COMS 196

Critical Analysis of the Media

The course will introduce students to semiotics that will be employed to tease out "overt" and hidden meanings in news (print and video) and other mediated messages. In particular the course will focus on the various, powerful strands of American ideology, e.g., individualism, democracy, patriarchy, femininity, feminism, capitalism, the family, patriotism, environmentalism, and the First Amendment that shape an understanding of ourselves and of our society. It will examine the present state of American journalism and how it operates.

Units: 3.0