Pop Culture, Race The Media

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

As an entertainment journalist, understanding the intersection of race and pop culture is vital to successfully covering (and uncovering) what makes Hollywood tick. From #OscarsSoWhite to the Kardashians’ rampant cultural appropriation, this course will thoughtfully examine the myriad ways that race, racial identity and racism infiltrate all aspects of entertainment. Students will be expected to stay well-versed in pop culture news, produce response papers, collect compelling data and manage a carefully curated list of sources, all building up to a final long-form reporting project that attempts to answer a specific question/problem within the entertainment world. Guest speakers from USA Today, ESPN’s The Undefeated, The Washington Post and the New York fashion community will drop in to enhance class discussions and offer reporting wisdom from the trenches.