Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan is offering a new course that focuses on the popular Netflix series Orange is the New Black.
Assistant Professor of English Kim Lacey will use the show about inmates of a female prison as a basis when she teaches Writing about Oppression on TV this winter. She plans to discuss issues related to race, gender, class and sexual orientation with examples from the show’s plotlines.
“I don’t think we know how to have conversations — or more intelligent conversations — about those types of issues,” Lacey said.
Her students will supplement episodes of the show with a textbook that delves into the same issues presented in other media. Actress Laverne Cox, who plays Sophia Burset on the show, will speak on campus in February.
Lacey told The Saginaw News that she loves the show and wants to keep talking about it. A lot of her students also watch the show and wish to gain a better understanding of it, she said.
“They’ll be able to watch shows and have a greater understanding or a greater vocabulary to discuss them intelligently,” she said. “These shows are actually commenting on things that are happening in our society.”
