MCOM 210 Research Methods in Media Studies 3.0; 3 cr.
An
introduction to the design and implementation of research methodology
in media studies. It covers formulating research problems, reviewing
scientific literature, designing instruments, and utilizing data
collection and analysis techniques, both quantitative and qualitative.
Students participate in actual research projects and apply various
techniques of data collection and analysis to interpret research
findings.Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Annually
.
MCOM 215 Media Law and Ethics 3.0; 3 cr.
A
sur vey of Lebanese, Arab and International media laws and regulations,
and their application within the realms of journalism, public
relations, advertising, digital media, and entertainment, with an
exploration of ethical guidelines, moral values, and social
responsibilities of media scholars, practitioners and educators. Pre or
corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 216 Public Opinion 3.0; 3 cr.
A
general study of the nature of public opinion, and the interplay
between psychological and socio-cultural processes in the formation and
dissemination of public opinion. An attempt is also made to explore the
impact of public opinion on media and socio-cultural change.
Measurements of public opinion are also explored. Pre or corequisite:
ENGL 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 217 Political Communication Campaigns 3.0; 3 cr.
This
courses introduces students to the subfield of political communication,
covering its main theories, research methods, and modern applications
and strategies. Students gain theoretical and working knowledge of
political campaign operations, political press offices, the roles of a
political press secretary, media advisor, and communication director,
and the technologies used in modern political campaigns. Prerequisite:
MCOM 202 or consent of instructor. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203.
Occasionally.
MCOM 218 Media Activism for Social Change 3.0; 3 cr.
An
introduction to the theories and strategies of media use for
non-violent activism and advocacy campaigns and social movements, with a
focus on principles of civic activism in the era of digital media
convergence. The course balances theory and skills by examining case
studies of media activism from around the world and using digital media
tools with a stress on digital tools and civic activism principles to
develop social and political change campaigns for civil society groups.
Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 219 Media Depictions of Society 3.0; 3 cr.
This
course examines the role of the media in constructing our social
reality through an examination of media practices, both historically and
in the present. It particularly examines the representations of Arabs
and the Arab world in the Western media, and the US in the Arab media.
It covers politics of culture and identity as they shape and intersect
with today’s globalized media. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203.
Occasionally.
MCOM 220 Popular Culture 3.0; 3 cr.
From
the mid-20th century until the present moment, popular cultural
productions and consumer products have become ubiquitous worldwide.
While globalized chains of production and distribution account for the
availability of these cultural products, we ask what is the significance
of their popularity? What are the histories of these commodities, and
what tensions do they reconcile or expose in the cultures from which
they emerge? And, indeed, what precisely is popular culture, anyways?
Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 221 War and Media 3.0; 3 cr.
This
seminar asks ‘what is a visual culture of war?” as it expands across an
array of media platforms, technologies, and aesthetic conventions.
Through a careful examination of key readings and visual
representations, we will work to build a more precise theoretical and
analytical language for understanding war not simply as an “event” or
set material effects on the battlefield and home front, but as a
discursive production mediated through a number of often intersecting
media sites and institutions. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203.
Occasionally.
MCOM 222 Introduction to Visual Culture Studies 3.0; 3 cr.
This
course introduces students to the study of visual culture and examines
the role images play in society. Students will explore key historical
and contemporary issues, and critical perspectives on the relations of
power and desire that structure practices of looking. Students will
become familiar with methods of comparing different media forms, social
arenas, and cultural contexts. Students will also pursue a
research-intensive final project that welcomes image-making as part of
the research/writing process. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Annually.
MCOM 223 On Television 3.0; 3 cr.
This
is an advanced undergraduate course that introduces to students to the
study of television as a distinctive approach to the study of the media
landscape. Students will explore television’s political economic
structures, cultural form, and social function in a range of national,
regional, and global contexts. Junior standing or permission of
instructor. Pre or Corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 224 Palestinian Film and Media 3.0; 3 cr.
In
this undergraduate seminar, students will examine the role played by
film and media in efforts not only to resist Israeli occupation but to
articulate emancipatory visions of Palestinian liberation. Through close
readings of current scholarly literature, weekly film screenings, and
seminar discussions, students will interrogate the relationship between
culture and politics and explore such contested topics as identity,
memory and trauma, power and resistance, and spectacle and sur
veillance. Junior standing or permission of the instructor. Pre or
corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 225 Introduction to Photojournalism 3.0; 3 cr.
This
course covers the history of Photojournalism and its place within the
wider field of photography and society at large. Students will learn of
the related fields of Documentary Photography and Street Photography,
and will explore early and modern masters, the social and political
impact of their work and varied methodologies. Pre or corequisite: ENGL
203. Occasionally.
MCOM 226 Journalism and Society 3.0, 3 cr.
This
course examines the various forms and phases of transition that have
framed the evolution of journalism and the relationship between these
transitions and social, political, economic and technological factors,
with a focus on the current digital age. The course traces the
trajectory of the industry’s transformations in addition to the
challenges and debates - both academic and societal - that have emerged
in parallel to this trajectory. This comprises introductory issues
relevant to the basic definition of journalism as well as more
contemporary topics pertaining to the challenges of market-oriented
digital production, media activism and political restraint, media trends
and identity formation, the birth and evolution of new media platforms
and applications, and the proliferation of digital entrepreneurship. Pre
or corequisite: ENGL 203. Annually.
MCOM 227 Media and the Environment 3.0; 3cr
This
course examines media’s role in shaping the built and natural
environments around us. It draws on developments in environmental
communication and critical media infrastructure studies to consider
media both as modes of communication and as technologies with material
forms. The course explores the genres and communication strategies used
by activists, artists, and media producers to articulate the environment
and its problems. Prerequisite: Junior standing. Occasionally.
MCOM 228 Introduction to Digital Media 3.0; 3cr.
In
this course, students will learn how to navigate an ever-changing media
reality beginning with digital media's origins and exploring its
various life-cycles up until our contemporary moment. Pre or
corequisite: ENGL203. Annually
MCOM 229 Sex, Gender & Media in the Middle East 3.0; 3 cr.
In
examining how discourses of gender and sexuality have shaped the ways
in which the “Middle East” has come to be imagined, this seminar will
cover key debates that have, in turn, shaped academic knowledge
production on gender in the region, The course also examines media’s
central role in the production and circulation of discourses and
counter-discourses on the status of women and sexual minorities, as well
as men and masculinities, in the Middle East. Pre/co-requisite: ENG
203. Occasionally.
MCOM 230: Screening Crises 3.0; 3 cr.
This
undergraduate seminar sets out to introduce students to transnational
film culture and illuminate how categories of difference—such as race,
ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and nationality—can both
be reproduced and challenged through film. Throughout, we will alternate
between theoretical explorations of keywords in transnational film
studies, close readings of the primary texts themselves, and readings
about (the economics of) an increasingly global film
industry. Pre/co-requisite: ENG 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 234 Labor, Media, and Gender 3.0; 3 cr.
Examining
theories of labor, creative economy, and media industries, this course
explores the various entanglements between labor, media, and gender. It
examines why certain kinds of creative labor—from filmmakers to social
media influencer—have become gendered and to what end. The course also
studies how media industries have understood and represented gendered
labor. Rather than view media work as a static entity, it determines how
industrial shifts, technological developments, and economic reforms
have shaped creative labor. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 240 News Reporting and Writing 3.0; 3 cr.
An
introduction to the reporting and writing of various news stories based
on reliableinformation gathered through interviewing, research, and
observation. Formats include basic newspaper and magazine articles,
online news, press releases, and other journalistic formats, with
emphasis on accuracy, concise presentation, meetingdeadlines, and
objective and ethical reporting. The course covers news styles,
anexpanded news vocabulary, sentence structure, story organization and
clean writing. Prerequisite: ENGL 203. Every term.
MCOM 241 Introduction to Digital Media 3.0; 3 cr.
This
practice-based course introduces students to digital media, employing
diverse perspectives in order to explore their cultural, political,
economic and environmental dimensions. The course also examines digital
media and their relationship/impact/connection to various institutions,
discourses and practices, touching on issues of political engagement,
the circulation of power, and cultural constructions of identity,
relationships, and creativity. Pre or corequisite: ENG 203.
Occasionally.
MCOM 242 Public Relations 3.0; 3 cr.
The
course introduces the profession of public relations through a strong
emphasis on fundamentals, such as histor y and research. Emerging
issues, such as technology, ethics, and the international aspects of
public relations are considered through examining PR strategies,
tactics, and case studies. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 243 Advertising 3.0; 3 cr.
The
course introduces the student to the core concepts and practices of
advertising. It examines the impact of new media and research methods,
with an emphasis on integrated communications and the role of ad
agencies. Students learn how to assess the effectiveness of advertising,
and how to create a successful ad campaign. Pre or corequisite: ENGL
203. Occasionally.
MCOM 244 Specialized News Reporting and Writing 3.0; 3 cr. (A....Z)
The
course explores specialized reporting and writing techniques, including
feature stories, opinion columns, profiles, in-depth series, and
narrative journalism. It aims to enable students to report and write
effectively across news genres and to master transferable communication
skills useful beyond the journalism profession. Each term the course
covers some specialized and emerging journalism themes, including
investigative reporting, data journalism, covering conflict, and
violence, technology journalism, non-fiction narrative, and others.
Prerequisite: MCOM 240 or consent of instructor. May be repeated for
credit. Occasionally.
MCOM 245 Broadcast Media 2.2; 3 cr.
The
course introduces the students to the histor y of the electronic media,
examining the impact of the new media on communication. The course has
an interdisciplinar y nature, drawing on the expertise of AUB faculty in
the fields of communication, science and technology, history, politics,
and economics. Prerequisite: MCOM 240 or consent of instructor.
Occasionally.
MCOM 246 Digital and Multimedia News 3.0; 3 cr.
An
introduction to digital and multimedia news writing, reporting,
researching, producing, and disseminating online. The course covers
basic digital and Web design principles, photojournalism, audio
reporting, video journalism, news blogging, social media reporting, CMS
managing, multiplatform publishing, and writing for a converged news
environment. It also covers emerging new media issues, such as
interactivity, information architecture, and individualization.
Prerequisite: MCOM 240 or consent of instructor. Occasionally.
MCOM 247 Trauma Journalism 3.0; 3 cr.
This
course aims to sensitize and train students on how to deal with victims
of trauma, conflict and violence, including war, suicide, homicide,
rape, domestic violence and other traumatizing experiences. It teaches
students how to ethically and fairly cover trauma victims, how to
protect themselves physically and psychologically from the negative
effects of trauma reporting, and how to professionally and sensibly tell
the trauma story to their audiences. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203.
Occasionally.
MCOM 249 Writing for Advertising 3.0; 3 cr.
This
course is focused on helping students build the essential skills to
write clear and captivating messages for different forms of media.
Students will craft messages that address the objective, the audience,
and the medium. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally
MCOM 250 Video Editing 3.0; 3 cr.
This
course is an introduction to the field of digital and video editing,
including the histor y and over view of analog and digital video. The
course explores a variety of digital video career options, industr y
trends and the practical application of non-linear video editing.
Students will learn how to manage data efficiently, how to manage a
variety of data formats and will work hands-on with Final Cut Pro 10 or
Premiere Pro CC on a variety of editing projects, from simple sequences
to branded content, music videos and parallel editing of fiction scenes.
Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally
MCOM 251 Intermediate Photojournalism 3.0; 3 cr.
This
course is for students who have mastered basic photography skills and
are familiar with the histor y of photojournalism. Students will learn
about the ethics of photojournalism and explore critical issues in the
field today. In addition to photojournalism, the class will cover the
basics of documentar y video shooting and the related fields of
documentar y photography and street photography. Prerequisite: MCOM 225
or consent of instructor. Occasionally.
MCOM 252 Digital Media Practices 3.0; 3cr.
This
course is about the study and production of digital media on video and
audio streaming platforms. The course will focus on increasingly popular
media phenomena that are being produced independently and around the
globe. Students will study, analyze, critique and produce one of these
new media forms. Pre or corequisite: ENGL203. Occasionally.
MCOM 253 Social Media Strategies 3.0; 3 cr.
This
course aims to expand familiarity of theories and methods that explore
the interrelationship between social media and society, how each is
shaped by and in turn shapes the other. Students will critically explore
the role of social media in contemporary society, and then engage with
planning and implementing social media campaigns including content
creation, seeding and promotion. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203.
Occasionally.
MCOM 260 Senior Seminar in Media Studies 3.0; 3 cr.
A
senior undergraduate seminar on the role of media in society. The
content areas may change. Prerequisite: Senior standing. Every term.
MCOM 290 Special Topics Seminar 3.0; 3 cr.
MCOM
faculty or visiting professors and recognized scholars might be invited
to offer seminars to explore relevant dimensions of their research in
progress. May be repeated for credit. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203.
Occasionally.
MCOM 291 Special Topics (Humanities) 3.0; 3 cr.
A
humanities course that provides a general over view of an area in media
studies that is not normally covered by the department’s offerings. May
be repeated for credit. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 292 Special Topics (Social Sciences) 3.0; 3 cr.
A
social sciences course that provides a general over view of an area in
media studies that is not normally covered by the department’s
offerings. May be repeated for credit. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203.
Occasionally.
MCOM 293 Special Topics (Practice-based elective - List B) 3.0, 3 cr.
A
practice-based course that addresses an area in media studies that is
not normally covered by the department’s offerings. May be repeated for
credit. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally.
MCOM 294 Media Brown Bag 0 cr.
The
Media Brown Bag course consists of a series of seminars presented by
leading media researchers and practitioners from local and international
media initiatives, broadcasters, print media, and advertising agencies.
The aim of the seminar is to allow students first hand accounts of
working in the media industr y, to engage in discussion with prominent
media practitioners, and to allow students to discover potential career
paths in media. Pre or corequisite: ENGL 203. Every term.
MCOM 296 Internship 3.0; 3 cr.
A
summer period of guided work experience super vised by the MCOM
Internships and Workshops Coordinator and designed to acquaint students
with a specific media/communication profession and help them acquire
core values and basic skills necessary for finding future work and
succeeding in that profession. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Every term.
MCOM 299 Directed Study 3–6 cr.
A
tutorial course offered to MCOM students with an average of 85 or above
in their major at the beginning of their senior year. This tutorial
consists of independent research, original creative compositions, or
directed reading, and includes the presentation of a report, project, or
thesis on the work. Students with averages lower than 85 may be
admitted to directed study at the discretion of the department. Pre or
corequisite: ENGL 203. Occasionally.