Seminar Title: Media and Global Populism - The rise of nationalist populism in established democracies across the globe has inspired considerable shock. From India to Brazil, across Europe and NorthAmerica, nationalism and growing authoritarianism divide societies and threaten human and minority rights. This course examines how the current moment of populist upheaval relates to contemporary mainstream political and media discourse. This course explores how media contributes to populist discourses that divide the nation. Media are crucial for defining shared ideas of who represents "the real people" and whose lives matter most. In the first part of the course, we explore populism's definitions and the media's role in its emergence. What are the historical roots of populism? How have populists historically used new media to reach and influence the public? What distinguishes various forms of populism, and how do they overlap with authoritarian and democratic politics? The second part of the course will examine the media's role in different populist movements worldwide. Students will conduct original research on a single national populist movement over the course of the semester. The capstone project is an online multimedia research portfolio, which includes background research briefs and creative research project options. We will start from the ground up; no prior knowledge is required. Together, we will explore what these different national movements have in common and what they reveal about the future of democracy in an increasingly interconnected world.