Cultures of New Media

Catalog description

This course is an anthropological examination of 'new media' - their varied forms and histories, how they are used and understood, and their meanings and effects within different communities of users. We will chart a number of technologies deemed 'new' in their day and the social meanings and communities that such technologies generated. We will also explore new media in domains of art and literature, as well as issues of race, gender, sexuality and how other indices of difference come to bear on new media and its use. Most course material will be drawn from anthropology, but will also draw on media studies, visual studies, cultural studies and critical theory, queer and gender theory, history and geography. Students will make use of the Duke library resource page for this class: http://guides.library.duke.edu/new_media. 001352