Media Evolution & Social Influence
MCM323
Study of evolving mass media systems and their effects on communication in society. Examination of the historical shifts from oral to written to print to electronic eras and the contemporary emphasis on personal communication in a digital age. Course work includes analysis of the changes in traditional definitions of communication-based processes such as newsgathering, gatekeeping, advocacy, journalism, and media democratization, among others. The migration of media use and production from a professional model to a democratized system, including social media, in which citizens simultaneously produce and consume information, is explored, as well as the effects of that shift on the credibility, reliability, and validity of the content produced. Course work includes various formal and informal written assignments. (Writing Enriched ) As needed.
3 Credits: 3 Lecture