21L 015 INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA STUDIES : CLASS SCHEDULE
 
for details of reading assignments, see the homepage for the specific class in question, or the course readings page.
 
I CORE CONCEPTS

INTRODUCTION

4 feb cave painting on the web jenkins/roberts
5 feb LAB  
6 feb core definitions jenkins

THEORIES OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

11 feb core definitions jenkins
12 feb LAB  
13 feb
core definitions
FIRST PAPER DUE
raman

CASE STUDY: THE CHANGING FUNCTIONS OF RADIO

18 feb NO CLASS
19 feb LAB  
20 feb radio as a central medium jenkins

II FUNCTIONS OF MEDIA

CULTURAL TRANSMISSION

25 feb from orality to literacy jenkins
26 feb LAB  
27 feb
from print to the digital age
SECOND PAPER DUE
donaldson
 

COMMUNITY LINKAGE

4 mar television in the broadcast era thorburn
5 mar LAB  
6 mar telecommunities and transnationalism waryn
 

RECORDING HISTORY AND MEMORY

11 mar photography and the advent of modernity kinney
12 mar LAB  
13 mar
truth and fabrication in the digital age
THIRD PAPER DUE
mitchell
 

AMUSEMENT AND ENTERTAINMENT

18 mar the magician & the storyteller davenport
19 mar LAB  
20 mar simulated environments roberts

SPRING BREAK

TELLING STORIES

1 apr
CLASS CANCELLED
FOURTH PAPER DUE
2 apr LAB  
3 apr
the detective across media
thorburn

POWER AND PERSUASION

8 apr propaganda widdig
9 apr LAB  
10 apr reality tv roberts

III MEDIA IN TRANSITION

MEDIA IN THE RENAISSANCE

15 apr
early print culture
FIFTH PAPER DUE
fuller
16 apr LAB sonenberg
17 apr
theatre and theatricality
henderson

MEDIA AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY

22 apr NO CLASS
23 apr LAB  
24 apr early cinema roberts/jenkins

MEDIA IN THE DIGITAL AGE

29 apr
narrative form in digital media
SIXTH PAPER DUE
murray
30 apr LAB  
1 may
communication and community
barrett

IV MEDIA INSTITUTIONS

CASE STUDY: THE CHANGING FACE OF THE FILM INDUSTRY

6 may the hollywood studio turk
7 may LAB  
8 may media conglomerates kelty

9 may FINAL PAPER DUE (10 pages)

GRASSROOTS MEDIA

13 may culture jamming roberts
14 may LAB  
15 may fandom jenkins

mroberts@mit.edu