Course Description - Mobile media are everywhere. Our lives revolve around portable communication devices. Smartphones, laptops, digital watches, earbuds are always within reach or literally attached to our bodies. How have these technologies changed the way we understand the world? The way we interact with others? The way we view ourselves? This course examines the concept of media mobility and the influence of mobile communication on social relationships, shared experiences, and cultural norms. Though smartphones have become virtually synonymous with mobile media, this course explores the deep history of mobile media, from religious totems and early writing systems to car radios and the first mobile phones. While considering the role of smartphones in contemporary life, this course looks at the broader significance of mobile media technologies and their influence on ideas about time, place, distance, presence, privacy, and authenticity.