Course Search

---

Courses may be offered in one of the following modalities:

• Traditional in-person courses (0–29 percent of coursework is delivered online, the majority being offered in person.)
• Hybrid/blended courses (30–79 percent of coursework is delivered online.)
• Online courses (100 percent of coursework is delivered online, either synchronously on a designated day and time or asynchronously as a deadline-driven course.)
• Hyflex (Students will be assigned to attend in-person or live streamed sessions as a reduced-size cohort on a rotating basis; live sessions are also recorded, offering students the option to participate synchronously or view asynchronously as needed.)

If you are enrolled in courses delivered in traditional or hybrid modalities, you will be expected to attend face-to-face instruction as scheduled.

---

COM 300: Media Criticism

3 credits

Students will examine American popular culture and its potential role in mirroring, distorting, and/or shaping individual and collective attitudes and conceptions. Students read models of different forms of media analysis, then attempt those forms of analysis in their own papers and presentations. (Distribution Reqs:Social Sciences)

Learning Goals

This class will aim to equip students with the analytical methods and historical context necessary to transform them from passive media consumers into critical thinkers. We will examine the social roles, cultural effects, philosophical implications, corporate influences, and ideological agendas of the media. Over the course of the semester, we will study the history of American journalism and take a historical look back at some of the most hard-hitting press criticism of the past 150 years, as well as taking a look forward in order to propose ideas which may alter the way journalism and the press function in the future.

*The learning goals displayed here are those for one section of this course as offered in a recent semester, and are provided for the purpose of information only. The exact learning goals for each course section in a specific semester will be stated on the syllabus distributed at the start of the semester, and may differ in wording and emphasis from those shown here.