American Mass Media (Final year module)
Semester Fall
Programme description
Studying the American media from outside its border can be a revelatory experience. Which parts of American media cross the Atlantic and why? What picture does American television paint of US family life? How do we compare American commercially-owned (Clear Channel) to a state-run system such as the BBC? This course brings historical analysis to understanding the complex social, economic, and political factors responsible for shaping the US mass media landscape. Moving from the printing press to the Internet, students will considers issues such as media ownership, access, and consumer uses of radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and the world wide web. Key to this exploration will be defining how American media reflects and responds to American ideals of freedom, democracy, opportunity, and citizenship.
We begin with two connected questions: How can the study of media forms over time contribute to a broader understanding of American political, cultural, and social history? And how can that larger history contribute to a clearer sense of how and why media institutions have evolved to their current forms? Proceeding chronologically, the course maps the development and changes to Habermas' concept of the public sphere. Specifically, how have Americans defined what can be communicated in publicly disseminated forums and who can participate in that dissemination?
Pre-requisites
You must be a major in American Studies/Literature or similar with a cumulative GPA of 3.3
Assessment
The course is taught through weekly two-hour seminar discussions. Assessment consists of a long essay of 5,000 words (90%) and by in-class participation (10%).
Credits
4