America's founding principles of equality and equal opportunity have long been the subject of interpretation, debate, national angst, and widespread (oftentimes violent) conflict. No more is this the case than when we talk about the issue of race. While biological notions of race have lost their scientific validity, race remains a salient issue in American life as a social and political reality sustained through a wide variety of media forms. The broad purpose of this course is to better understand how notions of race have been defined and shaped in and through these mediated forms. Specific attention may be given to the ways that race is articulated in forms of mass media and popular culture.
