MDIA - Media
Courses
MDIA 100 College of Media Orientation credit: 1 Hour.
College of Media Orientation is designed to build academic and social integrity and to give students the resources they need to be responsible members of the University of Illinois community who earn degrees in a timely manner.
MDIA 199 Special Topics credit: 1 to 3 Hours.
Subject offerings of new and developing areas of knowledge and practice in the fields of media. The course is intended to augment the existing curriculum. See Class Schedule or college course information for topics and prerequisites. Approved for letter and S/U grading. May be repeated in the same term to a maximum of 6 hours if topics vary; may be repeated in separate terms to a maximum of 12 hours if topics vary.
MDIA 223 Watching the Environment credit: 3 Hours.
This course examines how films portray the health environment and the need for environmental protection. The course focuses on series of questions including: To what extent does a film suggest that the world has environmental concerns? What are the constraints that narrative form, production routines, financing and distribution put on representing environmental problems and environmentalists? Is the information in the film to be trusted? In documentaries, are physical and social scientists’ explanations of environmental problems and solutions reliable? What cues can we use from within and outside the film to evaluate the film for credibility? During the course participants will compare the science and economics of selected environmental issues with film presentations, examine what drives of environmental participation (and the limits of film in presenting science), and look at the constraints of producing special interest versus broad distribution films on presentations of the environment. Class includes viewing blockbuster, Oscar, and award-winning documentaries. Lecture attendance is mandatory. Same as NRES 223.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for:
Social & Beh Sci - Soc Sci
MDIA 290 Undergraduate Open Seminar credit: 1 to 3 Hours.
Experimental course on special topics pertinent to the disciplines studied within the College of Media. Topics will vary. Approved for letter and S/U grading. May be repeated in the same or separate terms to a maximum of 6 hours if topics vary.
MDIA 299 Media Study Abroad credit: 0 to 18 Hours.
Provides credit toward the undergraduate degree for study at accredited foreign institutions or approved overseas programs. Final determination of credit is made upon the student's completion of the work. Approved for Letter and S/U grading. Prerequisite: One year of residence at UIUC; good academic standing, and prior approval of the College of Media.
MDIA 390 Special Topics in Media credit: 1 to 3 Hours.
Special topics course focusing on cultural, economic, historical, political, and social themes and issues that influence or are influenced by the media. Topics will vary. Additional fees may apply. See Class Schedule. Approved for Letter and S/U grading. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours if topics vary. Prerequisite: One year of Media courses, Junior or senior standing in the College of Media, or consent of instructor.
MDIA 400 Special Topics credit: 1 to 3 Hours.
Varying topics including the cultural, social, historical, legal, economic, political, and other issues that influence or are influenced by Media. 1 to 3 undergraduate hours. 1 to 3 graduate hours. May be repeated in the same or separate terms to a maximum of 6 hours if topics vary. Prerequisite: Previous classes in either AGCM, ADV, JOUR, or MACS.
MDIA 560 Feminist Media Studies credit: 4 Hours.
Addresses major areas of theoretical debate or interest in the broad topic of "Feminist Media Studies" and looks in depth at a number of theoretical issues which define it. Develops an understanding of historical, psychoanalytic, interpretive, and social scientific approaches to the study of film and television texts, their reception, and their production. Readings are extensive and directed toward illustrating the range of theoretical and empirical approaches applied to addressing questions of central interest in the field. Viewings will emphasize some lesser-known historical texts central to theoretical debates in the field. Viewings and readings are focused on "popular" film and television. Same as GWS 560.
MDIA 568 Political Economy of Comm credit: 4 Hours.
Analyzes the structure, policy, and behavior of such media of communication as newspapers, magazines, books, postal service, telegraph, telephone, broadcasting, and film; special emphasis on their relationships to the political order and the economy. Prerequisite: Consent of department.
MDIA 570 Popular Culture credit: 4 Hours.
Examines problems of cultural analysis related to the media of communications and the social implications of communications research.
MDIA 571 Proseminar I credit: 4 Hours.
Addresses the mass media of communications, their role as social institutions, and their control and support. Examines evolution of research on mass media content, audience, and effects. Prerequisite: Consent of department.
MDIA 572 Proseminar II credit: 4 Hours.
Addresses the problems of communications, including the individual as a communicating system, symbolic processes, analysis of messages, psycholinguistics, and language as social behavior. Prerequisite: Consent of department.
MDIA 573 Freedom of Expression credit: 4 Hours.
Examines the development of the Anglo-American press system and the idea of freedom of the press; explores contemporary mass media and their implications for freedom and democracy.
MDIA 577 Philosophy of Technology credit: 4 Hours.
Introduces students to those thinkers who understand technology philosophically as a central component in modern culture. Examines major perspectives on the nature of technology, rooted in Norbert Weiner, Karl Marx, and Martin Heidegger. Links media technologies, information systems, and global communications background problems and basic issues to technology more generally. Develops instrumentalism, feminist and critical approaches, ethical concerns, and alternative technologies in the context of technology as a cultural activity.
MDIA 578 Communication Ethics credit: 4 Hours.
This course introduces the latest literature in, or directly relevant to, communication, media and information ethics. It examines current efforts in applied and professional ethics, feminist ethics, and social ethics to develop ethical models that are cross-cultural, gender inclusive and international. The major ethical issues are considered in such areas as global communication, new media technologies, information systems, news, and entertainment.
MDIA 590 Special Topics credit: 2 to 8 Hours.
May be repeated in the same or in multiple semesters if topics vary.
MDIA 592 Quantitative Methods credit: 4 Hours.
Introduces the methods of empirical research in the behavioral sciences applicable to research problems in human communication, with emphasis on studies of mass communication. Lectures, readings, and laboratory practice.
MDIA 593 Qualitative Methods credit: 4 Hours.
Introduces qualitative concepts and strategies in the social sciences and humanities which apply to research problems in mass communications.
MDIA 599 Thesis Research credit: 0 to 16 Hours.
Approved for S/U grading only. May be repeated to a maximum of 16 hours.