MCO 303 Media and Race

3 Credit(s) DPDS

This course explores the role the American mass media play in the social construction of racial categories. Students will study how even though biological views on race lack scientific validation, racial categories remain central social, cultural, and political issues in American life. Using various formats the course will highlight how mediated representations have helped sustain a system of racial categorizations necessary for the survival of institutionalized racism and White privilege. The analysis is structured around four areas: fundamental definitions on race, critical analysis of media representations, audience reception and interpretation, and advocacy and activism. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have completed MCO230.