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This course interrogates the significance of social networking media on various facets of contemporary life. Topics of discussion include the influence of social networking media on identity formation, personal and professional relationships, globalization, social change, presidential politics, creativity, journalism, copyright law, privacy, commercialism and the dissemination of knowledge. This course requires students to seriously and critically consider the influence of emerging forms of communication on micro and macro levels of daily life from the historical context of previous communication revolutions (print, electronic and digital).

An introduction to the social role of media, focusing on how relationships between media and the surrounding economic structure affect ideological processes in society. This course examines the social, political and historical contexts within which newspapers, radio, television and new media technologies were created and adopted. Throughout the semester students will develop a critical framework for understanding the influential role media play in shaping individuals, society and culture.

This course explores how media in the 21st century are managed with regards to various and often conflicting economic, social, political and cultural expectations. In the first half of the course students will learn the contemporary trends in media regulation, ownership structures, programming strategies, audience measurement, and global business tactics. In the second half of the course students will apply these concepts by running a media firm simulation. The class will participate in programming content, green lighting projects, brokering business deals, responding to government legislation and monitoring audience approval for a virtual media company in order to nurture a successful organization.

This course investigates the influence of the media on the social world, particularly the media’s impact on audiences and attempts by governments to form policy around perceived effects. We will investigate the various methodologies employed to determine if, when and how media influence viewers. The focus of this course is to understand how questions of media influence are studied and what, if any, conclusions can be drawn from such research. While tracing the historical development of audience research we will also critique attempts by local, state and federal governments to legislate and enforce regulations restricting media content based on the findings of this research.

This course approaches the study of digital games as cultural artifacts. As artifacts, digital games have much to tell us about the real world we inhabit as well as the virtual worlds we choose to inhabit. Through the varied lenses of players, producers, critics, futurists, journalists, educators, legal experts, artists, economists, psychologists, etc., this course explores the historical, social, educational and economic influences of digital games on contemporary culture. Throughout the semester students are expected to discuss, read and write about games in order to critically engage the phenomena of gaming.

This course covers the history and development of nonfiction film and television, particularly as it has evolved in the US. We will investigate issues of form, ethics, film technology, audience interpretation, social and political influence, and the shifting nature of capturing “reality” on film. By the end of the semester, students will have a basic knowledge of the canonical works and premiere directors of nonfiction film, as well as a critical appreciation of the documentary genre as it has been shaped by and has shaped our collective understanding of the human condition.

This course reviews the broad body of work that constitutes the field of media studies. Included in this investigation are theories and models of mediated communication that consider the media in terms of production, content, audiences and effects. The purpose of this course is to develop a sophisticated understanding of the social role of media and its influence on identity, culture, economics, politics and ideology.

This course examines how popular culture has been conceptualized in an age of mass communication and consumer capitalism. The class applies multiple methodologies and theoretical frameworks within the field of cultural studies, including political economy, cultural policy, textual analysis and ethnographic research, to investigate various cultural industries such as television, fashion, music video, film, the press, networked technologies, advertising, comic books, shopping, sports, video games, etc. Attention is paid to how power relations manifest themselves in cultural forms and practices, particularly in relation to class, gender, race and sexuality.

This class investigates the development of consumerism in the 20th and 21st centuries by tracing the history of industrialization and the mass production of goods; the influence of advertising on consumption practices; key decisions in land development policy and the creation of malls and shopping centers; legal precedents and the establishment of corporate rights; the redefinition of citizenship; the environmental impact of manufacturing; the social and emotional costs of conspicuous consumption; and reactions to and alternative visions of consumer-oriented ideology. While North America is the geographical focus, the global reach and consequence of the rise in consumption is addressed. By its nature this course is interdisciplinary, engaging history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics, political science, environmental science, and communication.