Film and Media Studies 330: Media, Politics, & Power

This class will explore the complex, interdependent relationships between media and politics in the articulation of power. Not taking any of our terms for granted, we will question what is meant by politics, how different forms of power are articulated openly or discreetly in public life, and how different forms of media enter the process in different ways. While the bulk of our focus will be on media, power, and politics in the United States, we will also question the tensions between media and power globally by studying patterns of media distribution and military, economic, and political power. Along the way, we shall come into critical acquaintance with the public sphere theories, which have their origin in the work of Jurgen Habermas, cultural identity and representation as expressed by Stuart Hall, and discipline, governmentality, and subjectivity as expressed by Michel Foucault, and the political economic theories of Karl Marx. Required weekly screenings. May be taken for credit toward the Politics major or minor or Rhetoric, Writing and Public Discourse major or minor.