Laying a Foundation for Studying Race, Gender, Class, and the Media

This chapter provides an overview of the study of race, gender, class, and media. It prepares the student to read what is to come in the book. It discusses social scientific approaches; critical/cultural approaches; and why race, class, and gender matter. It covers prejudice, stereotypes, race, and ethnicity. It covers audience, content, and production (or production, text, and reception) and models of communication. It introduces readers to the concept of framing, symbolic annihilation, intersectionality, cultural and social identity, the social construction of reality, the social construction of race and ethnicity, discourse, ideology, critical thinking, and media literacy.