Communication

This class examines the role of investigative journalism with attention to public and private powers that might avoid, limit, or corrupt it. It covers the techniques, purpose, dangers, and modes of transmission of the journalist. In addition to discussion of the history and theories of investigative journalism, the course draws examples from the personal experiences and reflections of the professor, an active French journalist. It discusses the role and difficulties faced by journalists globally who are confronted by powerful regimes to consider how investigative journalism can survive in the face of oppression and authoritarianism, and how it can be utilized to provide society with more knowledge and equity. Each course session explores these questions and hears from a guest speaker investigative journalist to better understand their work and methods of journalism.

This course provides an overview of working in the United Kingdom and of the current economic situation in the country. It further discusses how the economic situation affects the workplace, how students can integrate into British working life, and how they can make the most of their internship placements. Topics include current political and economic climate, national legal framework, structure and workflow, integration of immigrants into the workforce, discrimination in the workplace, and comparison between U.K. and U.S. work experiences.

The course critically evaluates rock music's musical content and contemporary cultural and social roles; ideally, the course serves to develop your general intellectual capacities of the music industry from the 1950s to 1960s (the so-called "rock and roll" era, arguably the most turbulent yet important period in popular music history). It's NOT a music course, per se, but we are listening to a lot of music as we consider the effects of recorded sound on popular culture. Thus, this is the quintessential "media and culture" course. We study the origin and growth of the recording industry and music business, consider the impact new technology had (and continues to have) on the development of popular music and examine the mutual influence between rock music and other media (film, television, radio, etc.). Following a loose chronology, we begin with an introduction to listening and some musical fundamentals, gradually developing a vocabulary with which to discuss and experience selected works from the history of rock. We trace the evolution of specific musical styles and investigate issues related to culture, performance, technology, and reception. Reading assignments introduce the distinct musical styles, performers, and works that comprise each genre and a certain time period. They also cover the relationship of rock music to American and global popular culture, historical representation, and authenticity.

This course takes an anthropological approach to the questions of why and how media matter. More specifically, the anthropology of media explores media as cultural practices and investigates how people navigate and create media worlds. It draws ethnographic attention to the socio-cultural contexts of media and poses questions about how media fit into societies at large.

This course introduces the major concerns, methods and ongoing debates of this new and vibrant field. Drawing on case studies from around the world (but mostly from East Asia), we explore how media practices are defined not only by available technologies but also by societal infrastructures and cultural needs; how the actual circulation of media escapes the desires and intentions of media producers; how media audiences appropriate mass media to their own ends; how old and new media are implicated in social and political change; how media shape national, ethnic and gender identities; and what challenges these complexities present to researchers of media.