JOUR 295 - Topics in Journalism and Mass Communications

Credits: 3 credits in Fall or Winter; 4 credits in Spring
Planned Offering: Offered when departmental resources permit.

Study of a selected topic in journalism or mass communications. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Appropriate for non-majors.

Spring 2013 topic:

JOUR 295-01 Great Trials in History: The Impact of the Press and Public on Justice (4). Prerequisite: At least sophomore standing. Not open to students who have taken an earlier version as JOUR 180. Students study historically significant cases against defendants ranging from Socrates and the accused witches of Salem, Massachusetts, to the Scottsboro Boys and the leaders of Nazi Germany. Rich or poor, admired or scorned, defendants in high-profile cases captivate the public because they reveal our potential for good and evil. Often in dramatic fashion, trials expose society’s biases against unpopular ethnic groups or races. Decades later the outcomes of these trials continue to be second-guessed as miscarriages of justice. Using cases of people accused of spying, war crimes and mass murder, the course explores the complexities of the conflict between the freedom of the press and the ideal of a fair trial. Locy.

Winter 2013 topic:

JOUR 295: Race, Gender and Religion in the Media (3). No prerequisites; open to non-majors. An examination of how race, gender, and religion are portrayed in television, film and magazines, on the web, and in other media. We employ analytical and experiential frameworks to analyze historical and topical depictions of religion, as well as historical and topical stereotypes of women and people of color in news, entertainment and advertising. Mitchell. Winter 2013

Fall 2012 topic:

JOUR 295: Global Communications (3). This course covers the main issues and trends that characterize international and transnational media systems and explores ways in which media power is contested globally and nationally. We consider whether opportunities for resistance provided by new technologies represent a significant break with the past by looking at the nexus between social media and social change domestically and on the international stage. Students also examine the legal and ethical challenges of globalized media while trying to understand the impact of the global media on local and national media. Abah.