This course will examine “social media” from a cultural perspective, with a focus on how media technologies figure in practices of everyday life and in the construction of social relationships and identities. This course is based closely on one offered in New York by Professor Laura Portwood-Stacer, but we will examine many of the issues in the context of Central and Eastern Europe and compare the “Western” experience of social media with the situation in the post communist world. Although many of our readings will deal with Social Network Sites (SNSs), we will attempt to form an expansive definition of what constitutes “social media.” We will also work from an expansive definition of “technology,” considering the term in a cultural sense to include various practices and tools used to communicate in everyday life. The course will also look closely at the impact of social media on journalism and activism, including a dissection of the recent debates on the power of social media to transform these fields.
Media, Culture & Communication (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
Sections (Spring 2022)
MCC-UE 9032-000 (22905)01/25/2022 – 05/09/2022 Tue,Thu3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Late afternoon)at NYU Prague (Global)Instructed by Druker, Jeremy