Media and Cultural Studies

Introduction to cultural and social theory of film and other media as it relates to the tension between citizenship and consumerism. Examines roles, functions, and impact of mass media technologies, institutions, and practices in both scholarly and practical forms.

Please note: This course is typically offered in the winter term

The televisual events of the Gulf War, September 11, Abu Ghraib; the televised ‘town halls’ and shirtless Prime Ministers; Obama-effect; the role social media in the Trump era; the ‘information’ economy and the “global financial crisis”; reality TV; the sublime destruction of the planet and the promises of its pleasures through tourism, etc. These are just a few aspects of our contemporary social and cultural world that indicate the degree to which everyday life is permeated and ‘framed’ by mass media. Mass media -- film, television, music, and, the internet -- does much more than mediate events or distribute entertainment.