Discuss whether you think the articles present a problem in contemporary media or not, and if so, what do you see as a way to address the issues, or what may come in the future.

Carson, A. (1995). The Gender of Sound
Daniel, D. (2011). All Sound is Queer
Quashie, K. (2017). The Quiet of Blackness
These articles are written to shine a light on the generally unquestioned nature of “sound.” These writings address feminism, queerness, and black identity respectively. The themes are heavy, however, there should be little to find offensive in these works (Daniel [2011] does use a self-referential slur
once).
The point of having you read these articles is to consider a sense (hearing/sound) that is often taken for granted and view it through a lens other than your own. You might disagree with what you read, or you might not fully make sense of what is written, and that is okay. I mainly want to expose you to ideas that you may have not considered.
The articles differ in tone: Carson (1995) is a rebuttal to the historical silencing of women, citing work as far back as ancient Greece. Daniel (2011) is an abstract, at times dreamlike, questioning of how sound can be gendered at all. Quashie (2017) reflects on what it means to be black in media, particularly music, in an almost memoir fashion.

1) Read the provided articles and summarize what you think the authors are trying to convey.
2) Find an artist who fits into one of these categories and discuss an important work of theirs through the lens provided by one of the authors.For example:

A) How does “Old Town Road” by Lil’ Nas X, an openly gay artist,question the classically masculine idea of the cowboy western?
B) Was the placing of Britney Spears into a conservatorship an example of a female artist being treated differently than a male artist? (i.e. If Justin Timberlake had shaved his head, would he have faced a similar reaction?)
3) Discuss whether you think the articles present a problem in contemporary media or not, and if so, what do you see as a way to address the issues, or what may come in the future.
You only have to discuss the article you choose, however, you might find it useful to consider the articles together – they share an underlying theme of identity, and it might help your thought process if you consider them all.
4) You should properly cite any sources you use in your paper. I use APA formatting, to which you can find a guide here at the Purdue Online Writing Center. If you are more comfortable with another citation format, you may use that instead.

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