Media & Pop Culture Critique

12:30 Seminar

This course introduces students to the field of mass media and cultural studies. The course is designed to help students develop an ability to look critically at messages of mass media including television, radio, internet, movies, and documentary as well as media dependents such as advertising. The central focus of the course is on examining how mass media messages play a role in civil society.  Students will also be introduced to mass media theories and the impacts of new media. The course has the following learning objectives:
1)       To understand the relationships between mass media and American culture
2)       To introduce students to the intellectual life of the university through a critical examination of the question "What is a good society?"
3)       To help students develop writing, critical thinking and oral presentation skills in analyzing media messages
4)        To teach students to retrieve, evaluate and document information for scholarly assignments
5)       To broaden social awareness and encourage engaged citizenship