COMM2244 · Communication

Criticism as Communication

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

Satisfies one of three elective courses required within the Communication major.. Critics often get a bad rap these days. Pilloried for nitpicking instead of creating, denounced as "haters" and "spoilers," the critic's important, generative role in contributing to and shaping art and culture is too often overlooked. But criticism (which, of course, includes at least as much appreciation and "passionate re-description" as fault-finding) is essential to a robust artistic culture. In this class, we will read, watch, listen to, and look at works of art across many disciplines and genres (including television, film, music, visual art, and more) and engage with the work of the critics who responded to them. We'll use their examples to produce media criticism, geared for popular, non-academic audiences, of our own, across a variety of formats: writing (in different forms, for different venues), audio (radio segments and podcasting), visual, and more. The purpose of the class is to help us develop well-reasoned and articulated opinions about media, art, and literature, which, as we'll see over the course of the semester, can be, at their best, works of art in their own right. The course will also give students the skills and context to pursue careers as writers and editors at magazines, newspapers, and websites, as well as in other fields that require critical writing and thinking. More broadly, by developing these skills, students will be better equipped to understand, situate, and contribute to the shifting cultural landscape around them.