Desired Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

  • Understand the concept of oppositional readings in media studies (Hall, 1980).

  • Analyze how the Soul Survivor Alliance (SSA) challenges Survivor’s racial representation.

  • Use AI tools to engage in media analysis and challenge Survivor’s hegemonic structures.

  • Critique AI-generated content for bias and how AI can both perpetuate and challenge media hegemony.

Assessments

• AI-Generated Survivor winners: Students will prompt an AI image generator to create an image.

• Small Group Reflection: After using AI tools, students will reflect on how their AI-generated content challenges the show’s hegemonic narrative and discuss AI’s role in perpetuating biases.

• Individual Reflection: Student will write a reflection in their journal answering the following prompts:

  • How can you help combat the biases and environmental impacts of Artificial Intelligence?

  • How do you think Generative AI engineers can address the copyright problem?​​

Learning Activities

• Lecture: Review of hegemony and the types of readings, introduction to oppositional readings and the SSA

  • Provide a brief lecture reviewing Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model, dominant reading and negotiated readings. Introduce oppositional readings.

  • Discuss the SSA and their critiques of Survivor’s race and gender dynamics, referencing sources such as Carter’s essay.​

• Reimagining Survivor: Students will use Stable Diffusion to create an image of a “Survivor US Winner" (e.g., race-neutral, gender-neutral prompt).

  • Who does the prompt create?

  • What does this image tell you about the hegemony of Survivor and bias in AI?

  • Students will compare the AI-generated image to each other’s results and actual winners of Survivor.

    • Follow this with a small group discussion: How does AI interpret the Survivor winner archetype compared to the real-world trend of overwhelmingly white, male winners?

    • Gauging Understanding: AI Bias Critique and Reflection

Materials/Tools Needed

• Foundational texts

  • Encoding/Decoding, Stuart Hall

  • Image Generator/Generative AI Intro/How-to

  • Stable Diffusion – Online Image Generator

• Slideshow/in-class presentation

  • Review of hegemony, dominant and neutral readings of a cultural text

  • Chart of previous Survivor winners and Presidents of the United States

  • Soul Survivors intro and discussion

  • Activity Introduction

    • QR code for directions, handful of printed copies

    • AI and the Environment

      • The 35 Easiest Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint – State of the Planet​

• Articles and sources on the Black Survivor Alliance

  • SOUL SURVIVORS | African American Reality TV Collective — J'Tia PHD

    • A Petition for Anti-Racism Action by Survivor Entertainment Group

  • Push Me to the Edge: My Survivor Experience – Julia Carter

  • Whose Tribe is it Anyway| LGBTQ Intersectionality on Survivor