Communication 397SS - ST-Youth, Democracy & Ent Indu

The entertainment industries are inordinately focused on young people as they represent a tremendous market force. Yet how do the imperatives of this market-driven media culture correspond with principles of democracy? As an action research course, the mapping of key features of this terrain --- youth socialization, advertising and consumption; media oligopoly and cross-market-ing; cultural appropriation and hip hop; cable, the internet and government regulation -- will guide applied research around particular sites of power we?ve identified. This may include media monitoring of the representation of youth on local, regional, and national media offerings, an assessment of youth aggregate purchasing power in Massachusetts, Comcast costs and profits, university investments in the entertainment industries, and a survey of political initiatives for media democracy

Open to Senior and Junior Communication majors only.