2026 Fall
MEDIAST 190 001 - LEC 001
Formerly Mass Communications 190
Special Topics in Media Studies
A Guide to Your Self: Media, Personality, and Identity as History and Theory
Matthew Berry
Class #:19463
Units: 4
Instruction Mode:
In-Person Instruction
Offered through
Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies
Current Enrollment
Total Open Seats:
37
Enrolled: 8
Waitlisted: 13
Capacity: 45
Waitlist Max: 14
Open Reserved Seats:
37 reserved for Media Studies Majors
Hours & Workload
2 to 4 hours of instructor presentation of course materials per week, and 6 to 8 hours of outside work hours per week.
Other classes by Matthew Berry
Course Catalog Description
Normally open only to Media Studies majors who have already completed 12 units of upper division work in the major. Advanced study in Media Studies with topics to be announced each semester.
Class Description
How and why do we use media technologies to understand and express our "selves"? Are the representations of individuals in media more (or less) accurate reflections of person's identity or do they actually constitute who that person is? How do media representations of gender, race, and class affect the production of self? This course will embark on an adventure through history and theory, exploring how identities and personalities are produced, represented, consumed, and critiqued through such diverse media technologies as the printed autobiographies, photographs, audio and video tape, social and streaming digital media, copying, cloning, and brain emulation. Special attention will be paid to literature on psychoanalysis, dramaturgy, celebrity, digital selves, and gendered visuality.
Class Notes
For Media Studies students, "A Guide to Your Self" will satisfy the DS.2: Virtual Communities and Social Media elective.
Enrollment Info:
- During Phase I, all seats will be saved for declared Media Studies students only. Other interested (including intended MS) students may place themselves on th... show more
Enrollment Info:
- During Phase I, all seats will be saved for declared Media Studies students only. Other interested (including intended MS) students may place themselves on th... show more
For Media Studies students, "A Guide to Your Self" will satisfy the DS.2: Virtual Communities and Social Media elective.
Enrollment Info:
- During Phase I, all seats will be saved for declared Media Studies students only. Other interested (including intended MS) students may place themselves on the waitlist.
- When Phase II begins, any remaining seats will be released to eligible students on the waitlist.
- Freshmen are not permitted to enroll in this course.
For more information on the enrollment process for this course, please visit https://mediastudies.ugis.berkeley.edu/course-enrollment-information/ show less
Enrollment Info:
- During Phase I, all seats will be saved for declared Media Studies students only. Other interested (including intended MS) students may place themselves on the waitlist.
- When Phase II begins, any remaining seats will be released to eligible students on the waitlist.
- Freshmen are not permitted to enroll in this course.
For more information on the enrollment process for this course, please visit https://mediastudies.ugis.berkeley.edu/course-enrollment-information/ show less
Rules & Requirements
Repeat Rules
Reserved Seats
Reserved Seating For This Term
Current Enrollment
Open Reserved Seats:
37 reserved for Media Studies Majors
Textbooks & Materials
See class syllabus or https://calstudentstore.berkeley.edu/textbooks for the most current information.
Guide to Open, Free, & Affordable Course Materials
Associated Sections
None