Overview
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.
Learning Outcomes
Course level learning outcomes:
- Evaluate media and cultural texts (advertising, television genres, cultural spectacle, etc.) in relation to social power and identity
- Discuss the history of media and social action from poster to hashtag
- Demonstrate fluency in theoretical foundations of media studies and cultural studies;
- Analyze the circuits of production, distribution and consumption of media texts;
- Demonstrate knowledge of key developments of cultural technologies and their political, social and economic contexts of emergence