INTRO TO MASS COMMUNICATION MEDIA LITERACY AND CULTURE

THIS TEXT ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO BE ACTIVE MEDIA CONSUMERS AND GIVES THEM A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE THAT THE MEDIA PLAY IN BOTH SHAPING AND REFLECTING CULTURE. THROUGH THIS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE, STUDENTS LEARN THAT AUDIENCE MEMBERS ARE AS MUCH A PART OF THE MASS COMMUNICATION PROCESS AS ARE THE MEDIA PRODUCERS, TECHNOLOGIES, AND INDUSTRIES. THIS WAS THE FIRST, AND REMAINS THE ONLY, UNIVERSITY-LEVEL TEXT TO MAKE MEDIA LITERACY CENTRAL TO ITS APPROACH, AND GIVEN RECENT NATIONAL AND GLOBAL TURMOIL, ITS EMPHASIS ON MEDIA USE AND DEMOCRACY COULD NOT BE MORE TIMELY.