CMNS 210: Social History of the Media

Social History of the Media

CMNS 210: Social History of the Media
3

4

12 credits and Communications 110

English 100

The course explores, from prehistory to the present, the relationship between social change and systems of human communication. We examine the origins of symbolic representation and appraise the consequences of the adoption of symbolizing technologies within a variety of social contexts, from oral culture, through scribal and print cultures, to the globalized networking culture of today. Emerging themes of continuity and change broaden our appreciation of the ways in which our present conditions have been anticipated in earlier times.