• MDST 4106

    Media and the Kennedy Era
     Rating

    4.56

     Difficulty

    3.00

     GPA

    3.54

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course examines mass media 'network television, journalism, advertising, cinema' both during the Kennedy years and after to explore the impact, ideas, ideals, and iconography of this presidency. Prerequisites: MDST 2000 or permission of instructor

  • MDST 3559

    New Course in Media Studies
     Rating

    4.18

     Difficulty

    3.00

     GPA

    3.57

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Media Studies.

  • MDST 4210

    Global Environmental Media
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.57

    Last Taught

    Fall 2025

    From analysis of documentary, narrative film, animation, gaming, experimental video, and social media, the class will provide students with the tools to bridge the gap between media and scientific messages about environmental issues. Students will develop critical tools to understand the aesthetic, environmental and industrial characteristics of different media practices related to some of the most significant issues facing our world.

  • MDST 3404

    Democratic Politics in the New Media Environment
     Rating

    3.50

     Difficulty

    3.00

     GPA

    3.60

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course examines the ways a changing media system is altering the dynamics of public discourse and democratic politics in the United States. Throughout the course we will critically analyze the ways in which scholars from a wide range of disciplines have studied the connection between media and politics, the methods they have employed, and the validity of their findings and approaches in the new media environment in which we now live. Prerequisite: MDST 2000 or instructor permission.

  • MDST 4559

    New Course in Media Studies
     Rating

    4.33

     Difficulty

    4.00

     GPA

    3.61

    Last Taught

    Spring 2025

    This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Media Studies.

  • MDST 3409

    LGBTQ Issues in the Media
     Rating

    2.83

     Difficulty

    2.50

     GPA

    3.62

    Last Taught

    Summer 2025

    This course will explore the complex cultural dynamics of LGBTQ media visibility, along with its social, political, and psychological implications for LGBTQ audiences. It explores four domains: (1) the question of LGBT media visibility (2) the complex processes of inclusion, normalization, and assimilation in popular culture (3) media industries and the LGBT market (4) the relationship between digital media, LGBT audiences, and everyday life.

  • MDST 4000

    Media Theory and Methods
     Rating

    2.67

     Difficulty

    2.00

     GPA

    3.62

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    An introduction to research methods in media studies. Intended as a foundation for thesis and project work for students in the DMP program. Covers subjects such as research design, ethics, people-based methods (ethnography, surveys, interviews) and textual analysis.

  • MDST 3000

    Theory and Criticism of Media
     Rating

    3.57

     Difficulty

    4.00

     GPA

    3.68

    Last Taught

    Fall 2025

    This course introduces students at the beginning of the major to theoretical and critical literature in the field. Topics range from the psychological and sociological experience of media, interpretation and analysis of media forms and aesthetics, theories of audience and reception, anthropological approaches to media as a cultural force, and contemporary theories of media from humanities and social sciences perspectives. The goal of the course is to provide a foundation for thinking critically about media and to give them a sense of media studies as a critical and theoretical field. Restricted to Media Studies majors.

  • MDST 2810

    Cinema As An Art Form
     Rating

    4.17

     Difficulty

    2.60

     GPA

    3.69

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    A course in visual thinking; introduces film criticism, concentrating on classic and current American and non-American films.

  • MDST 3501

    Special Topics in Directors and Auteurs
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.69

    Last Taught

    Fall 2025

    This course will offer historical, comparative, and critical perspectives on a selected major directors and auteurs each semester. Directors might include Hitchcock, Welles, Heckerling, Ray, Speilberg, Renoir, Truffaut, etc.