CL 48G.01 Literature as Media

From magic spells and blue jackets to martians and green rabbits, this course offers students of literature an introduction to some central concerns in Media Studies and their application to literary criticism and the study of literary works. Following Marshall McLuhan’s now-famous maxim that “the medium is the message,” we will shift our focus from what a literary work means to how a medium expands and limits the possibilities of meaning. This course is structured around four components: 1) central concepts in media studies, 2) media analyses of literary works, 3) reflection projects for experimenting with various media modalities, 4) a final paper where students can explore a literary work through the lens of media.