Explores the role of Mass Media in North American society, focusing on (radio, television, film, social media). Mass media consists of various means by which information reaches society. This course will provide a foundation for students to critically analyze mass media using two critical perspectives on mass media – political economy and cultural studies. These Marxian-influenced perspectives focus on issues of power, inequality and conflict in relation to mass media. Political economy ties the issues to media production while cultural studies links the issues to media content. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, 102