INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA ADVOCACY

Catalog description

This course examines how stories are used to create change, a process referred to as story-based strategy. Throughout the semester, students examine how organizers, advocates and social movements use stories and other activation tactics to gain media attention, pierce public apathy, reshape public opinion, and create or resist change. Using academic texts and case studies, students also critically consider how social movements use and interact with the media, the role of media in covering social movements, the benefits and risks of media coverage and the evolving line between journalism and advocacy. Students have the opportunity to analyze social change stories of their choosing, develop and present a substantive social change case study, engage in direct action for causes that matter to them and engage in collective action tactics related to a social change campaign.