Skip to main content

Tools Nav

  • Apply for Admission
  • Request Information
  • Sign Up for News
  • Make a Gift

Nav pre header base

  • Course Listing
  • Directories
  • Contact Us
  • Search
Phone
Phone
Close offcanvas
Home

Search

Advanced search

Main navigation

  • Undergraduate Programs
    • Communication Major
    • Information Technology and Informatics Major
    • Journalism and Media Studies Major
    • Digital Communication, Information and Media Minor
    • Gender and Media Minor
    • Undergraduate Admissions
  • Graduate and Professional Programs
    • Master of Communication and Media
    • Master of Health Communication and Information
    • Master of Information
    • Ph.D. Program
    • Professional Development Studies
    • Graduate and Professional Admissions
  • Research
    • Centers, Labs, Working Groups and Clusters
    • Research Keywords
    • Research News
    • Research Portal
  • Alumni Connections
    • SC&I Alumni Association
    • Rutgers Alumni Association
  • Giving
    • Ways to Give
    • Development News
    • SC&I Gift Funds
  • About SC&I
    • Employment Opportunities
    • From the Dean
    • School Facts & Figures
    • Visit SC&I
    • Contact SC&I
    • Communication Department
    • Journalism and Media Studies Department
    • Library and Information Science Department
    • Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies
    • SC&I History

Tools Nav

  • Apply for Admission
  • Request Information
  • Sign Up for News
  • Make a Gift

Tools Nav pre header base

  • Course Listing
  • Directories
  • Contact Us
  • Search
Home

Main navigation

  • Undergraduate Programs
    • Communication Major
    • Information Technology and Informatics Major
    • Journalism and Media Studies Major
    • Digital Communication, Information and Media Minor
    • Gender and Media Minor
    • Undergraduate Admissions
  • Graduate and Professional Programs
    • Master of Communication and Media
    • Master of Health Communication and Information
    • Master of Information
    • Ph.D. Program
    • Professional Development Studies
    • Graduate and Professional Admissions
  • Research
    • Centers, Labs, Working Groups and Clusters
    • Research Keywords
    • Research News
    • Research Portal
  • Alumni Connections
    • SC&I Alumni Association
    • Rutgers Alumni Association
  • Giving
    • Ways to Give
    • Development News
    • SC&I Gift Funds
  • About SC&I
    • Employment Opportunities
    • From the Dean
    • School Facts & Figures
    • Visit SC&I
    • Contact SC&I
    • Communication Department
    • Journalism and Media Studies Department
    • Library and Information Science Department
    • Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies
    • SC&I History

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Media, Democracy, and the Public

[ 04: 567: 459]  Media, Democracy, and the Public

Credits, Prerequisites, and Corequisites:

 

credits:
3
prerequisites:
Junior or senior status, major
corequisites:
None

 

Description:

The course explores how the news media have figured in constituting a public sphere in American history. Readings juxtapose classics of political philosophy with historical or sociological works describing democracy in practice in the United States.

 

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the course, students will be able to explore ways the news media have figured into American conceptions of democracy and in constituting a public realm.

The course seeks to teach students to appreciate the theories behind a free press in a democracy and to understand both the role of the press (taken to mean the news media in general) in forming a public, and the role of the public in constituting a democracy. Students will come away with a sense that ideas about the media’s role in democracy have not been static over time, and that there have sometimes been divergences between how the media’s role is theorized and how it plays out in practice. Students should gain a deeper knowledge of the role of the media in American history and develop skills to think critically about the media in society in all eras, including today. Improving students’ writing, thinking, and speaking skills is also a course goal.

close

Rutgers logo

4 Huntington Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
848.932.7500
sci-info@comminfo.rutgers.edu

Student Resources

  • Office of Student Services
  • Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Aid
  • Career Assistance and Support
  • News
  • Events
  • Graduation

Faculty/Staff Resources

  • COVID Calendars
  • Resources
  • Current Academic Calendar
  • Space and Equipment Reservations
  • Information Technology Services
  • Instructional Design and Technology Services
  • Finances and Purchasing

Stay Connected

Twitter Facebook Instagram Linkedin You Tube RSS
@RutgersCommInfo
#RutgersCommInfo
#RUSCI
© 2021 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved.
An equal opportunity, affirmative action institution.
Back to top