MACS 110
3 credits
Introduction to Communication Theory
Prerequisite(s): None
This course provides an introduction to some of the major theories in media and communication studies. Topics include mass society and propaganda theories, limited-effects theories, critical and cultural theories, and audience theories.
MACS 130
3 credits
Mass Communication in Canada
Prerequisite(s): None.
This course examines mass media industries in Canada, such as television and the press; the political, economic, legal, and geographic factors that have shaped them; and the effects of these industries on Canadian political and cultural life. Recent developments in digital and interactive media are also considered.
MACS 201
3 credits
Music and Society I
Prerequisite(s): None. MUSC 100, MACS 110, or MACS 130 recommended.
Popular music is everywhere in our day-to-day lives, yet we seldom consider how it was made, what it means, and how it affects us. Scholars however have been thinking and writing about popular music for decades, sometimes praising it for its positive effects on society, sometimes condemning it. In this course, we’ll draw on different scholars’ ideas to reflect on the diverse social contexts in which people create and listen to popular music.
Note: This course is offered as MACS 201 and MUSC 201. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 206
3 credits
Politics of Art Latin America
Prerequisite(s): None
In this course, we examine Latin American artistic culture from the perspectives of the social sciences. Focuses may include art, architecture, literature, film, music, dance, folk art, and popular culture. The intent will be to relate these to the social context in which they are located. In particular, we will be interested in the ways in which artistic expression helps to legitimize or to challenge particular social orders.
Note: This course is offered as LAS 206, ANTH 206, MACS 206, and SOC 206. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 210
3 credits
History of Communication
Prerequisite(s): None
This course focuses on the historical development of systems of communication, from ancient pictographs and oral traditions to the social networks of today. Focusing primarily on Western civilization, the course assesses how and why these systems arose, how their adoption affected existing technologies, and what their myriad social effects were. It shows that today’s optimistic and pessimistic assessments of new communication technologies have numerous precedents.
MACS 212
3 credits
Introduction to Media and Public Relations
Prerequisite(s): One of CMNS 115, CMNS 125, CMNS 145, CMNS 155, CMNS 175 or ENGL 105
Getting a tailored message to a specific target audience in today’s complex media environment requires analysis, creativity, and skill. This course examines the communications process, the public relations environment, and both new and mainstream media engagement.
Note: This course is offered as CMNS 212 and MACS 212. Students may take only one of these for credit
MACS 215
3 credits
Advertising as Social Communication
Prerequisite(s): None. MACS 110 or 130 recommended
This course provides an interdisciplinary examination of the significance of advertising as a social message system in our consumer culture. The course presents a way of assessing the role that advertising plays in defining how we see ourselves, one another, and the world at large. It includes a brief history of advertising, but the emphasis is on current functions and styles of the global advertising business.
MACS 221
3 credits
Media and Popular Cultures
Prerequisite(s): None
This course provides an introduction to the field of cultural studies, particularly as it relates to contemporary popular culture. Writers in cultural studies take a critical look at the mass media and their audiences. How do media and audiences affect each other, and how does this relationship make for a better or a worse society?
MACS 230
3 credits
Cultural Industries in Canada
Prerequisite(s): None. MACS 110 or MACS 130 recommended
Conglomerates produce and distribute most of the information and entertainment that we encounter in our day-to-day lives. Much of this mass culture is American in origin. Nevertheless, through public and private initiatives, Canadians over the decades have managed to create a space for their own industries. MACS 230 explores this situation by focusing on specific cultural industries in Canada – how they came about, how they are organized, and where they are going – and their impact on Canadian audiences.
MACS 235
3 credits
Introduction to Journalism in Canada
Prerequisite(s): MACS 130 recommended
Through print and electronic media, journalists inform us about issues and events from around the world. But what factors determine their choice of stories to cover and the perspectives that they bring to their stories? This course takes a critical look at the role of the journalist in Canadian society.
Note: This course is offered as MACS 235 and JRNL 235. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 240
3 credits
Media, Money, and Power
Prerequisite(s): None. MACS 110 or 130 recommended.
Ideally, the media in a democratic society should play a watchdog role, keeping an eye on government and business to ensure that no abuses of power occur. In reality, media practitioners face numerous challenges in informing citizens about the actions of the rich and powerful. This course provides an introduction to the political economy of communication, a critical approach that focuses on the media’s ability to report on the power elite.
MACS 255
3 credits
Introduction to Social Research
Prerequisite(s): One of ANTH 102, SOC 101, or MACS 110
This course provides a critical introduction to sociological and social anthropological research techniques, data analysis, and questions of methodology. Among the topics considered will be the research cycle, research design, developing and measuring concepts, sampling, methods of data collection, and elementary data analysis. Considerable importance will be given to an exploration of interpretive frameworks that guide research projects, as well as questions of ethical research.
Note: This course is offered as SOC 255, ANTH 255, and MACS 255. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 267
3 credits
Signs and Meaning: An Introduction to Semiotics
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 105 and one of the following: ENGL 108, 115, 120, 130, 150, or 170; FILM 110 or 120; MACS 110, 130, or 221; or AH 200 or 205.
This course is an introduction to the specialized language and concepts of semiotics, which offers students a useful approach for the critical examination of literature, film, visual arts, and media. By the end of the term, students will perform their own semiotic analysis of a text, film, work of art, or popular media.
Note: This course is offered as ENGL 267, MACS 267, and AH 267. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 270
3 credits
Dynamics of Racism in Canada
Prerequisite(s): One of SOC 101, ANTH 102, MACS 130, or LAS 200
This course is a critical introduction to the area of race and ethnic relations within the Canadian context. In particular racism, inequality, and the social construction of racial and ethnic categories and identities will be examined. The student will develop an awareness of competing conceptual definitions and theoretical interpretations of racism, examine controversies about the extent and meaning of racism in Canada, and investigate how the process of racialization occurs within institutions such as education, the media, and the criminal justice system. Course material will draw upon a variety of historical and contemporary sources, cases, and examples, particularly those relevant to the Fraser Valley.
Note: This course is offered as SOC 270, ANTH 270, and MACS 270. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 299
3 credits
Special Topics in Media and Communications Studies I
Prerequisite(s): None. MACS 110 or MACS 130 recommended.
This course involves an examination of a selected topic in media and communication studies that is not addressed in current course offerings. Topics covered will vary from semester to semester.
Note: The special topic is denoted with a letter designation (e.g. MACS 299C). Students may receive credit for MACS 299 more than once as long as the letter designation differs.
MACS 334
4 credits
Cultural Policy
Prerequisite(s): 45 credits, to include at least 6 credits of Sociology and/or MACS
This course examines public policy in Canada as it relates to culture. It explores government involvement in such areas as radio and television broadcasting, multiculturalism, pornography, and aboriginal media.
Note: This course is offered as MACS 334 and SOC 334. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 337
4 credits
Taste and Culture
Prerequisite(s): 45 credits, to include at least six credits of sociology and/or MACS.
This course is an interdisciplinary examination of the concept of taste. Why do we value certain cultural artifacts while we denigrate others? How do our choices reflect who we are? What is “bad taste”? What role do class and subculture play within these notions of taste? This course will investigate theories of aesthetics, identity, subcultures, and taste in such areas as art, film, music, photography, food, and advertising.
Note: This course is offered as MACS 337 and SOC 337. Students may only take one of these for credit. Students with credit for SOC 399D cannot take this course for further credit.
MACS 350
4 credits
Critical Studies in Digital Media in Canada
Prerequisite(s): MACS 130 or MACS 110 required; MACS 230 recommended.
Canadians are among the most connected people in the world. The new digital media environment has transformed the old media and has created new centres of production, new forms of expression, new audiences, and new communities. This course covers the critical debates in the emerging field of new media studies, focusing on the forms of computer-mediated communication that have emerged since the late 1980s. The shape and character of the digital media industries in Canada are examined, along with the ways in which they have changed how content is created. This course also addresses the question of how traditional freedoms of the press and individual artistic expression fare in this new “borderless” world.
MACS 355
4 credits
Quantitative Research Methods
Prerequisite(s): (One of STAT 104, STAT 106, or PSYC 110) and (ANTH 255/MACS 255/SOC 255).
This course is an examination of measurement issues within sociological and anthropological research, focusing on the logical and conceptual construction and interpretation of tables, and an examination of the uses and abuses of statistics. Students will blend classroom knowledge of statistics with real life analysis of sociological data (including the use of computer software) to develop practical research skills. The course focuses on the application, rather than the mathematics, of statistics.
Note: This course is offered as SOC 355, ANTH 355, and MACS 355. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 356
4 credits
Qualitative Research Methods
Prerequisite(s): 45 credits, to include ANTH 255/MACS 255/SOC 255
This course examines methods used in the collection and analysis of sociological data including interviews, participant observations, ethnographic research, archival research, feminist and critical methodologies, and research ethics.
Note: This course is offered as SOC 356, ANTH 356, and MACS 356. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 369
4 credits
Media Law and Ethics
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including three credits of CMNS, JRNL or MACS
This course provides an introduction to legal and ethical issues as they apply to the media. Knowledge of morality and the law can assist media professionals in their day-to-day activities. Indeed, ethical values like fairness, respect, and truthfulness can guide them in their decision-making. Moreover, familiarity with the law as it applies to copyright, defamation, and other areas can help them assess the limits of what they can do.
Note: This course is offered as MACS 369 and JRNL 369. Students may only take one of these for credit.
MACS 375
4 credits
Indian Mediascapes
Prerequisite(s): One of ANTH 102, SOC 101 or MACS 110; plus 45 university-level credits including a further six credits of ANTH, SOC, MACS, or INCS. Recommended: ANTH 303 (Peoples and Cultures Of India) and FILM 220.
In this course, students will critique how Indian society and socio-cultural issues are represented in South Asian media through their comparison with the ethnographic record. Taking an anthropology of media approach, the complexities of belonging to a diversity of regional South Asian communities are examined in both ethnographic and media interpretations. In particular, the course will consider religious, ethnic, caste, class, and gender communities, the influence of postcoloniality, and processes of modernity and diaspora.
Note: This course is offered as ANTH 375 and MACS 375. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 376
3 credits
Understanding Design for Digital Publications
Prerequisite(s): One of the following: CMNS 125, CMNS 145, CMNS 155, CMNS 175, ENGL 105, MACS 110, or MACS 130. Familiarity with word processing software and the Internet is essential for success in this course.
Note: CIS 145 or familiarity with web standards is recommended.
This course will examine social, cultural, and technological issues relating to the design and distribution of electronic texts. Students will collaborate on a project to build an electronic publication using HTML and CSS for web delivery and the EPUB document standard for display on mobile devices and eReaders.
Note: This course is offered as CMNS 376 and MACS 376. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 385
4 credits
Television and Social Values: The Simpsons
Prerequisite(s): 45 credits, to include at least six credits of SOC and/or MACS
In well over four hundred episodes, The Simpsons TV series has explored innumerable aspects of contemporary North American life, always with humour and often with profound insight. This course uses both the series and scholarly writings based on it to explore a diversity of social and cultural issues, focusing on such areas as education, family, the media, religion and work.
This course is offered as SOC 385 and MACS 385. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 399
4 credits
Special Topics in Media and Communication Studies II
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, including at least three credits in MACS
This course involves an examination of a selected topic in media and communication studies that is not addressed in current course offerings. Topics covered will vary from semester to semester.
Note: The special topic is denoted with a letter designation (e.g. MACS 399C). Students may take MACS 399 as many times as they wish, but will not receive credit for the same letter designation more than once.
MACS 407
4 credits
Social Change and Contemporary Representation
Prerequisite(s): 60 university-level credits, to include one of ANTH 102, MACS 110, or MACS 130 and at least 6 additional credits of ANTH or MACS, or instructor’s permission. An upper-level anthropology course is recommended.
This course explores anthropological approaches to the arts, with a particular focus on the political nature of contemporary artistic expression and cultural representation. Topics to be explored include contemporary music (as political expression), forms of hip-hop culture including ethnic hip-hop, post-modern theatre forms, kabuki theatre, butoh dance, moshing, raves, flash mobs, and other forms of cultural representation. The notion of alternative “imaginals” as forms of cultural representation will also be queried.
Note: This course is offered as ANTH 407 and MACS 407. Students may only take one of these for credit.
MACS 460
4 credits
Issues in the Information Society
Prerequisite(s): 45 credits, to include at least 9 credits of Sociology and/or MACS.
This course explores the social, political, and cultural dimensions of information technology and what has come to be known as the “information society”. Students will examine technology in relationship to a variety of social issues such as the changing nature of: work, individual identity formation, social roles, democracy, privacy, and community.
Note: This course is offered as MACS 460 and SOC 460. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 480
4 credits
Crisis Communications
Prerequisite(s): 60 university-level credits, including six credits of lower-level MACS and/or CMNS.
Crises are unexpected threats for which response time is short. Their origins can be natural (as with ice storms or
tsunamis) or human (as with acts of terrorism or oil spills). This course uses Canadian and foreign examples to explore how to (and how not to) deal with serious challenges to public safety. To do so, it draws on both theoretical and practical approaches to communicating with diverse audiences in crisis situations.
Note: This course is offered as CMNS 480 and MACS 480. Students may take only one of these for credit.
MACS 490
4 credits
Directed Studies in Media and Communications Studies
Prerequisite(s): 45 university-level credits, to include six credits of MACS, and written permission of the instructor and department head.
This course is designed for upper-level students who wish to examine in greater depth a particular problem/issue in Media and Communication Studies.
MACS 492
2 credits
Directed Studies in Social, Cultural, and Media Studies
Prerequisite(s): 45 credits, to include 6 credits of area of specialization (ANTH, SOC, LAS, MACS). Permission to enter requires written consent of both the faculty member supervising the student and the department head.
This course is designed for upper-level students who wish to examine in greater depth a particular problem/issue in Anthropology, Sociology, Latin American Studies, or Media and Communication Studies.
Note: This course is offered as SOC 492, ANTH 492, LAS 492, and MACS 492. Students may take only one of these for credit.
