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.

We may believe the best guarantee for democracy is a free and open media system, but what do we do when someone hijacks channels of communication to deliver the wrong message? Conversely, can we justify using media to criticize and attack authoritarian regimes and systems of oppression? In this course we will explore dangerous media realms where truth and justice are up for grabs. We will analyze media theories pertaining to propaganda, bias, and cultural hegemony while evaluating a series of historical and contemporary case studies of propaganda use by state and nonstate actors, deliberate misinformation campaigns, and the proliferation of conspiracy theories. Special attention will be paid to the ethical and epistemic properties of media systems.

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