300

An examination of the actual and potential effects of mass media communication. Initially the course will focus on the theories which have been, and are, used to evaluate the impact of the mass media. Then the course will examine specific mass media effects, including: television and cognitive development, the impact of the mass media emphasis on violence and sex, the media and role stereotyping, agenda setting, the impact of the media on politics, the U.S. media and the world, and the potential of the mass media to educate for positive social change. Mass media effects receiving emphasis will vary from semester to semester.

This advanced course provides an exhaustive survey of the major concepts, methods, theories, scholars, and debates in critical media studies. Students will work on developing questions that can provide insight into media texts, foregrounding an agenda that does the following: (1) fosters an understanding of contemporary media theory; and (2) allows students to think critically about the power and influence of the media as well as the construction and negotiation of social meanings therein. Students will produce a conference-ready paper that questions how a mediated phenomenon of their choice comes to make sense in a particular context at a given time.