MDST 3903

The class was super interesting. It's the type of class that it makes sense to do the readings, because you will actually use them in class and she will make sure to connect the lectures to them. They are not just for extra knowledge, but to actual understanding of what you're learning. I didn't do them in the beginning, and I was fine, but then doing them made the class so much better and so much more interesting, and the readings were actually so cool to do, specially when you used the questions to think about that she gives out. You have to do six 3 page responses for the readings (one 3 page response for 6 weeks of your choice), and at first they feel super overwhelming because she doesn't provide any guidelines so you don't know how she grades, but she's just looking for analysis on the primary resources/artifacts (like newspapers or magazine articles or documentaries) she gives you with context from the readings. She likes opinions and thinking of what a title means or why a picture on that newspaper was used, etc. It took me about two hours to write each response and about two to three hours of to do the readings. She's very fair with the readings, though. Like this was the most reasonable amount of reading I've ever had to do for a class in relation to history and politics (except for the first week but that's just because you gotta read something to give you historical context). The good thing is that if you miss one week of reading, you won't fall behind. She likes participation and engagement. The more you do that, the better for you. She likes questions and she's an expert on the matters, but sometimes she tends to be a bit vague, so the readings are really useful to follow her trains of thoughts. It's super group project based, so your experience might depend on that but she tries to be super fair based on who does what, and she asks for you to clarify it. So it's group project but you still definitely have your individual responsibilities. I was lucky to have an amazing group that was super helpful, but I was also very engaged and participated a lot, so sometimes that helped me compensate a bit. When you find the rhythm of the class, it becomes super enjoyable and stress free. You just have to do the work. There's pretty much a small group project every week or every other week, but that really helps stay engaged with the material. I learned a lot, and out of all the Media classes that I took, this one was probably the one that made me finalize my decision on becoming a Media Studies major. I'm not a fan of history classes, but learning it through a media lens made it so much more intersting and easy to grasp and remember. There's no tests, but there's a final project that you can do alone or with a group. Up to you. If you like your group, I recommend that, we did really well on the project. I ended up with an A- because of the Group Proposal and Group Presentation (each 15%). Make sure to pick the right topic to do the presentation in AND the Group Proposal is SUPER important, give it more credit than you think you should.

Professor Bodroghkozy is THE expert on the 1960s era, especially with regards to interactions with the media. This class is reading and discussion heavy, as it is an upper level seminar. Do the readings, write the 3 page responses, participate in class, and you will do fine. My grade was slacking slightly, but was able to pull it up to an A- with a solid final project (done alone instead of with a group). Bodroghkozy is a very entertaining and flexible professor, but can grade harshly as she really wants you to understand the point of the material. Definitely recommend taking this class!