I have the good fortune to be teaching once again this summer for UO, and I will be reprising my Buffy the Vampire Slayer class. This summer’s offering will be framed by the fact that Buffy turned twenty this year. Here is the course description:
WGS 361: Gender and Film, Television, & Media
#BuffySlays20: Critical Approaches to Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Dr. Edmond Y. Chang
Summer 2017
CRN 42370
WHEN JOSS WHEDON’S Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show debuted in 1997, no one could have foreseen the cult following, the spinoffs, the cultural phenomenon, and the critical and scholarly interest it would inspire. Now twenty years later, this course will take up a range of critical approaches including media studies, fandom studies, cultural studies, feminist and queer theory. Our goal is to address the critical question “Why Buffy?” and how might Buffy help us think about the recent resurgence of the figure of the vampire, about the role of monsters, and about cultural anxieties over race, gender, sexuality, and bodies.
THIS ONLINE COURSE will engage in watching, reading, guided discussion, and some analytical writing. You will be required to screen select Buffy episodes (and perhaps other things from the Whedon universe) as the focus of discussion and academic critique. Discussions, response papers, and other assignments will be held online via the course website and Canvas portal.