This course analyzes the development of what has been called the "surveillance society." The course combines theoretical and empirical studies, and ranges from debates over security-based surveillance to studies of the ubiquitous surveillance in the contexts of social media. AP/CMDS 4740 3.00 was previously offered as AP/COMN 4740 3.00.
Media History Seminar will be a final year seminar for students with a high interest in the field and wish to pursue advanced work in media history. Topics will include the historical development of print culture, broadcasting, internet history and the renewed interest in forms of residual media within the current digital context. Course credit […]
Examines the various perspectives of contemporary communication theory. It explores current theoretical approaches with an emphasis on contemporary debates and issues in communication studies. AP/CMDS 3101 3.00 was previously offered as AP/COMN 3101 3.00. Course credit exclusion: AP/COMN 3320 6.00 (prior to Fall 2012).
In this course, students are introduced to the study of digital games, approaching games as technologies which shape and are shaped by our contemporary world. In doing so, students explore a range of academic and non-academic perspectives for placing digital games in both a Canadian and global context, and for making sense of the interplay […]
This course introduces the theories, psychology, and functions of humour in North America from the 19th century to today. It explores comedy's pedagogical possibilities for analyzing and confronting social inequities related to race, class, sexuality, gender, disability, and citizenship status. Using a cultural studies approach, students examine comedy as truth-telling, emancipatory, and coalition-building practices across […]
How have audiences learned to perceive and understand 'race' in visual mass media? How do photographic and cinematographic technologies shape our understandings of ourselves, others, and the world? This course uses anti-racist and decolonial approaches to study the imperial legacies of film and photography, from colonial-era projects through contemporary globalization and militarization, within broader cultural […]
This course introduces students to the major research paradigms and attendant methodologies in the field of mass communication. Course credit exclusion: AP/COMN 3991 6.00 (prior to Fall 2012), AP/COMN 3150 3.0 Prior to Fall 2020.
This course provides an introduction to understanding, interpreting, and applying key theoretical approaches in communication and media theory. Special attention will be paid to mass communication theory, cultural theory, medium theory, feminist theory, semiotics, critical theories of technology, critical race theory, and the political economy of media. Course credit exclusion: AP/COMN 3320 6.00 (prior to […]
Introduces students to recent theoretical developments on the workings of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and their interactions with society and culture, so as to facilitate various ways to think with and about technology.
This course investigates the role played by automated systems, commonly called 'Artificial Intelligence' (AI), both in shaping digital media and internet cultures and in mediating a broad range of social and cultural relationships. What potential social and cultural transformations, problems, or biases arise when AI systems replace human decision-making?