Course Catalog

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Course Catalog

FEATURE AND INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM (CM3012)

An advanced feature-writing workshop focused on techniques for long-form and investigative journalism. Students will gain experience in story ideas, researching, interview techniques, structuring feature articles. Emphasis will be placed on researching and data gathering for in-depth magazine and investigative reporting. This workshop will develop writing skills for careers in magazine style and investigative journalism on subjects selected by students. Articles can be published on the Peacock Plume website.

VIDEO PRODUCTION FOR BROADCAST NEWS (CM3027)

Gives students a basic overview of the process of producing audiovisual material for non-fiction radio and television, with an emphasis on broadcast news and documentaries; explores the various stages of news production, from the development of a story concept to completion of the finished program. The goal is to enable the student to achieve an understanding of the basic techniques, equipment and the role of key personnel in a professional news environment. Students who take this course may not take CM/FM 1019 Principles of Video Production.

SCRIPTS FOR TRAVEL (CM3033)

This course will focus on approaches to writing about travel and cultures of places. Emphasize will be place on developing unique writing styles and “voices” and contributing articles to the Peacock magazine and Peacock Plume website Travel page. Students will gain insight into the changing set of processes linked to the practice of commodified travel and the way space for tourist use is represented and used. Urban place-making and branding strategies are examined as part of the journalistic approach to travel writing.

THE MUSEUM AS MEDIUM (CM3037)

In the Age of the Enlightenment, the classification and organization of facts and objects gave birth to the concept of the modern 'museum'. This course investigates the construction and communication of national, cultural, and community identities through the medium of the contemporary museum, where material culture is exhibited to express narratives that evoke particular definitions and interpretations of history and values. Please note that an additional fee will be charged for this course.

ATTENTION AND UBIQUITOUS MEDIA (CM3042)

In our “ubiquitous computing” age, attention and power are linked in new ways. The course surveys the following: (1) perception, consciousness and emotion in the rapidly shifting environment; (2) the technological infrastructure of attention, especially algorithms; (3) political economic interests underpinning what gets attention. Each topical area will be presented and analyzed in the context of overarching considerations of power, control, and freedom.

MEDIA LAW, POLICY, & ETHICS (CM3046)

Examines how constitutional and statutory law define and protect media in different countries. Introduces students to libel law, copyright and author's rights, commercial rights issues, and variations across countries. Examines the role of government institutions and regulatory bodies in formulating policy on matters such as children's television and advertising regulation. Explores the process of self-regulation and issues of journalist's ethics.

HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION (CM3048)

Introduces theories of human-computer interaction and analyzes human factors related to the design, development, and use of Information Systems. Students will apply these theories with examples of design, implementation, and evaluation of multimedia user interfaces. The subject of this course is inherently interdisciplinary and the students attending the course normally represent several majors.

MEDIA AND ETHNOGRAPHY (CM3049)

Explores how ethnography has been applied to a variety of media to understand how audiences receive media and respond to them. Examines how ethnographers and anthropologists use photography and film to explore 'cultures' and how they are re-appropriating media to express their own concerns.

RHETORIC & PERSUASION (CM3052)

Studies rhetoric as a historical phenomenon and as a practical reality. Considers how words and images are used to convince and persuade individuals of positions, arguments or actions to undertake, with particular attention to advertising, politics and culture. Studies the use of reason, emotion, and commonplaces, and compares visual and verbal techniques of persuasion.

MEDIA & GENDER (CM3053)

This course introduces students to key concepts, theories and texts in the study of gender and media in a global context. By examining a range of media texts, modes of representation and production, we can analyse established patterns of how gender has come to be depicted and constructed by media, but also changes and challenges to these patterns. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role of power, discourse and ideology in these contexts. Topics of study will include gender roles, body image, empowerment, spectatorship and performance, sexuality, stereotypes and exploitation; examples will be drawn from media forms including advertising, film, television, journalism and the internet. An overview of important feminist, poststructuralist and queer theories will be central to critical approaches to this material.