Media and Cultural Studies Major

Major Requirements

Four courses are required of all majors, including the introductory course, MCST 110 - Texts and Power: Foundations of Media and Cultural Studies , which covers the history of cultural analysis, broadly defined, from traditional to contemporary approaches, providing students with a foundation in major writings and acquainting students with issues of continuing debate in media studies. Completion of or enrollment in MCST 110 - Texts and Power: Foundations of Media and Cultural Studies  is required for admission into the major program. Students must also take MCST 128 - Film Analysis/Visual Culture , MCST 126 - Local News Media Institutions  or MCST 202 - Global Media Industries , and MCST 488 - Advanced Topics Seminar , in which students work on an independent project in line with the theme of the seminar and share their scholarship with a scholarly community, integrating what they have learned in the major. The capstone experience involves close analysis of cultural artifacts that examine at a higher level issues first raised in the introductory course. In exceptional cases, students with sufficient preparation may take the seminar prior to their senior year.

The major also requires one advanced course in media/cultural theory, two courses on race or gender/sexuality and the media, one course in analyzing or making media, and two approved electives in media studies.