HASS-D, Category 4
Fall Semester 1998
Tues, Thurs, 3:30-5
Lab, Tues, 7-10
Professor:
Henry Jenkins, henry3@mit.edu
Office14N-437, 253-3068
Teaching Assistants:
Mary Hopper, mehopper@ceci.mit.edu
Office14N-422, 258-8646
Hours Tues, Thurs 2:30-3:30
Shari Goldin, slgoldin@mit.edu
Description:
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the humanistic study of the social, political, and cultural dimensions of traditional and emerging media technologies. The course is divided into four sections. The first, Core Concepts, explores the interplay between historical and contemporary media and introduces basic theoretical models for studing the interaction between media and culture. The second, Media Functions, focuses on the uses of media such as cultural transmission, community linkage, entertainment and amusement, and propaganda. The third, Media in Transition, examines key moments in the development and popularization of communication technologies. The final section, Media Institutions, turns to the institutional dimension of media, considering the economic and cultural power of the film studio or contemporary media conglomerates, and the possibilities for grassroots media use in the 1960s counterculture and contemporary media fandom. The course is intended to develop both practical and analytical skills and to explore ways of combining the two so that students become more effective consumers and producers of media culture.
on the web
21L.015: Introduction to Media Studies (Fall, 1998 Version of Course Site)
http://web.mit.edu/21l.015/fall98/index.html