The mission of the Media Studies Program is to enable students to become astute scholars, producers, and consumers of visual media. From film to TV to digital and social media, our worlds are saturated with and mediated by visual communications. Media Studies courses equip students with: 1) critical tools for critiquing visual media, 2) creative capabilities for producing digital art, and 3) practical communication skills for participating in globalized media networks. Interdisciplinary by design, the Media Studies Program is supported by faculty from three divisions—Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences—in order to cover media theories and practices in the broadest sense and stress digital literacy and fluency across multiple media. Its forward-thinking approach emphasizes interdisciplinarity, a globalized curriculum, and career readiness.

Joy Fairfield, Media Studies program, Chair

Program Committee: 

David Mason, Media Studies program

David Maxson, Media Studies program

Karl Erickson, Art and Art History department

Sasha Kostina, Modern Languages department

Ricardo Martins, Modern Languages Department

Affiliated Faculty:

John Bass, Department of Music 

Han Li, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

Shaolu Yu, Urban Studies program

Charles Hughes, Urban Studies Program

Teaching Faculty:

Bradley Harris, Media Studies Program

Marshall Boswell, Department of English

Sarah Ifft Decker, Department of History

Thomas Goodman, Department of Politics and Law

Courtenay Harter, Department of Music

Michael LaRosa, Department of History

Laura Loth, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

David McCarthy, Department of Art

Samson Ndanyi, Department of History 

Scott Newstok, Department of English

Evelyn Perry, Department of Anthropology and Sociology

Rashna Richards, Assocaite Provost, Media Studies Program

Rebecca Tuvel, Department of Philosophy

Earl Wright II, Department of Anthropology and Sociology

Yinyin Xue, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

Lynn Zastoupil, Department of History

Nikolaos Zahariadis, Department of International Studies

A total of twenty (20) credits as follows:

1. MST 202: Topics in Media Studies or Art 102: Intro to Digital Art
2. MST 385: Media Theory

3. Three courses to be chosen from a list of offerings in various departments. One of these requirements may be satisfied by a directed inquiry or an internship (on approval of the Media Studies Committee). Courses regularly offered include:

   •  Art 116: Animation
   • Art 202: Intermediate Digital Art
   • Art 302: Advanced Digital Art
   • Chinese 216/Urban Studies 265: Asian Urbanization through Cinema
   • Chinese 220/320: Contemporary Chinese Cinema
   • English 190: Shakespeare on Screen
   • History 105: British Empire through Film
   • History 105: History of Latin America through Film
   • History 105: Medieval at the Movies
   • International Studies 256: Weapons of Mass Deception
   • Media Studies 120: Acting for New Media
   • Media Studies 240: Public Speaking
   • Media Studies 245: Screenwriting
   • Media Studies 265: LGBTQ+ Culture in Media
   • Philosophy 105: Black Mirror and Philosophy
   • Politics and Law 208: Media and Politics
   • Politics and Law 308: Political Advertising
   • Russian 285: Putin's Russia and Media
   • Russian 400: Russian Film
   • Urban Studies 262: Music and Community in Memphis
   • Urban Studies 365: Urban Queer Cinema