Mass Communication and Culture
Mass Communication and Culture involves intensive readings on critical and cultural studies traditions in mass communication theory and research.
Summary
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2018: 3.50 GPA, 83.3% A/AB (n=12 letter grades); Spring 2026: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=13 letter grades).
What you’ll be able to do
Define and compare major theories of culture, ideology, and hegemony within media and communication scholarship.
Analyze how digital and global media reshape power relations, cultural practices, and systems of meaning.
Apply political economy frameworks to evaluate media industries and technological change.
Critically examine how media represent and reinforce or challenge constructions of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and nationality.
Interpret how audiences, users, and participants negotiate identity and power through digital media.
Evaluate the relationship between media practices and social movements, activism, and public participation.
Synthesize scholarly research to develop an original, theoretically grounded analysis of culture and media in the digital age.
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapGraduate/professional standing
- Graduate/professional standing
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Graduate/professional standing
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2018: 3.50 GPA, 83.3% A/AB (n=12 letter grades); Spring 2026: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=13 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Critical studies and cultural studies traditions in mass communication theory and research.
- Major theories of culture, ideology, and hegemony within media and communication scholarship.
- How digital and global media reshape power relations, cultural practices, and systems of meaning.
- Political economy frameworks for evaluating media industries and technological change.
- Media representations and constructions of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and nationality.
- Audience, user, and participant negotiation of identity and power through digital media.
- Relationship between media practices and social movements, activism, and public participation.
Skills
- Defining and comparing major theories of culture, ideology, and hegemony within media and communication scholarship.
- Analyzing how digital and global media reshape power relations, cultural practices, and systems of meaning.
- Applying political economy frameworks to evaluate media industries and technological change.
- Critically examining how media represent and reinforce or challenge constructions of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and nationality.
- Interpreting how audiences, users, and participants negotiate identity and power through digital media.
- Evaluating the relationship between media practices and social movements, activism, and public participation.
- Synthesizing scholarly research to develop an original, theoretically grounded analysis of culture and media in the digital age.
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Spring 2026
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
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Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
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Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}