MMS 121

COURSE CODE: MMS 121

COURSE TITLE: Multimedia and Popular Culture

UNITS: 3 units

PREREQUISITE: MMS 120

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The impact of communication and multimedia technology on popular culture.

COURSE GOAL:

At the end of the course, the student should:
• understand the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of the influence of multimedia on popular culture
• appreciate the impact of communication technology on cultural trends
• be able to discuss popular culture icons created by mass media.

COURSE OUTLINE:

  • Unit I – Introduction
    • Module 1 The relationship between communication and culture
    • Module 2 A survey of approaches and theories
    • Module 3 Traditional vs. popular culture
  • Unit II – The Context of Popular Culture
    • Module 4 The Information Age and the New Millennium
    • Module 5 Political upheavals, ethnic conflict and power shifts
    • Module 6 Natural disasters, early warning systems and media dependency
    • Module 7 Societal crises, chaos and complexity
    • Module 8 Societal awareness of alternative futures
    • Module 9 Moving from textual literacy to visual literacy
  • Unit III – Multimedia Technology and Cultural Trends
    • Module 10 Mass media and the baby boomers
    • Module 11 Alternative media and Generation X
    • Module 12 Digital media and “Generation Text”
    • Module 13 Icons of Pop Culture
  • Unit IV – The Globalization of Communication and Culture
    • Module 14 CNN as the global agenda setter
    • Module 15 MTV as the global style setter
    • Module 16 Hollywood as the global dream weaver
  • Unit V – Conclusion: An Emerging Global Multimedia Consciousness