COMS 619: COMMUNICATION HISTORY

The course is designed to examine historical perspectives of the media. It traces the history of the mass media from Ghanaian indigenous communication systems through the invention of Papyrus by the Egyptians, the Acta Diurna of imperial Rome, and the Chinese invention of paper up to the first information revolution – the invention of writing. It also examines the invention of the printing press (the second revolution) as well as the third revolution, that is, today’s hi-tech mass media. The course further discusses alternate media such as the black press in America, South Africa’s anti-apartheid media, etc. Other topics such as the media in Africa, the history of mass media in Ghana and the New World Information Order are also treated.