Communication 287 - Advertising as Social Comm.

This course looks at advertising from the viewpoint of social theory (that is, of how we can understand advertising's broad political, economic, social, and cultural role in modern society). The course will broadly examine the social role of advertising in consumer societies with a central focus its relationship to: the construction of individual identity, the quest for happiness; the evolving environmental crisis based on depleting resources and climate change; the process of globalization; the commercialization of childhood; the definition of health and wellness; and the crisis of financial debt.

COMM 287 is being offered in both an in-person and an online mode. Students in either section can choose to either come to the in-person class on Monday/Wednesday or can watch the lectures on-line, or some mixture of the two. ALL students have to take three in-person exams on campus during the semester (on dates to be announced).