New Media and Society

Curriculum Guideline

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Course
CMNS 1223
Discontinued
Yes
Course Code
CMNS 1223
Descriptive
New Media and Society
Department
Communications
Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Credits
3.00
Start Date
End Term
202030
PLAR
No
Semester Length
15 weeks
Max Class Size
35
Contact Hours
4 hours per week
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning Activities

Some or all of the following methods will be used:

  • Lecture/seminar
  • Media (including documentary film)
  • Discussion of class readings and materials
  • Student-provided materials (examples illustrating key ideas from course materials)
Course Description
This course offers students an overview of new media and how new media technologies are affecting society. Tracing the evolution of the media from tools of mass communication to key players in the new information society, this course will introduce students to key communication concepts with which they can evaluate critically new media's ability to create political, economic and social change. Students will examine fundamental communication theories that relate to media ownership and control, media and democracy, media and identity, and media governance. Students will apply these theories to understand new media, including ownership and control of new media, social media and digital technologies, and the Internet and democracy.
Course Content

Part 1: Changing Media Environments

From Mass Communication to Network Society: An Overview

Part 2: Analyzing a Changing Media Landscape: The Theoretical Foundations

Media and Democracy: Public Sphere Theory

Media Effects: Texts, Reception, and Cultural Studies

Media Ownership and Control: Critical Theory

Media Governance: Media Policymaking

Part 3: Understanding the New Media Environment

Celebrating/Critiquing the Information Society

Ownership and Control of the New Media

Internet, Social Media and Digital Cultures

New Media and Democracy

Labour in the Information Age

Globalizing Media

Global Media Governance

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this course will

  1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of what constitutes the new media landscape
  2. Identify the key communication theories that may apply to a study of new media
  3. Apply these communication concepts to understand the potential impact of new media
  4. Identify and critically evaluate key areas of concern that pertain to the rise of new media
  5. Understand how new media may cause significant political, economic, and social change through an examination of current events
Means of Assessment

Students will be assessed using a variety of evaluations such as

Case study  – 15%

Midterm exam – 20%

Two presentations – 10% each, total 20%

Research Paper Proposal – 5%

Research paper – 30%

Attendance and class participation – 10%

Total - 100%

Textbook Materials

Course pack and textbook, such as the current edition of one of the following:

Andrea L. Press and Bruce Williams, The New Media Environment: An Introduction

John Hartley, Digital Futures for Cultural and Media Studies

Leah A. Lievrouw and Sonia Livingstone, Handbook of New Media: Student Edition

Prerequisites

None

Corequisites

None

Equivalencies

None

Which Prerequisite

CMNS 2200