Media is a powerful tool. The term “media activism” refers to how media is used to campaign for or bring about social or political change. This class will primarily focus on how underrepresented identity-based and cause-based groups in the United States have used different kinds of media forms and practices in the service of social justice activism. We will examine various social movements, including AIDS activism, Black Lives Matter, the anti-war movement, Palestine solidarity, and Occupy Wall Street, and examine the media texts and practices these movements employ, such as culture jamming, street art, documentary and narrative film, film festivals, public television, social media, and memes. We will read interdisciplinary texts from the fields of film and media studies, critical race and ethnic studies, gender and sexuality studies, and postcolonial studies to interrogate the relationships between representation and power, and to identify how and why certain forms of media activism emerge at particular historical moments.

Class Format:

This class meets Mondays and Wednesdays and will consist of a mix of synchronous and asynchronous instruction. The first class session of the week (Monday) will consist of an asynchronous, pre-recorded lecture, slideshow, and written activity that will be made available Monday morning and must be completed by 11:59 PM on Tuesday. The second class session of the week (Wednesday) will consist of a synchronous discussion-based session. This course will use Canvas for all asynchronous online components. Synchronous class meetings (Wednesdays) with the instructor will be conducted through Zoom. Students should have access to a camera and microphone. All assignments, tests, and exams will be asynchronous