIII. Becoming Stigmatized: Dementia & Mental Illness
Film Viewing: Away from Her (Sarah Polley) (3/22) - (CLICK HERE)
Flipgrid assignment due on March 22. (CLICK HERE)
IX. Becoming Stigmatized: Contagions & Illness ON ZOOM (prerecorded-look to email for link)
Readings: Sontag, Illness as Metaphor, AIDS as Metaphor (3/24)
Due: Essay #4: Video Pieces: the Stigma of Aging (3/24) -5-10 minutes (this is to be submitted via email as an audio file)
Project: The Stigma of Aging
In many cultures, great status is achieved as one moves their way through successive achievements in life. Age in these cultures is highly acclaimed. In American culture where youth is prized, aging is stigmatized.
For this ethnographic project, Interview one or two older people. Create Your own the prototypes viewed for class (and linked on the syllabus). The video should highlight the "stigma of aging" based on some format of your making (things you should never say to.... questions you always wanted to ask...things older people are tired of hearing...etc). Films should be between 5-10 minutes long.
NO CLASS: PRECEPTORIAL ADVISING MARCH, 29th
Lorde, The Cancer Journals (whole text) (3/31)
THE N WORD (stigmatized language) (4/5)
X. Stigmatizing Physical Anomalies
Readings: Bogden, Freak Show, pp. 147-233 (4/7)
Film Viewing: Philadelphia (Johnathan Demme) (4/7)
Due: Essay #5: Managing One’s Identity through Language – 3 pages (4/12)
XI. Becoming “Normal”: Conjoined Twins
Readings: Dreger, One of Us, pp. 1-82 (4/12)
Dreger, One of Us, pp. 83-156 (4/14)
Film Viewing: Schappel Twins on “Jerry Springer” (4/14)
XII. Managing Stigma: Choosing Normal / Choosing Freakish
Readings: Bogden, Freak Show, pp. 234-282 (4/19)
NO CLASS--4/21-26 (Complete empathy projects)
Final Empathic Ethnography Papers and Presentations, Thursday 8:30-10:20 (4/28)
REQUIREMENTSGRADING & EVALUATION:
- Empathy Project: Ethnographic Investigation into the “Stigmatized Other” Poster and project
-Due4/29-30 -25%
- 3 Essays/Media Analysis (Must be handed in printed on paper, on time (see due dates above) in class-no emailed papers without special permission) -60%
- 1 film project-5%
- 1 language project-5%
- Attendance, Preparation & Class Discussion (less than 4 classes missed)-5%
Notes on Writing and Reading & Research for this course:
- It is my expectation that you will acquire and read all the materials assigned for this class. Most of the books are TRADE rather than textbooks and can be purchased USED for pennies.
- The readings and media (films and documentaries) are truly interesting and I look forward to you critically engaging with this material and your classmates this term.
- Because we have so much good material to read, and because writing assignments are critical analyses and NOT RESEARCH PROJECTS, I will NOT allow you to use INTERNET/WEB sources or citations in your writing. Yes, I mean read it, think for yourself, and write it yourself. Your opinions, well-supported matter to me. I will not accept essays with writhing or citations from any digital format but an e-book you have been assigned in class.
Criteria For Writing Essays
I. General Requirements: When preparing a take-home essay, remember that you are expected to present a finished product. Your exam should therefore be well written, organized and supported. Your exams should be typed and proofread. Please use spell-checker, and read through your answers after you have printed them to check for grammatical and typographical errors.
II. Structural Requirements: Essay questions are to be answered in expository form. As a rubric, use the basic 5 paragraph essay model. The first paragraph (introduction) should state your thesis, and go on to briefly outline how your thesis will be supported. Your body paragraphs (~3) should each develop one aspect of your thesis. Your final paragraph (conclusion) should restate your thesis and briefly summarize your argument. Obviously, some essays will require fewer and some more than three body paragraphs.
III. Supporting Materials: Any thesis, opinion, or position presented in your essay should be supported with illustrative examples. Any unsupported statements, no matter how brilliant or revolutionary, are mere speculation.
Good examples satisfy three criteria:
(1) they are relevant
(2) they are explicit enough that ANY reader can see them as supportive (use the mother rule here)
(3) their source is cited. Do NOT use another author's opinions to support your thesis. Be critical of their (famous author's) work. Use concrete examples instead (data).
IV. Developing Rhetorical Style: Most essay questions I will assign have no specific answer. They require you to evaluate what you have read, discussed in class or on web caucus, or viewed in films, and develop an educated position. Your answer is therefore only as good as the persuasiveness of your argument and presentation.
Here are some things which really ‘urk’ me, so don't do them: :(
(1) Deciding what I want to hear and spewing it out without any supporting evidence.
(2) Giving the politically correct answer in a similar manner.
(3) Not convincing me that you have bothered to read any of the materials assigned for the class.
(4) Using really big font size.
Here are some of the things that make me happy: :)
(1) Expressing YOUR opinion and supporting it with evidence.
(2) Using the readings to support your thesis.
(3) Taking time to organize a cogent argument.
(4) Using really little font size. Self-Evaluation For Writing
V. Citation:
Please use simple in-text parenthetical notation while making citations in your essays and writing. This is done as follows:
(ex) In his work on stigma, Goffman (1963) identifies three forms of stigma (21).
(or) In his work on stigma, Goffman identifies three forms of stigma (1963:21).
(or) There are three forms of stigma, abominations of the body,… (Goffman, 1963:21).
If you are using sources outside sources, you must also include a bibliographic reference at the end of your paper.
Use this check-list before handing in any written work .
FOCUS
___My paper has a clear purpose and makes a point.
___This paper clearly shows how I think or feel about the subject.
___This paper shows that I am aware of my audience.
___I do not lose focus and write more than I have to.
CONTENT
___I use specific details with examples to help my reader understand what I am saying. ___I omit details which are unimportant or unrelated to my thesis.
___I answer the question posed.
___I have thought about my topic carefully and I know what I am talking about.
ORGANIZATION
___I have started my essay in an effective way.
___I have covered things in an order that makes sense.
___It is easy for the reader to follow what I am saying.
___All the details fit together and support my principle thesis. ___My essay ends well. It doesn't just end abruptly or drag on endlessly.
STYLE
___This writing sounds like me. It is in my own words, using my own voice.
___It is easy to picture what I am talking about.
___My sentences are clear and well structured.
___My sentences have variety (some are longer than others).
___I have created a proper paragraph structure.
CONVENTIONS
___I have read my essay over.
___It is smooth and easy to read.
___I have proofread my essay and corrected any spelling, punctuation, capitalization or
grammatical errors.
___My paragraphs introduce new ideas. I have indented them.
You are all novices! Give yourself a break and remember that learning is a process and critical thinking like writing takes practice. You will be rewarded in this class for your EFFORT in this process and practice, not your perfect execution of it.
Empathy Exercises:
Week#1
Week#2 (film)
week#3 film
week#4
Week#5 (shoes)
Thinking Critically
Thinking critically is one of the best skills you can acquire in your college education. You WILL forget 90% of the information presented to you, BUT it will all be worth the cost of your tuition if you can gain skills that will serve you in your professional and personal life.
Critical thinking can be defined a the ACTIVE, PERSISTENT and CAREFUL consideration of knowledge (facts and opinions) (Dewey). It is a way of reflecting on what you and others believe and why you believe it. It is a way to learn how to be persuasive and articulate, but also how to judge the information that is constantly presented to you throughout your life with confidence.
Here are the important elements of critical thinking we will want to always employ in class:
In any discussion consider these:
· The purpose of the argument
· The question (s) which are being posed
· The assumptions which underlie the argument
· The conclusions that are drawn from the argument
· The consequences of these conclusions
When you present an argument in verbally or in writing, remember to go through the following steps as one way to PRACTICE critical thinking:
· State your position fully and clearly
· Elaborate on your point by expanding your position and clarify your points if
needed
· Illustrate your point and exemplify your arguments
Without critical thinking and discussion, your points and the points of any author no matter how famous, are JUST OPINIONS. Persuasion comes when an argument is understood (WHAT), explained (WHY), and illustrated (HOW).
Our opinions and feelings are important, but in discourse they must be supported. It is also important that we feel comfortable having open and free conversations with consideration to POLITE and APPROPRIATE language and interaction with others. You will NEVER be judged negatively for your statements or opinions in class, but these should be presented carefully and mindfully when subjects might be sensitive in nature, as they often are in this class where we QUESTION our VALUES, BELIEFS and IDEALS.
Empathy Exercises:
Week#1
Week#2 (film)
week#3 film
week#4
Week#5 (shoes)
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