专业描述

Universities-like all large institutions, including political parties, religious groups, and national governments--are often slow to embrace change, and with good reason: the survival of the institution itself often rests upon the the maintenance of tradition and habit. It is not surprising, then, that a major like media studies may meet with some suspicion from people who genuinely care about learning, about the integrity of the university, and above all, about the student herself: When there are so many traditional degrees available in fields like English Literature, Sociology, and Philosophy, why spend four years on a major that some people have never even heard of? You have already read about how the Department of Media Studies works to shape itself as a modern response to the tradition of a liberal arts education. But it is also interesting to note that in spite of the contemporary feel of the phrase media studies, promoting a critical awareness of both medium and message is hardly a new concept. At The Catholic University of America, our curriculum insists not only that students explore and discuss contemporary ideas about the media, but that students read and write about some of the West's earliest media critics.