Communication 797A - ST- Race, Media & Politics

"Race" has and continues to play an important role in American politics. In this course we will critically review the relevant Communication and Political Science literature with an eye towards understanding: (1) the role of mass media (and communication more broadly) in the construction and dissemination of race as a sociopolitical concept; (2) how race affects political attitudes, opinions, and behaviors; (3) the unique methodological problems researchers face in studying racial attitudes and opinions; and (4) shortcomings in the existing scholarship on race, media, and politics and how these shortcomings might be addressed.

This class is open to students at either the Master's or Doctoral academic levels only