CMN 696W (03) - Seminar in Media Studies

Sem/Global Media,Culture & Pwr

Credits: 4.0
Term: Fall 2022 - Full Term (08/29/2022 - 12/12/2022)
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
Class Size:   20  
CRN: 13268
Variable topics in media research, theory, and practice. May be repeated for different topics. Topic descriptions available in department office during preregistration. Prereq: CMN 455, CMN 456, CMN 457 and two 500-level courses, or permission.
Section Comments: Full Title: Global Media, Culture and Power
Instructor Approval Required. Contact Instructor for permission then register through Webcat.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated up to 1 times.
Equivalent(s): CMN 696
Classes not allowed in section: Freshman
Only listed majors in section: CMN:BUSAPPL, CMN:MEDIA, COMMUNICATION
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Instructors: Kate Zambon

Times & Locations

Start Date End Date Days Time Location
8/29/2022 12/12/2022 MW 2:10pm - 3:30pm HORT 115
Additional Course Details: 

In the past century, communication and transportation technologies connected the world as never before. As people and ideas move with increasing ease, how are traditional notions of culture being reinforced or broken down? How do ideas about culture create and justify inequalities between different nationalities, socioeconomic classes, and racial and religious groups? How can we distinguish between mutually beneficial cultural exchange and exploitative forms of appropriation? This course uses theory and contemporary case studies from news, social media, and popular culture to shed light on the construction of culture and cultural difference from classical theories to contemporary ideas of global cosmopolitanism and hybridity. This course does not provide a definitive definition of what culture is, but rather explores the political and economic consequences of mediated ideas of culture, including its relationship to race, class, and transnational inequities. Indeed, one of our first tasks in this class is to question what we mean when we talk about “culture.” We will look at how social value and inequality are constructed using ideas about culture and identify the new currency of cultural difference in global times.