FMS 330 Media Representation & Society

This course examines the role of the media (print, film, radio, television, and "new media" which includes the internet/social media) in the proliferation and acquisition of knowledge about the world, and how in turn this knowledge influences human societies (attitudes and behaviours). The course assumes that historically mass media and the industries that produce media products have played significant cultural and political roles in the past and into contemporary society, and therefore seeks to acquaint the student with basic issues, media research frameworks, and media effects theories to better understand effects of media within the broader societal context. The relationship between the media and the public, the newest influence of new media technologies, and dilemmas facing media policy makers (most significantly in the era of deregulations) are closely scrutinized.