Mouse Rhetorics: Writing and Reading Disney

Catalog description

Offered fall and spring. Prereq., WRIT 101 . This course explores the cultural phenomenon that is Disney through preeminent texts, including film, advertisements/marketing campaigns, novellas, merchandise, and graphic novels (not an exhaustive list). To do this, the class will begin with an examination of Disney as a cultural form. Next, we will move through various genres and decades charting political and cultural shifts in conjunction with popular Disney films and books. We will also turn to current events as Disney frequently wades into the political arena. Utilizing rhetorical criticism, we will explore concerns of moral ambiguity as connected to theories of race, gender, and sexuality as presented by Disney.