Course

New Media and Society

Important Notice

This course is not active. Please contact Department Chair for more information.

Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Department
Communications
Course Code
CMNS 1223
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
15 weeks
Max Class Size
35
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Typically Offered
Fall
Winter

Overview

Course Description
This course offers students an overview of new media and how new media technologies are affecting society. Tracing the evolution of the media from tools of mass communication to key players in the new information society, this course will introduce students to key communication concepts with which they can evaluate critically new media's ability to create political, economic and social change. Students will examine fundamental communication theories that relate to media ownership and control, media and democracy, media and identity, and media governance. Students will apply these theories to understand new media, including ownership and control of new media, social media and digital technologies, and the Internet and democracy.
Course Content

Part 1: Changing Media Environments

From Mass Communication to Network Society: An Overview

Part 2: Analyzing a Changing Media Landscape: The Theoretical Foundations

Media and Democracy: Public Sphere Theory

Media Effects: Texts, Reception, and Cultural Studies

Media Ownership and Control: Critical Theory

Media Governance: Media Policymaking

Part 3: Understanding the New Media Environment

Celebrating/Critiquing the Information Society

Ownership and Control of the New Media

Internet, Social Media and Digital Cultures

New Media and Democracy

Labour in the Information Age

Globalizing Media

Global Media Governance

Learning Activities

Some or all of the following methods will be used:

  • Lecture/seminar
  • Media (including documentary film)
  • Discussion of class readings and materials
  • Student-provided materials (examples illustrating key ideas from course materials)
Means of Assessment

Students will be assessed using a variety of evaluations such as

Case study  – 15%

Midterm exam – 20%

Two presentations – 10% each, total 20%

Research Paper Proposal – 5%

Research paper – 30%

Attendance and class participation – 10%

Total - 100%

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this course will

  1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of what constitutes the new media landscape
  2. Identify the key communication theories that may apply to a study of new media
  3. Apply these communication concepts to understand the potential impact of new media
  4. Identify and critically evaluate key areas of concern that pertain to the rise of new media
  5. Understand how new media may cause significant political, economic, and social change through an examination of current events
Textbook Materials

Course pack and textbook, such as the current edition of one of the following:

Andrea L. Press and Bruce Williams, The New Media Environment: An Introduction

John Hartley, Digital Futures for Cultural and Media Studies

Leah A. Lievrouw and Sonia Livingstone, Handbook of New Media: Student Edition

Requisites

Prerequisites

None

Corequisites

None

Equivalencies

None

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for CMNS 1223
There are no applicable transfer credits for this course.

Course Offerings

Winter 2025