This may be a somewhat unusual request for this list, but I hope that folks
reading this may be able to provide some info or pass the query on to
colleages who can.
 
My freshman comp courses usually are built around a single theme or issue,
and this semester the students have chosen to work on "Sexism in Movies and
the Media" - - which will inevitably broaden to a range of questions about
the construction and representation of gender in our culture.  The course
includes a lot of individual research into various aspects of the chosen topic,
and each student will be asked to read one book--of her own choosing--in its
entirety, [as well as a range of essays that are distributed to all class
members].
 
I already have more than enough essays prepared, but am a little unsure about
books.  While there is certainly more than enough material out there--almost
anything published by BFI, Routledge, or Indiana, would provide a rich
starting point--most of what I myself am familiar with is FAR too complex and
difficult for my non-humanities majors freshman; so that all the wonderful
stuff by Mulvey, Kaplan, Doane, Penley, etc., to say nothing of DeLauretis,
is, I'm afraid, out of the question (remember that the students are reading
these books on their own; they are not discussed in class).  What I need is a
list of works that are serious, careful, and analytic (as opposed to the kind
of simple narrative that often passes as information in books by serious but
non-academic publishers). The level that would be appropriate is that of
Rosen's "Popcorn Venus" or Haskell's "From Reverence to Rape," but both of
these are now--gulp!--a generation old, and in any case I need many more
than two books to suggest.
 
I would be very grateful for suggestions of books that I can recommend to
my students and hope they will be able to read with real comprehension.  The
books can deal with movies, other popular media (rock n roll; TV; comic
books; advertising, etc.) or related issues.  Any suggestions would be very
welcome.
 
If you think the info is of general interest post it to the list; if not you
can e-mail me directly at <[log in to unmask]>.
 
My thanks in advance for your help.
 
mike frank
 
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