• MDST 2000

    Introduction to Media Studies
     Rating

    3.26

     Difficulty

    2.94

     GPA

    3.44

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    This course is a survey introduction to the complex and increasingly pervasive impact of mass media in the U.S. and around the world. It provides a foundation for helping you to understand how mass media -- as a business, as well as a set of texts -- operates. The course also explores contextual issues -- how media texts and businesses are received by audiences and by regulatory bodies.

  • MDST 2200

    Introduction to Film
     Rating

    3.80

     Difficulty

    2.00

     GPA

    3.77

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    This course explores the world of cinema through storytelling, technique, and cultural influence. It covers key concepts in film analysis, including cinematography, editing, sound, and lighting, helping students understand how filmmakers craft powerful narratives. Students exploring how films reflect societal values and address complex issues. The course traces the history of cinema and offers hands-on experiences in writing and production.

  • MDST 2508

    Topics in Media Practice
     Rating

    4.67

     Difficulty

    2.25

     GPA

    3.82

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    This course will provide practice-based learning opportunities for students in various forms of media, including video, podcasting, film, etc.

  • MDST 2690

    Sports Journalism
     Rating

    5.00

     Difficulty

    2.00

     GPA

    3.71

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    This course will cover all manner of media as it relates to sports journalism. Students will analyze published work across various mediums, learn the tools for reporting and writing different types of coverage, including features, profiles, long-form, game stories and more. Students will write articles, interview subjects, analyze sports journalism, participate in peer reviews and hear from some of the most prominent figures in sports journalism.

  • MDST 2700

    News Writing
     Rating

    3.71

     Difficulty

    3.00

     GPA

    3.41

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    Introductory course in news writing, emphasizing editorials, features, and reporting.

  • MDST 2710

    Screenwriting
     Rating

    3.67

     Difficulty

    1.50

     GPA

    3.83

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    An introduction to the art and craft of screenwriting through the writing and discussion of short scripts. Will involve study of screenplays and films, and focus on the basic elements of screenwriting, including story structure, creation of character, and formatting. Prerequisite: Media studies major or instructor permission.

  • MDST 2727

    African Americans in Popular Culture
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    Which mediated performances of Blackness do we find acceptable, and which do we scorn? How have Black Americans worked to assert their value in a culture marked by respectability politics? We will examine how media has worked to inform "respectable," exceptional Black self-presentation versus the deficient. Topics include: Donald Glover, the NAACP, Serena Williams, situation comedy, Tyler Perry, Bill Cosby, Sesame Street, horror, Lena Waithe.

  • MDST 3000

    Theory and Criticism of Media
     Rating

    3.57

     Difficulty

    4.00

     GPA

    3.68

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    This course introduces students at the beginning of the major to theoretical and critical literature in the field. Topics range from the psychological and sociological experience of media, interpretation and analysis of media forms and aesthetics, theories of audience and reception, anthropological approaches to media as a cultural force, and contemporary theories of media from humanities and social sciences perspectives. The goal of the course is to provide a foundation for thinking critically about media and to give them a sense of media studies as a critical and theoretical field. Restricted to Media Studies majors.

  • MDST 3050

    History of Media
     Rating

    2.95

     Difficulty

    3.00

     GPA

    3.48

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    This is a hands-on introduction to global media history. The course situates technologies, industries, texts and programs in the context of social, cultural, and political changes. Students will acquire basic competencies in historical research and writing: developing research questions, evaluating secondary sources, selecting archives, querying databases, managing notes, citing sources, sharing resources, and communicating findings as a team.

  • MDST 3113

    Horror Noire: History of Black Americans in Horror
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.56

    Last Taught

    Fall 2026

    Black horror is a primer on the quest for social justice. What can such a boundary-pushing genre teach us about paths to solidarity and democracy? What can we learn about disrupting racism, misogyny, and anti-Blackness? If horror is radical transgression, then we have much to learn from movies such as Candyman, The First Purge, Get Out, Eve¿s Bayou, Blacula, Attack the Block, Demon Knight, Tales from the Hood, Sugar Hill, and Ganja & Hess.