This online course is an introductory course to Mass Communication.  In it students will survey the function, responsibilities, and influence of various mass communication media. This class is directed toward the consumer and critic of mass media in modern society.  This course is a pre-requisite course for upper level Mass Media courses within the Communication Department.

For a complete Description for this course, click on the Course Syllabus tab.

Course Objectives:

1) To increase the student’s knowledge of the history of mass communication, how various types of media were developed, and the roles they play in mass communication and the media landscape.

2) To increase the student’s awareness of the interconnections between mass media and culture – manifested in fields such as entertainment, advertising, law, politics, religion, gender, class and race.

3) To foster the development of the student’s critical thinking, reading, and writing skills for critically analyzing all media types so he or she can become a more knowledgeable media consumer.

4)  Demonstrate an ability to navigate and utilize the Internet (World Wide Web) as both an educational and career-related tool.

For a complete listing of Objectives for this course, click on the Course Syllabus tab.

Course Activities

 Key course activities that will be completed in this online course to support student readings and studying content material include:

 Assignments:  Students will be assigned six essay papers that involve utilizing sources outside of their text to investigate varying topics that influence mass media.

 Quizzes:  Students will be given four chapter quizzes over assigned readings from their text. 

 Exams:  Exams are essays that answer the questions posed in the test.  The five exams cover material covered in the text and discussion questions. 

 Forums:  Each student is expected to actively participate in discussing the weekly open ended question posted by the instructor in the forums. Students will contribute and respond to online forums for sharing and collaborating with classmates on course topics. Students will post his or her original reply to the question from the instructor. In addition, students will reply back to their fellow students’ forum responses.

For a complete list of Activities/Assignments for this course, click on the Course Syllabus tab.

INDIANA UNIVERSITY NORTHWEST  | COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

COMM C200: Introduction to Mass Media

Online Course Syllabus

Time: Online

Place: Online

Instructor: Alicia Wright

Office: Hawthorn Hall Rm 213

Phone: (219) 980-6595

Email: alicwrig@iun.edu

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