Journalism 490J - Arts & Culture Journalism

In this class, students will become explorers, arbiters and communicators of culture. That includes a wide variety of journalistic beats, such as music, food, film, television, art, travel and fashion. By developing cultural journalism skills, students will learn how to assess and diagnose what art is worth consuming and what is not, what audiences need to know and what they do not and how best to communicate all of the above. And they will learn how to cover culture in a variety of ways, including reporting, criticism and first-person essay writing. Finally, by studying the history, theory and practice of cultural journalism, students explore how class, race, gender and other identity factors influence how we respond to cultural products and creators. This course combines both theoretical concepts and practical lessons to teach students how to strengthen their critical-thinking skills, their cultural authority and their journalistic credibility while sharpening their authorial voices and their understanding of popular culture.

Open to Senior and Junior JOURNAL majors only. Pre Req: JOURNAL 300 Arts and culture journalism is an ongoing conversation both about and with culture, and this course will help you learn to increase your cultural cache as well as that of your audience. In this class you will be explorers and communicators of culture.