Ithaca College

Enroll Now!

Media for Social Responsibility: Media and Body Image
GCOM 20007-01, CRN 44087
1 credit
Professsor Janice Levy
Open to all Ithaca College majors

Does This Culture Make Me Look Fat? Media play an important role in American society and determine how we view others and ourselves. Promotion of the “ideal image” in advertising, entertainment, and news influence gender equality and body type, especially among susceptible young people who are under pressure to be “perfect." This one-credit mini-course will feature prominent experts in this area, including people responsible for media campaigns, TV shows, and researchers/academics from Ithaca and across the world who will discuss how media influences your body perception.​

As part of the course, students will also attend a public lecture by award-winning actress and philanthropist Geena Davis, who will speak on "Gender Equality in the Modern Media." In addition to her Hollywood successes, which include acclaimed roles in The Accidental Tourist, Thelma and Louise, and A League of Their Own.  Davis is a strong advocate of women and girls. Her Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and its programming arm, See Jane, engages film and television creators to dramatically increase the percentage of female characters — and reduce gender stereotyping — in media made for children ages 11 and under.

Course Dates:
Friday, March 27, 6:30–9:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 28, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 31, 7:00–10:00 p.m.