Current course offerings

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Course description

This course explores the origins and contemporary roles of media in international affairs, both as a source of information and, increasingly, as an important medium of war, peace, and diplomacy. The course is composed of three tracks. The first is foundational, focusing on the dual development of colonial and media empires from early days of the panorama, photography, print media, radio, TV, global news corporations, to today's Internet (web 2.0) - thus covering the origins of and evolution from old to digital new media. The second is theoretical, using classical International Relations and critical theory to examine media as product and instrument of cultural, economic and political struggles. The third is practical, using second weekly 'Global Media Workshops' in which guest media practitioners (from war reporters, film documentary makers, bloggers, to social media activists) teamed with International Relations theorists will present classes in a variety of media, including print, photography, radio, cinema, television, and online convergences. Combining history, theory, critical viewing, and film screenings, and based on a retrospective study of news media, documentaries, and critical media theory, the course will map the complex contemporary global media environment where the satellite, Internet and cell phone, among other recent technologies, have created a new political panorama of messages, meanings and stratagems directly affecting international politics and questions of war and peace.

Archived offerings