The concerns, controversies, theoretical perspectives, and body of knowledge on the issue of violence on television, in video games, on the Internet and in social media are examined. All students will work in groups to conceptualize and carry out an original research project on the topic. Social science research studies on the topic of media violence comprise the weekly reading assignments, and students submit brief reflection papers on the main points from the readings each week.

This course analyzes the history of television, starting with its roots in radio broadcasting, moving through television?s network era, into the age of cable and narrowcasting, and then arriving at the latest developments in digital television and streaming. With a focus primarily on the U.S. television industry, the course will consider economic, political, regulatory, technological, and cultural transformations and contexts for the development of commercially operated and sponsored programming (as well as some alternatives).

This course analyzes the history of television, starting with its roots in radio broadcasting, moving through television?s network era, into the age of cable and narrowcasting, and then arriving at the latest developments in digital television and streaming. With a focus primarily on the U.S. television industry, the course will consider economic, political, regulatory, technological, and cultural transformations and contexts for the development of commercially operated and sponsored programming (as well as some alternatives).

The entertainment industries (EI) target young people for their tremendous market force and cultural sway. How do the imperatives of market-driven media culture correspond with principles of democracy? This course will engage dialogue, reading, research, and writing oriented towards mapping the matrix between youth, the entertainment industries, and the play of democracy. How do we make sense of and become active agents in the politics, representations, political economy, and utopian possibilities of culture and the industries that have become its purveyors?

Taking a comparative and grounded approach, this class explores the diverse and transformative consequences of social media as they become ubiquitous and taken for granted in our everyday lives. It takes as a starting point people?s everyday engagement with social media and analyzing the cultural patterns and social outcomes of practices such as memes, selfies, Facebook friending, social media fundraising, and digital mourning.

Students will learn the process of directing programs in a studio environment, as well as practice principles of set design, lighting design; sound design, pickup & mixing; graphic design in the TV studio environment. The course will be a combination of analytics, technical understanding, and a hands-on learning experience. We will analyze various programs and their corresponding formats. Then, we will work on a long show format project as a class.

Interactions, either face-to-face or over the phone, are the basis of social life. The goal of this course is to learn how to study interactions. The course combines theoretical topics with data sessions of real interactions. We will discuss how to collect data, how to transcribe it, and how to analyze it based on the common structures of human interaction. Structures such as turn-taking, repairs, and story-telling will be covered.

This is a stand-alone independent study designed by the student and faculty sponsor that involves frequent interaction between instructor and student. Qualitative and quantitative enrichment must be evident on the proposed contract before consent is given to undertake the study.

Not available at this time

Not available at this time