“I Can Study That?!”: The Media, Culture, and Communication Major and Minor at New York University

The Major/Minor

This week’s featured program is the Media, Culture, and Communication Major and Minor at New York University. From the website:

The Department of Media, Culture, and Communication’s academically rigorous bachelor of science degree is grounded in the liberal arts, providing you with the necessary tools to analyze the sociological, political, and cultural dimensions of our media landscape. The program’s diverse faculty encourage MCC majors to think broadly and deeply about topics at the intersection of media and culture.

The curriculum within the major is organized around five areas of study:

• • Global Communication and Media
  • Visual Culture and Sound Studies
  • Technology and Society
  • Media Industries and Politics
  • Interaction and Experience

All students in the major take the three-course MCC Core: Introduction to Media Studies, History of Media and Communication, and Methods in Media Studies. Majors then take two Areas of Study Framing Courses, four Areas of Study Focus Courses, three restricted electives, and the Inquiry Seminar. 

Two Interesting Courses

MCC-UE 1404 Media and Culture of Money

This course examines the culture of money & finance, and the role of the media & popular culture in making sense of economics. It engages with the ways that money, finance, & economics are shaped in part through media representations, that finance is not simply a system but also a culture, & that capitalism shapes world views. The course examines the history of ways of thinking about money, the centrality of financial markets in 20th-21st century globalization, & the examination of financial systems in the wake of the 2008 financial meltdown. Students will explore the role of money media in shaping attitudes toward consumerism, financial decisions, & finance systems.

MCC-UE 1826 Media Activism & Social Movements

This interactive & discussion-oriented course provides an introduction to the politics & tactics underlying five broad categories of media activism: media interventions at the levels of representation, labor relations, policy, strategic communication, & “alternative” media making. The course will rely on both a survey of the existing scholarship on media activism, as well as close analyses of actual activist practices within both old & new media. As a class, we will examine a wide range of digital media as well as local, national, and global media activist institutions.

Five Possible Complementary Majors/Minors at New York University

• • Art & Public Policy Minor
  • Broadcast and Multimedia Journalism Minor
  • The Business of Entertainment, Media and Technology Major or Minor
  • Film Minor
  • Social and Cultural Analysis Major or Minor

Unique Opportunities within the Major/Minor

The Global Media Scholars Program “features a combination of courses and global experiences that allows students to analyze the dynamic range of activities associated with the globalization of media and culture.” Global Media Scholars study abroad in either Paris or Prague in the spring of their sophomore year, followed by study abroad in either Buenos Aires or Shanghai in the fall of their junior year. In their senior year, Global Media Scholars take a capstone course in the fall, followed by a short-term study abroad experience during the January intersession. 

Sample Similar Programs

• • Rollins College: Critical Media & Cultural Studies Major and Minor
  • University of California, Riverside: Media and Cultural Studies Major and Minor
  • University of Denver: Communication Major and Minor: Media & Cultural Studies Pathway