MC438 Half Unit
Mediated Feminisms
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Dr Simi Dosekun
Availability
This course is available on the MPhil/PhD in Media and Communications, MSc in Gender, Media and Culture, MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and Fudan), MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and UCT), MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and USC), MSc in Media and Communications, MSc in Media, Communication and Development and MSc in Politics and Communication. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: Priority will normally be given to students enrolled on Media and Communications degree programmes; however, course specific availability is indicated via the 'Availability' section of each individual course guide webpage. The number of students that can be accommodated is limited. If a course is oversubscribed, places will be allocated at the Department's discretion. Students are advised to have an alternative course in mind in case they are unable to secure their first-choice course selection.
A list of all taught master's courses in this Department are listed on the Department's Course Selection and Videos webpage.
Students who have this course listed as compulsory are guaranteed a place and no written statement is required.
For all other students, places on these controlled access courses will be allocated via a random ballot process with priority given to students with the course listed on their programme regulations, followed by other Department of Media and Communications students, then students from elsewhere in the School. By submitting an application, students are confirming that they meet any pre-requisites specified. Providing an additional written statement will not aid a student's chances of being accepted onto a course that does not require a written statement.
Deadline for application: Students required to take this compulsory course will be automatically enrolled on LSE for You.
All other students must apply by 10am UK time on Friday 26 September 2025. No offers will be made before this deadline. Offers will be made after 10am and will continue until all places are filled.
For queries contact: Contact Media.MSc@lse.ac.uk with queries.
Please do not email the teacher with personal expressions of interest as these are not required and do not influence who is offered a place.
This course is 'controlled access', meaning that there is a limit to the number of students who can be accepted. If the course is oversubscribed, offers will be made via a random ballot process, with priority given to students with the course listed on their Programme Regulations. Whilst we do our best to accommodate all requests, we cannot guarantee you a place on this course.
Requisites
Additional requisites:
There are no pre-requisites for this course. Students should apply via LSE for You without submitting a statement.
Please do not email the teacher with personal expressions of interest as these are not required and do not influence who is accepted onto the course.
Course content
Media have been crucial to feminist politics across the globe, from 19th century pamphlets to early television representations to 90s zine culture to the multitude of hashtag feminisms in contemporary social media. This course explores the ways that feminisms in both the Global South and North are enacted through and represented on a variety of media platforms, from print to digital. Topics we will consider include: mainstream and alternative feminist media productions; the meanings and politics of feminist visibility and even popularity; feminist uses of the body as a medium of activism and communication; and mediated reactions to feminisms, including misogynist and sexist ones. The course draws on theories from cultural and media studies, creative industry studies, film studies and gender studies, and throughout we will take an intersectional and transnational approach, thinking of and across multiple forms and sites of ‘difference.’ The course is intended for MSc students interested in acquiring a broad cultural-theoretical understanding of the role that media play in defining feminisms for broad audiences, as well as those who are interested in feminist media productions across history.
Teaching
10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.
Formative assessment
All students are expected to complete advance reading, participate actively in seminar discussions and complete 1 oral examination in ST.
Indicative reading
- Ahmed, S. (2016). Living a Feminist Life. Durham: Duke University Press.
- Al-Rawi, A. 2020. Women’s Activism and New Media in the Arab World. Albany: State University of New York Press.
- Banet-Weiser, S. (2018). Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
- Gill, R. (2007). Postfeminist media culture: Elements of a sensibility. European journal of cultural Studies, 10(2), 147-166.
- Grewal, I. (2005). Transnational America: feminisms, diasporas, neoliberalisms. Duke University Press.
- Keller, J, Ringrose, J, and Mendes, K. (2019). Digital Feminist Activism: Girls and Women Fight Back Against Rape Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Piepmeier, Alison. (2009). Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism. New York: NYU Press.
- Sedgwick, C. 2020. Feminist Media: From the Second Wave to the Digital Age. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
- Steele, Catherine Knight. (2021). Digital Black Feminism. New York: New York University Press.
Assessment
Oral examination (100%)
Key facts
Department: Media and Communications
Course Study Period: Winter Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 62
Average class size 2024/25: 12
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication
- Specialist skills