Theory of Communication Studies

4 credits

Communication theory as it applies to cultural, media, and technological contexts and processes.

All forms of media communication are social and shaped by our cultural and political environment. This is why we communicate in some ways and not others. MFCO 202 provides a critical overview of forms and theories of mediated communications in order to explain how we communicate differently to different audiences and publics. The paper investigates the centrality of communication to the formation of public space, citizenship, popular culture and institutions of power. The paper explores: the public sphere; citizenship, education and health; new mediated sociality; communication as a form of governance; fannish communications; and diasporic uses of media communications.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper will

• Be able to evaluate the social and political assumptions informing theories of communication
• Explain how space and culture influence our public identity and public forms of communication
• Develop the capacity to critically analyse a range of contemporary media texts and their public effects