UNDERSTANDING MEDIA
CORE 114 / 164

Course Overview and Objectives

Media seem to be everywhere and it is almost impossible to go anywhere without being confronted by a steady stream of media messages.  In the U.S., people can choose daily from broadcast media – radio and TV; cable TV; print media – newspapers, periodicals, and books; recorded media – CDs and audiotapes; visual media – videocassettes, DVDs and motion pictures; and the fastest growing form – computer-based media.

How can we make sense of this media mix?   How can media consumers tell the difference between news, propaganda, advertising, and entertainment?  What, if anything, are the differences? What factors determine the media messages that get produced and the ones that don’t? Whose interests are being served; whose ignored? What are the implications of all this for our political system and our culture? 

In this course, we will explore these and other questions in the attempt to DEVELOP A HIGH DEGREE OF MEDIA LITERACY.  This is our primary Course Objective. Additional course objectives which tend to both lead to and flow from media literacy include:

· Learn to think critically and independently

· Develop analytical skills that encompass social and historical understandings

· Understand the influence of media on constructing culture (including values and the perceptions of self and reality in general)

· Recognize the racist, sexist, and classist dimensions of overtly neutral media messages

Closely entwined with these objectives are the University-Wide Learning Outcomes which will also shape our course content:

Learn and integrate: Through independent learning and collaborative study, attain, use, and develop knowledge in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences, with disciplinary specialization and the ability to integrate information across disciplines.

Think and create: Use multiple thinking strategies to examine real-world issues, explore creative avenues of expression, solve problems, and make consequential decisions.

Communicate: Acquire, articulate, create and convey intended meaning using verbal and non-verbal methods of communication that demonstrate respect and understanding in a complex society.

Clarify purpose and perspective: Explore one’s life purpose and meaning through transformational experiences that foster an understanding of self, relationships, and diverse global perspectives.

Practice citizenship: Apply principles of ethical leadership, collaborative engagement, socially responsible behavior, respect for diversity in an interdependent world, and a service-oriented commitment to advance and sustain local and global communities.

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