This course will trace the emergence of new types of women in popular culture,, particularly in television, and offer students the opportunity to follow and discuss shows of their liking such as Jane the Virgin, Ugly Betty, Orange is the New Black, and Crazy Ex Girlfriend, using communication critics such as Susan Douglas, whose Where the Girls Are lays out themes and paradigms of study from traditional shows since the early days of television. The class will look at how themes of the women's movement are represented and taken to a broader level incorporating issues such as body size, new family forms, class, ethnicity, reproductive rights, and career choices as well as intergenerational strife among women. Students will participate in weekly forums at first structured around an article comparing two forms of all-women societies on planets in Star Trek created in 1968 and 1988, , and then around more current shows representing issues of contemporary times. The forums will create safe spaces to discuss gender challenges and transformation that is going on at a very rapid pace today.