Professor: Bish Sen
4 credits
The world has become global, and with it the nature of media systems. We cannot understand media today without considering the transnational and inter-cultural dimensions of all forms of media. This course will introduce you to a set of important questions concerned with the production, distribution, and consumption of global media products, with a strong focus on television. In the first section of the course, we will theorize the idea of “globalization” and provide an overview of the main currents of global media theory (cultural imperialism, glocalization and hybridity, media flows and contra-flows, global media economics). Next, we will focus on different regions of the world – Nigeria, Turkey, India, and Korea – to ask questions related to decolonization, regional media hegemony, global diasporic culture, and global soft power. Topics covered in the course will include the following: reality television in the Middle East, Nigerian video films, Turkish soap operas, diasporic cultural production, and K-pop, K-drama and other aspects of the Korean hallyu. Based on the course readings and discussions, video materials, and student-generated content, the course will analyze the main features of worldwide media systems, evaluate contemporary theories of transnational media, and attempt to theorize a still evolving global media landscape.
Graduation Requirement: This class will fulfill a Social Science Colloquium and the Global Perspectives (GP) cultural literacy requirement. If the student has already taken a Social Science Colloquium, this class will fulfill both of the following requirements: an Elective Colloquium and Global Perspective cultural literacy.