February 3rd, 2008
Latest dispatch from Stop Porn Culture
Media Madness: The Impact of Sex, Violence and Commercial Culture on Adults, Children and Society
A Summer Institute for Educators, Students, Human Service Professionals, Activists and Parents
July 8-11, 2008, Wheelock College, Boston
For the 14th consecutive year, Wheelock College is offering a very popular summer institute on the role that the media (television, magazines, advertising, pornography, video games and music videos) plays in shaping our gender identity, our intimate relationships, our children’s lives, and ultimately our culture. The institute is taught by Dr. Gail Dines, author of Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality, and Dr. Diane Levin, author of the forthcoming So Sexy So Soon. Participants in both tracks will learn:
- How media violence affects behavior and contributes to violence in society
- How media images perpetuate and legitimize sexism, racism, consumerism and economic inequality
- How political and economic forces shape the media
- How media affects children’s ideas about sexual behavior and relationships with others
- How to critically deconstruct media images and develop media literacy skills
- How to become active in advocacy, community building and grass roots organizing
As a way to accommodate the needs of the participants, this year two days of the institute will be split into the following tracks:
- Fighting the porn culture: how to think about and organize against the increasing pornification of our society. Led by Dr. Gail Dines with guest lectures by Dr. Rebecca Whisnant, Lierre Keith and Matt Ezell, founding members of Stop Porn Culture.
- Combating the hazards of media culture with children, families and the community. Led by Dr. Diane Levin, author of the forthcoming book, So Sexy so Soon.
Credit Hours
The institute is available as a 3-credit graduate course or a non-credit course. Scholarships are available. Housing is available on the Wheelock campus. For more information, please contact Gail Dines at gdines@wheelock.edu (write July Institute in the subject line).
