Gender roles in the American family.

The first show we watched is the “quiz show” from I love Lucy” then we watched “job switching” also from “I love Lucy”, the last sitcoms we watched is: “my blonde haired brunette” from The Dick Van Dyke Show. Introduction: That we can laugh at sitcoms indicates that we still understand the premise behind the joke, even if we don’t agree with the premise. A confused audience is unlikely to laugh and quick to change the channel, so comedies usual show us situations we understand and operate from a set of values we accept, even if individual characters violate the conventions. Assignment: Before you write: Select two of the episodes we watched in this unit. Each episode should come from a different show. Consider what the episodes reveal about gender roles in the American family. Also, examine how the humor in the episode either legitimates or challenges those depictions of gender role. For instance, what is the significance of I Love Lucy inviting us to laugh at Lucy’s attempts to be economically independent? Essay Prompt (The question you need to answer): In this essay, I’d like you to consider a two-part question: Working with the depictions of marriage in two different shows we’ve watched(i.e. I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, or Modern Family), do we find the connections between gender and authority/power remain essentially stable or do the connections shift over time so that who holds power and the way(s) that power is expressed change? [Approach this question by considering the types of humor in the episode and how that humor identifies power relationships.] In either case, what is the significance of the stability or change in gender roles? Specifics: Analyzing one or two significant similarities and/or differences in how power is presented. Work with two of the show’s we’ve watched in class. Be sure to draw on Smut’s definitions of humor as you analyze the comedy. And integrate the readings we’ve covered. Support your claims with specific evidence. Your paper should be 1,200 – 1,500 words long. Be sure to cite any material you introduce using MLA guidelines. You will after your essay include a 1-2 page self-reflection. Attach the self-reflection as a separate page. Begin with the title “Self-Reflection”; then write at least one paragraph for each of the following points: What went well in the essay draft? What one or two areas could use improvement? What you’ll change in your writing process to focus on those areas of improvement? Conclude with a Works Cited page. Audience: You have decided to present your thoughts on your blog. You will need to engage an audience that is interested in sitcoms and your theme, but they may not have seen the shows you mention, studied the theories of humor you introduce or read the essays you discuss. So you’ll need to provide context. Your audience will expect the writing to be clear and focused and will accept some informality. Suggestions for getting started: Devote some time to prewriting before you sit down to draft the essay. Work from questions, not answers. If you explore something that you find interesting, you are much more likely to write engagingly Integrate sources, but do so thoughtfully. Make sure that each source serves a specific purpose in your paper. If you quote, make sure the quotation directly supports your claim. Stay focused. You do not have much space. A focused discussion of one element with ample supporting evidence and analysis will be more effective than a diffuse conversation about multiple features. Learning Objectives: Overview: In this essay, you will have another chance to practice some of the skills we’ve been developing this so far this semester. Module: Develop a specific focus. Write for a specific audience and for a specific rhetorical context. Integrate and analyze evidence. Reflect on what went well in your writing and on what you can improve. Course: This assignment will help our progress toward the following course learning objectives. Write a minimum of 6,500 words of clear and effective college-level expository prose through both in-class and out-of-class assignments. Choose and narrow a topic appropriate for college-level expository writing. Organize a full-length essay with proper attention to the audience. Develop ideas in a full-length essay with a clear sense of purpose and audience. Apply combinations of basic cognitive and rhetorical modes. Use researched material to incorporate and synthesize ideas and information from multiple sources in at least one essay. Integrate and document quotations and paraphrases in essays. Revise and edit full-length papers. Analyze purpose, style, organization and rhetorical structure in the writing of others in appropriate essay-length work or class discussion.