C190: References to the power and prevalence of “the media” are commonplace. But what are “the media?” How do they work and for whom? As media increasingly pervade the fabric of daily life, and as fewer and fewer entities dominate the domain of media ownership, the urgency of asking and answering these questions only grows in importance.

Yet these questions are incredibly difficult to ask (much less to answer), owing in part to the ways in which the structure and functioning of the media remain, for many of us, taken for granted, perhaps even something of a mystery. Thus, this course will introduce you to the basic vocabularies of visual and media literacy and hone your skills at analyzing media texts, institutions, apparatuses, and audiences critically. We will focus on five specific (and ubiquitous) media genres—film, television, digital technologies, radio, and advertising—and our goal will be to explore the relationships between and among form, content, ownership, and meaning with respect to each. C190 will help you to appreciate more fully the complex ways in which the media inhabit and affect cultural, political, and economic life. More importantly, it will provide you with the analytical, interpretive, and critical skills by which to navigate and begin to make sense of the densely mediated landscapes we inhabit.

Required Texts:
Kolker, R. (2005). Film, form, and culture (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 0073123617
Newcomb, H. (Ed.) (2000). Television: The critical view (6th ed.). New York: Oxford U.P. ISBN: 0195119274

Additional required readings for C190 are available on reserve