Students interested in learning about womanhood, feminism and gender inequality can do so alongside Barbie in a new course offered next semester. 

Sarah Mayberry Scott, Ph.D., assistant professor for the department of communication, will be teaching a new course in the upcoming spring semester based on the lead character of the 2023 film, “Barbie.”

The course, titled “Barbie Unboxed: The deconstruction of a cultural icon through controversy and communication,” will delve into topics such as social identities, seeing the evolution of Barbie as a doll through branding, marketing and public relations and its role in media, like Barbie’s online presence and the recent live-action Barbie adaptation. 

“The goal with this class is through the lens of communications, looking at Barbie the doll, the franchise Barbie and the “Barbie” movie,” Scott said. “The branding of Barbie through the times and through the very first creation of Barbie.”

With Barbie’s contribution to pop culture, Scott saw this as an opportunity to intermingle gender communications and adapt a new special course by dissecting Barbie’s role and how it reflected and shaped our culture. 

Scott hopes for students to identify communication concepts, theories and principles through this course by finding the best ways for engagement between herself and the students. 

“Using whatever is something that appeals to the students, using that as the way to look at communication principles, makes it something that is going to be more interesting to learn,” Scott said.

The Barbie course will count toward the women and gender studies (WGS) minor. Tabatha Simpson-Farrow, an instructor of composition and program coordinator for WGS, spoke on the importance of having this course be a part of the minor.

“Most programs offer limited course substitution so students may have more options than what is apparent when they first consider a minor,” Simpson-Farrow said. “I hope this course attracts more students, but I also hope it helps other faculty to think creatively about their course offerings.”

When discussing the special topic for the course, Simpson-Farrow said, “Barbie is a cultural icon that has impacted generations and this course provides an opportunity to explore this impact from an educational perspective. Plus, it just sounds like fun.”

The posters promoting the new course can be seen scattered around campus, attracting students to enroll.

Aubrey DeFries, a senior communication studies major from Jonesboro, plans to enroll in this course after hearing its announcement through Scott. When asked about whether she’d be interested in enrolling in the course, she said, “I obviously said yes because I love the Barbie movie!”

DeFries shared their personal importance and impact Barbie had on her.

“Barbie, to me, is a symbol of women empowerment. Barbie can be anyone and do anything,” DeFries said. “Barbie shows people that you can still be hyper-feminine while dominating a male-dominate field.”

Chris Smith, a junior communication and history major from Cabot, Arkansas, is the president for the Feminist Union. She said when Scott, her adviser, told her about the class, she immediately got excited to join. 

But looking past the excitement, Smith still had critiques about the film and Barbie itself. 

“Barbie has a very mixed image in my head,” Smith said. “In my opinion, the message Barbie as the icon and image promotes ‘plastic feminism,’ or feminism that you can buy. It seems very performative.” 

Smith acknowledged the impact of Barbie regardless, “I understand the importance of Barbie and her image to promote women empowerment and feminism to young girls. Everyone has to start somewhere and Barbie is a good getaway.”

The course will focus on student interactions and conversations. It’s available to any student from any major with no prerequisites. This will be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 am., to 12:15 pm.

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