COMS 603: MASS MEDIA, CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Students are introduced to basic concepts in Mass Communication, particularly its elements and processes, institutional structures and characteristics. The course also explores the socio-cultural and philosophical context of media institutions and the practice of mass communication. That broad perspective is examined against the background notion that the media do not function in a vacuum. Thus students will examine how these contexts, informed by the dominant philosophies and macro-institutional practices of society, mitigate or even dictate the operations of the media. The course will also provide some background knowledge of how our social lives work, how people think about, feel for and act toward other people; thus such topics as alienation, prejudice, stereotype and inter-group conflict will be discussed.