The News Media and American Democracy

4–5 credits · Graduate

The role of the news media in a democracy has been a source of controversy throughout American history. This colloquium will examine how technology, capitalism, law, and politics have reshaped the press over time and how the press, in turn, has impacted democratic discourse and formed partisan, gender, and ethnic identities. Students will be expected to write a primary source paper using historical newspapers to engage with debates about the history of news media.