This course is about the mass media’s role in society. The mass media is controversial and complex; there are no certain or easy answers about it. So this course does more to teach you how to think intelligently about the media than it provides you with one or another viewpoint on it. As a senior seminar, then, this course is intended to teach students something about serious scholarship, about how to think intelligently about the media: what scholarship is, what questions it asks, how it tries to answer them, how to make sense of it in general.

Assignments: class participation (including demonstrating that you’ve done assigned readings), is required and counts for 20% of your grade. You will also post to the class discussion list once a week (20% of your grade), present an author overview to the class (20%), and write a research paper with multiple components (40%). I am usually happy to be flexible with deadlines if you notify me one week in advance; if you notify me later than that, I won't be. All assignments must be completed to pass the course.