News Media and Democracy

Catalog description

The news media play an essential role in changing America and the world. By bridging theory with practice, this course aims to equip students to become critical news consumers with a skilled understanding of how that works and politically literate about the big issues of our time. Through classic scholarly reflections as well as contemporary punditry, we will tackle the news media "critically" across three dimensions: learning about its indispensable function in mediating politics and democracy throughout history and today; studying and practicing the craft of opining writing and social advocacy; and evaluating and critiquing the performance of the press in these matters.