I am deciding between two ideas for my final project. One is the representation of college life in media and the misconceptions of the students. The second idea I have for my paper is sexual assault on campus and how it is handled by the university, students, and the police.
Either is possible, but the media one will require some deep real analysis of a few popular contemporary TV shows or movies and, while it might interest you, will definitely be a bit messier at first and may take more time to arrive at an argument.
ReplyDelete1) By "media misconceptions" I take it you mean the stereotype of "portraying college students as lazy, self absorbed, alcoholic sex maniacs who only care about one thing: where’s the next party?" My own view is that this stereotype, whether intentionally or not, helps to justify the privatization of higher education. But proving that might be hard. In any case and whatever you argue, you will have to do more than just document the stereotype -- you will have to make an argument about the larger social effects or implications of that portrayal.
2) Sexual assault on campus is a very hot topic and might be more straightforward in some ways. I have had a number of students do this topic over the years, and it seems especially relevant at the moment due to Betsy DeVos's apparent reluctance to enforce Title IX as strongly as it had been in recent years. There also seems to be a rising tide of books and articles raising questions about Title IX enforcement, such as The Campus Rape Frenzy (though most border on "alternate facts"). So I think we are entering a backlash moment that is consistent with the election of Donald Trump. In any case, it will be easier to enter into a debate on this issue and find controversy than it has been in recent years.
Likely you have seen the film The Hunting Ground. If you have not, you should watch it on Netflix or Amazon. The movement it documents was partly responsible for pushing the Obama administration to focus more attention on Title IX enforcement, which led to several cases against schools where campus rape was not being given the attention it should. There is another film, It Happened Here, that might be worth seeing too.
Here are a couple of the student blogs where you can find interesting resources on this topic:
http://collegestacy.blogspot.com/
http://entitlementadeadlysinforathletes.blogspot.com/
http://meravkleinmann.blogspot.com/
I personally found Jon Krakauer's book Missoula: Rape and Justice in a College Town very compelling reading on this topic and the student who wrote about college athletes and rape made good use of it. The case of the Columbia University "mattress girl" made an interesting case for one of my students.