ST- Comm, Tech & Work

This course will examine the different ways that communication and digital technologies are shaping notions of work and labor. We will engage with ongoing debates on topics such as the sharing economy (e.g. Uber/Lyft driving), microwork (e.g. Amazon Mechanical Turk), microcelebrity (e.g. YouTube stars and Instagram influencers), tech entrepreneurship both in Silicon Valley and other parts of the world, as well as the work that goes into making popular consumer technologies like the iPhone.

ST-Gender & Interpersonal Comm

What is gender and how does it affect the way we communicate with each other? This course provides an overview of the ways gendered identities, expressions, discourses, norms and roles affect our information interactions on an individual basis and in groups, online and off. Students will explore topics ranging from communication in family relationships to classroom and workplace communication dynamics to online self representation, applying an intersectional lens to the role of gendered power dynamics in shaping interpersonal communication.

ST-Global Media Flows

From Hollywood to Bollywood, Korean Dramas to Netflix Originals, media finds transnational and diasporic audiences around the world and are remade, re-used, and remixed. This course will unpack theories of globalization and other processes facilitating the cross-border flow of various media. Case studies and assignments will be focused on the production, distribution, and reception of entertainment media from different parts of the world. In addition to reading responses and a midterm paper, students will complete a group project on a country and media product of their choice.

Introduction to Film Studies

This course offers an introduction to the study of film as a distinct medium. It introduces the ways in which film style, form, and genre contribute to the meaning and the experience of movies. Topics include film as industrial commodity, narrative and non-narrative form, aspects of style (e.g. composition, cinematography, editing, and sound), and the role of film as a cultural practice. Examples are drawn from new and classic films, from Hollywood and from around the world. This course is intended to serve as a basis for film studies courses you might take in the future.

ST-Spirit&Stories:Folklore/Alc

This course examines the vast store of folklore inspired by and directed at alcohol and its cultural reach. Folklore means traditional expressive practices ranging from the verbal arts (such as stories and songs) to material culture (such as crafts and medicine) to customary activities (such as rituals and beliefs). The range of folklore herein is both global and ancient; that is, it concerns the entire history of alcohol, which in effect necessitates attention to the entire history of humanity in a global perspective.
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