Undergraduate Courses

This studio course examines a mixtape selection of electronic music from around the world using music theory and composition. Global electronic music necessitates diverse methodologies in critical discussion of the research of this music in a post/neo-colonial setting. Students engage in critical discussion of the studio and the digital audio workstation as compositional tools and of the music itself as innovation, communication, and historiography in global communities of the Information age

Designed for BFA (Studio Art) students, this course is an introduction to the global history of art, exploring the meanings associated with “art.” The class is a series of linked test cases involving specific art objects & the context of their creation. By working closely with a range of materials –– art history & theory, artist’s writings, & documentary film –– we will survey how artists have contributed to the history of art and question how this history matters for contemporary artists.

Explores world history through demographic and technological change, urbanization, nomadic invasions, cross-cultural interactions, empires, and major religious and philosophical world views. Provides broad framework though which to approach teaching and learning of world history: Seeing global patterns and processes over time and space while connecting local developments to global ones; comparing within and among societies; analyzing multiple perspectives of peoples and major debates among historians; exploring persistent relevance of world history to contemporary developments.

This course examines public policy issues and institutions of media governance at the international level. It provides an historical overview of the various institutions and actors involved in global media governance, and assesses the various principles and practices that constitute the regime of global media governance, including regulation of broadcasting, telecommunications, the Internet, and trade in media products. Special attention will be paid to current debates within multilateral bodies such as UNESCO, the WTO, and the International Telecommunication Union.

Specifically for students in the Global Media Scholars program, this course is the required culminating
experience taken in the senior year, alongside a travel component during the January term. Course topics reflect
faculty research interests, offering students a chance to explore emerging issues in the field of media studies, and
will be site-specific based on the country chosen for January travel.

This class examines the intersecting dynamics of media genres and geo-linguistic cultural markets in the configuration of global and regional media flows. It looks in particular at the way media genres travel and how their circulation raises issues about the cultural power of certain media narratives in specific historical, political and social conditions of consumption. We will examine the battle for national, regional, and global media markets as a struggle for the 'Slegitimate' cultural and political view of the world expressed through information (news), scientific discourse (documentaries), and popular culture (films, tele novels, reality television, music) to understand the complex global flow of television programs and films.

With an emphasis on British and European news and journalism, this course explores globalization
from a wide range of theoretical frameworks including political economy, cultural analysis, theories of
representation, and critical race and postcolonial studies. It considers how technologies, diasporic and
transnational communities, and international institutions impact global communications, and how these networks
and organizations are challenging, re-imagining and re-shaping social, cultural and geographic boundaries via
mediated discourse.

This course aims to bring together diverse issues and perspectives in the rapidly evolving and changing area of international/global communication. Through a historical perspective, a framework will be established for the appreciation of the development of the immense scope, disparity, and complexity of this rapidly evolving field. Students will be encouraged to critically assess shifts in national, regional, and international media patterns of production, distribution, and consumption over time, leading to a critical analysis of the tumultuous contemporary global communication environment. Essential concepts of international communication will be examined, including trends in national and global media consolidation, cultural implications of globalization, international broadcasting, information flows, international communication law and regulation, and trends in communication and information technologies. The focus of the course will be international, with attention being paid both to Western-based multimedia conglomerates, as well as to the increasing global prominence of media corporations based in other regions, contributing to the reversal of international media flows and challenging the global hegemony of the Western media producers. Particular emphasis will be on the Czech Republic, as an empirical example of a national media system affected by global media flows.

Using a historical perspective, the course aims to acquaint students with Latin American theories, practices and representations of the media. Departing from a critical approach to Habermas theory of the public sphere, the course will trace the arc of the media in Latin America since independence to the incumbent post-neoliberal area and the so-called “Media Wars”. Given that Argentina is facing an extraordinary conflict between the government and the Clarín media conglomerate (the largest of its kind in Latin America), the students will engage in the current incendiary debates about the role of the media, the new media law and the complex relationship between the media, politics and the state.

This course introduces students to the basic structures and practices of media in Europe and their relationship to everyday social life. It pays special attention to the common models and idioms of media in Europe, with an emphasis on national and regional variations. Specific case studies highlite current rends in the production, distribution, consumption, and regulation of media. Topics may include: national and regional idioms in a range of media genres, from entertainment to advertising and publicity, to news and information; legal norms regarding content and freedom of expression; pirate and independent media; and innovations and emerging practices in digital media.

The course on “Media, Activism & Democracy” aims at, first, introducing students to the complex and fascinating topic of civil society activism; second, at illustrating them the linkages between activism and media; third, at showing them the impact of civil society’s advocacy on contemporary political systems. In a nutshell, the course aims at providing students with a closer understanding of the civil society activism-media-politics conundrums at the national and global levels.

In this seminar- based subject, students will discuss the latest global
media developments in the context of key theoretical frameworks. Central
topics include: the increasing disruption of established information flows;
challenges facing the fourth estate and democracy itself; the role of soft
power and popular culture; trust in journalism and traditional media;
the rise of social platforms as near-sovereign technocracies; gender and
diversity biases in media and emerging media tech; ethics and regulation;
the proliferation of fake news and
deep fakes; the potential erosion of privacy; the emergence of citizen
journalism; the phenomenon of cancel culture; the influence of hacktivism
and digital activism; inequality after #metoo and #blacklivesmatter; the
emerging architectures of the metaverse and VR/AR; advancements in Web 3.0
and blockchain; as well as the suite of emerging implications resulting
from generative AI, including the intensifying and sometimes intimate
relationships between humans and machines. The focus will be international,
with an emphasis on Australia. Ultimately, the course will examine the ways
in which global communication is undergoing a ceaseless paradigm shift.

Global Music Trend Analysis provides undergraduate students abroad with the opportunity to conduct primary & secondary research about the music industry in their local country, compare their findings with students concurrently in different locations, research business expansion into their local country, & propose an international expansion plan to a music company.

An introduction to selected musical sounds and practices from cultural groups around the world. Through exposure to distinct musical cultures, from traditional to transnational, students define and apply musical concepts such as rhythm, timbre, melody, and form. Socio-cultural contexts are also examined, touching on issues such as race, gender, embodied participation, technologies of production and circulation, and relationship to religion, the state, and other social structures.

This course introduces students to theories of global television studies, the reception of American media abroad, & several case studies of television from around the world. Students will learn about the challenges & rewards of studying global television, both of which revolve around how to study television programming & the television industry across cultures & across languages.

Not Available.

The course examines the conceptual & empirical work on the social, cultural, & economic aspects of globalization & their implications for education. We shall explore education in light of: 1) the increasing de-territorialization of cultural formations; 2) the emergence of global markets along with the post-nationalization of the production & distribution of goods & services -- with a concomitant premiss on knowledge -- intensive work; 3) new information & communication technologies which are reshaping the structure & meaning of work, belonging & community; 4) unprecedented population movements & worldwide immigration. We shall examine recent conceptual work, in globalization & its relationships to human experience with a focus on youth.

Liberal Arts Core/CORE Equivalent - satisfies the requirement for Society & Social Sciences

This course, taught in small groups of students, serves as an introduction to music composition for the concert stage in an environment that stimulates discussion and collaboration. Students in the group will be encouraged to collaborate in writing pieces, and to critique each other’s works.

This course, taught in small groups of students, serves as an introduction to music composition for film, TV, videogames, and commercial media in an environment that stimulates Field available for additional information in footer
discussion and collaboration. Students in the group will be encouraged to collaborate in writing pieces, and to critique each other’s works.

This course, taught in small groups of students, serves as an introduction to songwriting in an environment that stimulates discussion and collaboration. Students in the group will be encouraged to collaborate in writing pieces, and to critique each other's works.