ANTH 357 - Media, Self and Society

Credits: 5

Who are you?… In this class we will explore concepts of the self and how we get to be the way we think we are. In particular, we will consider the ways in which media (print, film, television, etc.) have been taken to shape us. We will look at possible relations between various types of media and western academic theories of self (Enlightenment thought, Psychoanalysis, Culture and Personality Anthropology, Frankfurt School critical media analysis, Birmingham School Cultural Studies, Cognitive Anthropology, and recent work on social media, gaming, etc.). Finally, we will consider these academic theories as forms of media themselves. At the end of the term you will present a short critically-autobiographical video intended to demonstrate how your “self” has been/is shaped by media. Students must have at least junior standing to register for this course.

[available in even years]