Welcome to the Department of Critical Media and Cultural Studies

College students arrive on campus having spent, on average, twice as much time in front of the TV as in school. Every day, you are exposed to over 5000 advertisements and between 8 and 14 hours of mass media. How does this level of saturation impact the ways you see yourself, other people, and the world? How do mass media affect your attitudes, values, and choices?

This interdisciplinary major taps the expertise of nearly 40 Rollins faculty and 20 departments and programs. Critical Media and Cultural Studies develops skills essential for responsible participation in a free democratic society: critical thinking, written communication, oral communication, multicultural perspectives, and media literacy. Graduates will be prepared for employment in media and communications industries and/or graduate programs in media studies, cultural studies, and communication.

The major requires successful completion of five core courses, five electives, four credit hours in Information Technology, and a practicum.

Core Courses
Introduction to Media and Cultural Studies, Researching Media and Culture, Visual Rhetoric for Writers, Critical Frameworks for Contemporary Culture, and Senior Seminar and Research Practicum.

Elective Courses
Some majors specialize in pre-defined areas of concentration: 1) International Media (sample courses include: Post-Colonial Film and Literature, Latin American Film) and 2) Power and Persuasion (sample courses include: Language and Power, Argumentation and Media-Manipulation, Persuasion Theory). Most of our majors build a specialized concentration (e.g., Gender, Body Image, and Media; Economics, Politics, and Media) in collaboration with their faculty advisors.

Information Technology
Majors will take Introduction to Digital Video, Advanced Digital Video, and Using the Web for Research plus one additional hour (e.g., Creating Web Homepages, Design with Photoshop).

Practicum
Students must complete at least ONE of the following: 1) an academic study-abroad experience, 2) a CMC-approved internship, 3) significant service to campus media.