This course will provide an overview of the theories, tensions, and debates within the study of critical media literacy as it applies to K-12 classrooms and community organizations. Current practical and analytic research in this area will be examined. This course has a required civic engagement component; students will work with and on behalf of youth in the community on media literacy-related projects. This course is one of the required courses for the Media Literacy Certificate and satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-Comm majors.

An exploration of the counter-cultural movements of the 1960s and 70s and later, hosted by someone who was there and lived to tell the tale. Through the medium of documentary and fiction films, we will delve into the musical, sexual, artistic, political and spiritual upheavals that rocked America and Europe back then and that continue to reverberate today. This course satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-Comm majors.

This course explores the influence of the mass media on the social world, particularly the media's impact on audiences. We will investigate various approaches utilized to determine if, when, and how media influence viewers, listeners, and readers. We will examine this issue from both scientific and cultural studies perspectives. Some of the questions we will consider include: How does television violence impact society and individuals? Can watching sex on television and film lead to teenage promiscuity?

This course introduces analytical and theoretical tools used to make sense of visual culture. Topics include the relationship between real-life vision and looking at images, persuasive images, images as evidence.

This course is intended as a survey in performance studies. As such, the foundational tenets and histories of the field will be reviewed and then lead into contemporary and interdisciplinary discussions. We will examine a range of theories, methodologies, and practices that make up the field and address US based as well as transnational performance studies.

This course introduces analytical and theoretical tools used to make sense of visual culture. Topics include the relationship between real-life vision and looking at images, persuasive images, images as evidence.

The way social groups are portrayed in the media is widely assumed to have consequences for levels of prejudice and stereotyping in the mass public. Moreover, the vast majority of speculations assume negative consequences, that is, exposure causing increases in levels of stereotyping and prejudice. We will critically evaluate both assumptions, with a particular emphasis on furthering understanding about the psychological processes through which media exposure may not only increase but also decrease stereotyping and prejudice.

Semiotics is the study of meaning within society. It deepens our understanding of culture, communication and philosophy, and provides us with a theoretical and practical framework for analyzing the world. The course will introduce and develop the semiotic approach, using literature, politics, film, TV, music, and our everyday surroundings and conversations.

The concerns, controversies, theoretical perspectives, and body of knowledge on the issue of violence on television and in video games are examined. All students will work in groups to conceptualize and carry out an original research project on the topic. Students will also be given the option to participate in a service learning project which involves the design, delivery, and evaluation of a media literacy program on the topic of media violence for local elementary school students.

A survey of key events and representative films that mark the history of worldwide cinema since 1950. In addition to identifying and providing access to major works, the course is designed to facilitate the study of the various influences -- industrial, technological, aesthetic, social, cultural, and political -- that have shaped the evolution of the medium.