This course provides an introduction to an emerging area of research in media studies, known as media archaeology. Combining materialism and structuralist understanding of message productions, media archaeology has proven powerful in illuminating media messages as effects of what is called cultural technique. More than that, it has also opened many sites of exchange between old and new media and between media and cultural practices that are not discursive in nature, such as architecture and design.

The premise of this course is that textual analysis benefits from an understanding of textuality. Close analysis of texts is a foundational method within Communication Departments and an especially central approach to both film and media studies, producing exemplary case studies as well as the basis for more expansive inquiries. This course will offer an exploration of the intellectual foundations of textual studies and a careful consideration of theories of textuality.

This course will examine the different kinds of labor that go into making digital technologies and the ecologies of work that sustain them. We will engage with ongoing debates about online labor (both paid and unpaid), tech entrepreneurship, and the production of consumer electronics like the iPhone. By the end of the course, you should have a critical understanding of the economic and social forces underlying shifts in digital labor and technology work.

From K-pop to Hiplife, Bollywood to Nollywood, Big Brother to the World Cup, 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.

This course provides an overview of current issues in the epidemiology of women's health throughout the life cycle. Students will explore how epidemiologic methods are used to evaluate factors influencing reproductive health, cancer, cardiovascular disease and other common disorders in women. Students will learn basic quantitative methods, study design concepts, and critical thinking skills.