This course explores the various ways that visual mass media in the United States - cinema, television, advertisement, as well as new media - shape and determine the public's perception of the world events. Visual culture has become a predominant epistemological tool in American society in the 21st century. The public has grown to rely heavily on images as a means of making sense of socio-political, historical, and cultural phenomena. The course considers the effects the mass media have on individuals, social groups (women, racial groups and the working-class) as well as society at large.
Assessment: essays and/or projects; end of semester exam.
