English

Communication and Media Studies

In this information age, art, literature, films, advertisements and technologies define our culture.

From Marshall McLuhan's theory of a global village to the advent of Facebook, the "new media" has overcome physical boundaries and radically altered the way we, as a global society, interact with one another. At Emmanuel, a concentration in communication and media studies can serve students in their future roles as citizens, cultural consumers and professionals in a society increasingly shaped by language and the media.

Major Requirements

View the 2017-2018 Academic Catalog to find course titles, numbers and descriptions.

Requirements for B.A. in English Communications & Media Studies

1. Foundations of the Field  (one course)

  • ENGL1502 Introduction to Communication, Media and Cultural Studies

2-3. Textual Literacy (two courses: choose one 2000-level course and one 3000-level course)

  • ENGL2101 English Literature I
    ENGL2102 English Literature II
  • ENGL2103 Literary Mirrors: Introduction to World Literature
  • ENGL2106 Irish Identities: Literature and Culture
  • ENGL2303 The Modem American Novel
  • ENGL2304 American Voices I: U.S. Literature to 1865
  • ENGL2309 The Haves and the Have-Nots: American Authors on Money, Class and Power
  • ENGL2321 Love and Gender in British Literature and Film
  • ENGL2325 Spirituality and the Literary Imagination
  • ENGL2402 Shakespeare: Tragedies, Comedies, Histories and Romances
  • ENGL2406 The Rise of the British Novel
  • ENGL2408 The Modem British Novel: Empire and After
  • ENGL2413 African American Literature: A Tradition of Resistance
  • ENGL2417 Literature of the Black Atlantic
  • ENGL2604 American Voices II: U.S. Literature Since 1865
  • ENGL2701 Literature and Film
  • ENGL3303 Images of Masculinity
  • ENGL3305 Satire
  • ENGL3309 Literature of the Long 18th Century
  • ENGL3601 Crime Stories and American Culture
  • ENGL3605 Global Literature and Film 
  • ENGL3991/92 Special Topics I or II*
  • *consult with advisor for appropriate section

4-6. Communication and Media Studies (two courses, at leat one must be ENGL)
CHOOSE TWO of the following:

  • ART2213 Daguerreotypes to Digial Prints: The History of Photography
  • ART2232 History of Graphic Design
  • ENGL2321 Love and Gender in British Literature and Film
  • ENGL2521 Public Relations and Persuasion
  • ENGL2523 Advertising and Culture: Representation and Semiotics in Mass Media
  • ENGL2701 Literature and Film
  • ENGL3301 The American West in Film and Literature
  • ENGL3303 Images of Masculinity
  • ENGL3601 Crime Stories and American Culture
  • ENGL3605 Global Literature and Film
  • ENGL3701 Media Theory
  • ENGL3703 Critical Theory and the Academy
  • ENGL3707 Film Theory
  • ENGL3991/92 Special Topics I or II*
  • POLSC2207 Politics and the Media
  • *consult with advisor for appropriate section

7-10. Media Practice (three courses: at least one must be ENGL) AND ENGL4994/4995

  • ART1407 Visual Language for Design and Communication
  • ART2413 Photography I
  • ART2432 Graphic Design I
  • ART2443 Digital Photography
  • ENGL2501 Journalism
  • ENGL2504 Prose Writing
  • ENGL2507 Fiction Writing
  • ENGL3311 Ethics in Documentary Film
  • ENGL3405 Editing and Publishing a Literary Magazine
  • ENGL3501 Writing for Electronic Media 
  • ENGL3504 Advanced Prose Writing
  • ENGL3708 Digital Culture
  • ENGL3801 Feature Writing
  • ENGL3804 Health Communication
  • POLSC2211 Campaign Strategies and Electoral Politics
  • AND
  • ENGL4994/ENGL4995 Internship I or II

11. Capstone Research Seminar (one course)

  • ENGL4998 Communication and Media Studies Senior Seminar

12. Capstone Research Seminar (one course)

  • One additional course from either the Media Studies or Media Practice Category

Minor Requirements

View the 2017-2018 Academic Catalog to find course titles, numbers and descriptions.

Requirements for Minor in Communication & Media Studies

  • ENGL1502 Introduction to Communication, Media and Cultural Studies

Students must take four additional courses from the communication menu, one from each of the following categories:

  • One 2000-level course from the Textual Anaylsis Category
  • One course from the Communication and Media Studies Category
  • One course from the Media Practice
  • One 3000-level elective from any category

The communication and media studies minor is available to all students, including those majoring in English and Writing, Editing & Publishing

Learning Goals & Outcomes

The English Department prepares students to contribute to scholarly and popular discourses through mastery of the following five goals:

  • Expertise in "close reading" of texts. Students will be able to analyze the form, content, and cultural meanings of works of literature and a wide array of other forms of communication and cultural expressions.
  • Ability to analyze texts in context. Students will be able to understand texts in relation to a variety of contexts, including historical moments, as well as literary, cultural, and theoretical traditions.
  • Ability to conduct in-depth research on complex subjects.
  • Ability to write clear, polished, and persuasive prose.
  • Ability to present ideas effectively through persuasive oral communication.
Academics