Courses

An introduction to the role of media in contemporary society, focusing on the cultural, political, economic, and historical context within which print and media technologies developed and how audiences interact with and influence the use of media. Restricted to Journalism & Mass Communication (JOUR) or Arts and Sciences Open Option majors (XXAS) majors only. Prerequisites: Restricted to Journalism and Mass Communication (JOUR) or Arts and Sciences Open Option majors (XXAS) majors only.

Special studies in media that are specific for first-year students. May be repeated for a maximum of three credit hours.

Introduces the rise and development of mediated communication and its impact on and role within the formation of modern culture and public life. Restricted to JOUR majors.

Explores creative and strategic thinking plus the nature and functions of promotions, event-marketing, public relations, and advertising and their growing interdependence in a changing media landscape. Considers technology's impact and the effect of commercial culture on an increasingly diverse society. Restricted to School of Journalism and Mass Communication (JOUR) or Marketing (MKTG) majors only. Prerequisites: Restricted to School of Journalism and Mass Communication (JOUR) or Marketing (MKTG) majors only.

Surveys the history, practices and responsibilities of journalism in a democracy. Examines ethics, best practices in institutional and network settings, reporting and writing, international news systems, personal branding, and strategies for creating and distributing content across media platforms. Promotes the highest professional values and encourages students to be leaders who recognize the possibilities of journalism in a democratic society. Restricted to Journalism and Mass Communication (JOUR) majors only. Prerequisites: Restricted to Journalism and Mass Communication (JOUR) majors only.

Examines the historical development of various communication technologies (printing press, photography, film, radio, television, computers, Internet); their impact on culture (forms of expression and social relationships); and their relation to various conceptions of the public (citizens, audiences, consumers, markets). Draws on history to explore current issues in media, popular culture and their relation to public life. Prereq., junior or senior standing. May be limited to majors.

Surveys the political and economic structures of media system in developed and developing countries and discusses the impact of privatization, ownership consolidation, and globalization on the flow of information across national borders. Also looks at how global media flows and counter-flows affect conceptions of nationhood and cultural identity. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Journalism & Mass Communication (JOUR) or International Affairs (IAFS) majors only.

Offers an understanding of the various people, cultures and nations of East Asia through their media systems. Provides a critical overview of the historical, cultural, social, political and economic dimensions of East Asian communication systems in today's digitally connected/disconnected world. Restricted to junior/senior SJMC majors. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) School of Journalism & Mass Communication majors only.

Provides students with an overview of the theories, ethics codes, and analytical models that are used in journalism, public relations, and advertising. Introduces students to a variety of ethical issues that can arise across media professions, as well as the industry practices that can lead to ethical lapses, and teaches students how to challenge those practices. Same as JOUR 5301. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) School of Journalism & Mass Communication majors only.

Introduces the critical perspectives most often employed in qualitative media analysis: semiology, structuralism, Marxism, psychoanalytical criticism, sociological criticism, etc. Texts from contemporary print and broadcast media. JOUR 4311 and 5311 are the same course.

Focuses on the institutions and practices of the media industries. Surveys the histories, structures, and activities of these organizations and the contemporary issues surrounding them. Same as JOUR 5321. Prerequisites: Restricted to School of Journalism and Mass Communication majors with a minimum of 75 hours taken.

Studies the construction, interconnections, and replications of gender, race, class, and sexuality in popular culture and how these constructs become cultural norms and mores. Uses critical methods with a focus on producing responsible viewers and readers. Same as JOUR 5331, WMST 4331. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) School of Journalism & Mass Communication majors only.

Examines strengths and limits on medias role in globalized crises (e.g. financial, climate change, health) in light of changing distribution of global power. Introduction to current crises; context-analytical approach to media technologies, financing and uses; application to national cases. Restricted to JOUR and IAFS juniors/seniors. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Journalism & Mass Communication (JOUR) or International Affairs (IAFS) majors only.

Explores how journalists report international breaking news with a focus on war, disaster and peace and how these news events affect peoples' lives, governmental decisions and news media operations. Prerequisites: Restricted to Program in Journalism and Mass Communication students with a minimum of 73 hours taken.

Examines the history and character of two central institutions in American society--the family and television--to gain deeper understanding of their formative and enduring roles. Topics include: intersecting histories of the family and television; economic logic of the TV industry and programming; representations of the family in television programming; how families use and interact with television. Prerequisites: Restricted to Program in Journalism and Mass Communication students with a minimum of 73 hours taken.

Studies state and federal laws and court decisions that affect the media in order to develop knowledge of media rights and responsibilities and an understanding of the legal system. Prerequisites: Restricted to School of Journalism and Mass Communication majors with a minimum of 75 hours taken.

Examines culture in the form of discourse, symbols, and texts transmitted through the media. Explores the relationship between such mediated culture and social myth and ideology. Same as JOUR 5711.

Provides an overview of how publishing in print and electronic forms has been tied closely to democratic ideals for centuries. Explores how the idea of the public is central to the theory and practice of media politics, and how the contested concepts of "the public sphere" and "public opinion" have long been linked to debates about the proper relationship between media and democratic citizenship. Restricted to Journalism majors with a minimum of 75 hours taken. Same as JOUR 5791. Prerequisites: Restricted to School of Journalism and Mass Communication majors with a minimum of 75 hours taken.

Offers students the opportunity to participate in research projects with faculty members or pursue their own primary research interests.

Same as JOUR 4201.

Same as JOUR 4301.

Introduces the critical perspectives most often employed in qualitative media analysis: semiology, structuralism, Marxism, psychoanalytical criticism, sociological criticism, etc. Texts from contemporary print and broadcast media. JOUR 4311 and 5311 are the same course. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.