Introduction to Media Studies will introduce students to the framework of media studies, relevant concepts,
keywords, and theories. It will follow the “L.I.A.R” framework, which consists of four modules:
-Language
-Institutions and Industries
-Audiences
-Representation
Each of these modules will be studied over two to three weeks with the aid of audiovisual and text support.
The class is structured with an interactive purpose: the students are invited to consider and respond to in situ
guiding questions, encouraging participation and critical thinking, and working together from the familiar to
the new. Beyond the theoretical aspect of the lecture, the seminar also favors skill-building activities: a critical
discussion portion before class, a weekly creative writing club (media prompt-based flash fiction), and an
opportunity to conduct journalistic interviews.
Week 1: An Introduction to Media Studies (class introduction, essay guidelines, flash fiction club)
Week 2: Language: Understanding Keywords—the Fourth Estate and Politics
Week 3: Language: Understanding Symbols—the Creation of Meaning
Week 4: Institutions and Industries: Information Determinism, Hollywood, and the Advent of the
Immaterial Good
Week 5: Institutions and Industries: The Frankfurt School, Keeping up with the Joneses, and the
Counterculture
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SYLLABUS
Week 6: Institutions and Industries: The Music Industry, “Selling Out”, and the Advertising
Revolution
Week 7: Audiences: Passive or Active? A Theoretical Framework
Week 8: Audiences: Stuart Hall, The Batman, and How to Decode Meaning
Week 9: Representation: Selection, Omission, Construction, and the Framing Effect
Week 10: Representation: Understanding the Representation Lens—Modernity versus Tradition
Week 11: Representation: The Hero Archetypes, The New Luxury, and “Images” versus “Ideals”
Week 12: Recap discussions + Final Exam deadline
Nissrine FARISS
English
Spring 2023-2024
1.Oral presentation (20%)
Each week starting Week 2, the students will give a short presentation (no more than five minutes) on a
media text that caught their attention (either recent or historical). Presentations end with the presenter
directing one or more questions to class. The purpose is to open the floor to discussion before each lecture
while engaging with a media subject with a critical eye.
2.Midterm Essay (30%)
The students will submit a midterm essay (between 2500 and 3000 words) on an essay question given by
the professor. Interviewing expert(s) is required. Work in pairs is allowed.
3.Final Exam (40%)
The students will write a final paper on their elected topic, provided the topic proposal and outline are
submitted beforehand and greenlighted. Starting Week 11, they will have a week to submit their paper,
printed and handed out in person.
4.Flash Fiction Writing Club (10%)
Each week, students will publish a piece of flash fiction (50-100 words) based on a media-related prompt in a
shared space on Moodle. This exercise will train students to the art of saying more with less, and elevate the
quality of their writing.
Boorstin, D. J. (1992). The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America (1st Vintage Books Ed). Vintage.