UWinnipeg course will focus on myths, theories and images of men in popular culture
Starting in the winter 2010 term, the University of Winnipeg will be offering its first-ever men’s studies course.
According to the school, the discipline has been around as early as the 1970s, with the intention of filling the gap left between women’s studies, which didn’t engage with “the gendered construction of masculinity,” and the men’s rights movement, which “failed to recognize masculinity’s complex relation to power.”
The full-credit course, titled “Boys, Men, and Popular Culture: Filmed Genders,” will examine myths, theories, and images of boys and men that shape how they are represented and how they represent themselves in popular culture, particularly in movies.
“When Women’s Studies became Women’s and Gender Studies several years ago, we incorporated perspectives from men’s studies into our courses, but this is the first time we have devoted a course specifically to the area,” says professor Pauline Greenhill, who will teaching the course.
Students will also be taught by guest lecturers from a variety of disciplines, from peace and conflict studies, to economics, to criminal justice, along with experts from the Winnipeg community. Topics addressed are set to include work, relationships, boyhood and violence.