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 40 credits as follows: 

1. MST 202: Topics in Media Studies OR Art 102: Intro to Digital Art (4 credits)

2. MST 385: Film and Media Theory (4 credits)

3. MST 485: Senior Seminar in Media Studies (4 credits)

4. 16 credits in one of the following two concentrations: 

A. Film Studies

• Ancient Mediterranean Studies 285: Classical Myth and Its Reception in Modern Film
• Art 166/266: Midnight Movies 
• Chinese 207: Orientalism and Global China on Screen
• Chinese 216/Urban Studies 265: Asian Urbanization through Cinema
• Chinese 220/320: Contemporary Chinese Cinema
• English 190: Shakespeare on Screen
• English 380: Children's Literature and Media
• English 381: African American Film
• English 381: Film Adaptation
• French 334: French and Francophone Cinema
• German 240/340: German Cinema
• History 105: Black Cinema
• History 105: British Empire through Film
• History 105: Europe Since 1945 Through Film
• History 105: History of Latin America through Film
• History 105: Medieval at the Movies
• History 105: Sex and Death in African Cinema
• Media Studies 380: American Television
• Russian 400: Russian Film
• Spanish 414: Cinema of Spain

B. Media Production

• Art 105: Painting OR Art 107: Sculpture
• Art 110: Film and Experimental Video Production
• Art 116: Digital Animation
• Art 202: Intermediate Digital Art
• Art 212: Performance Art
• Art 216: 3D Animation/Virtual Realities
• Art 302: Advanced Digital Art
• Art 386: Experiments in Media and Methods
• English 204: Introduction to Screenwriting
• Media Studies 120: Acting for New Media 
• Media Studies 245: Screenwriting
• Media Studies 250: Podcasting
• Media Studies 265: LGBTQ+ Culture in Media 
• Music 146/346: Psychology of Film Music
• Music 222: Music Technology
• Music 323: Audio Engineering: History, Theory, Practice
• Music 365: Advanced Topics in Music Technology
• Urban Studies 262: Music and Community in Memphis
• Urban Studies 382: Music and Community in Memphis

5. Electives (12 credits)

• Any courses from the other Media Studies concentration
• Anthropology/Sociology 333: Sociology of Hip-Hop
• Anthropology/Sociology 335: Social Class in the United States
• Art 245: Guernica and Antiwar Art
• English 264: Race, Media, and Culture
• History 105: Elvis Presley and America
• History 105: Medieval at the Movies
• History 209: Politics of Natural Disasters
• History 305: History of American Popular Music
• International Studies 256: Weapons of Mass Deception
• Media Studies 240: Public Speaking
• Media Studies 260: Athletes, Activism, and Media
• Media Studies 300: Rhetorical Criticism
• Media Studies 360: Public Memory, Race, and Place in Memphis
• Media Studies 370: Cities in Film
• Media Studies 460: Internship in Media Studies
• Music 250: Music Urbanism
• Philosophy 105: Black Mirror and Philosophy
• Politics and Law 208: Media and Politics
• Politics and Law 308: Political Advertisement
• Russian 285: Putin’s Russia and Media
• Urban Studies 365: The Sounds of the City: Music and Urban Experiences

-- 16 out of 40 credits should be at the 300 or 400 level.

-- 8 out of 40 credits must be in courses that focus on media outside the US. (CHIN 207, CHIN 216/URBN 265, CHIN 220/320, FREN 334, GRST 240/340, HIST 105 (Depending on Topic), INTS 256, RUSS 285, RUSS 400, SPAN 414)

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: Film and 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:
   1. Art 116: Animation
   2. Art 202: Intermediate Digital Art
   3. Art 216: 3D Animation/Virtual Realities
   4. Art 245: Guernica and Antiwar Art
   5. Art 302: Advanced Digital Art
   6. Chinese 216/Urban Studies 265: Asian Urbanization through Cinema
   7. Chinese 220/320: Contemporary Chinese Cinema
   8. English 190: Shakespeare on Screen
   9. English 204: Introduction to Screenwriting
   10. English 241: History and Criticism of American Cinema
   11. English 242: World Film
   12. English 245: Special Topics in Film
   13. English 381: Advanced Topics in Film
   14. French 334: French and Francophone Cinema
   15. German 240/340: German Cinema
   16. History 105: Black Cinema
   17. History 105: British Empire through Film
   18. History 105: History of Latin America through Film
   19. History 105: Medieval at the Movies
   20. International Studies 254: South Africa through Documentary Film
   21. International Studies 256: Weapons of Mass Deception
   22. Media Studies 120: Acting for New Media
   23. Media Studies 202: Topics in Media Studies
   24. Media Studies 240: Public Speaking
   25. Media Studies 245: Screenwriting
   26. Media Studies 265: LGBTQ+ Culture in Media  
   27. Philosophy 105: Black Mirror and Philosophy 
   28. Politics and Law 208: Media and Politics
   29. Politics and Law 308: Political Advertising
   30. Russian 285: Putin's Russia and Media
   31. Russian 400: Russian Film
   32. Spanish 414: Cinema of Spain
   33. Urban Studies 262: Music and Community in Memphis
   34. Urban Studies 365: Urban Queer Cinema
   35. Urban Studies 382: Music and Community in Memphis
   36. Any course listed under Media Studies requirements for the major