We converse in a universe sludged by mediated phrases that construct the universe we inhabit. A knowledge of media history which transcends a dates and names compendium of historical trivia. You will never understand the films of Steven Spielberg unless you study Orson Welles. You will never understand the cinema of MTV unless you study the formative tradition of filmmaking. You will never understand David Letterman unless you study Ernie Kovacs.
History is essential to any method of inquiry.
The ability to sort through the cliches of media visions perpetrated by denizens of doom who whip on the movie of the week, MTV, soaps with simple-minded explanations about mass communication effects floating in apocalyptic hysteria. An ability aided by a knowledge of how social science research really works-how content is measured, conclusions drawn. An evaluating, critical sense of the aesthetic and artistic dimensions of motion picture experiences through the study of Orson Welles and Citizen Kane. Perhaps the most influential motion picture ever made. Enough writing assignments and oral reports to sharpen critical thinking about a popular culture which seeps into our consciousness and becomes our fundamental data base.