SoC First Year Seminar: Interdisciplinary Topics in Communication Arts & Sciences (101-0-1)

Topic

Modes of Media Reception: Seeing, Listening, Readi

Instructors

Dilip Gaonkar
847/491-5853
2240 Campus Dr. Rm 2-148 Frances Searle Building

Neil Verma

Meeting Info

Wirtz 235 Seminar Room: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This is an audience-centered course in media studies. It will focus on and examine three modalities of media reception: seeing, listening, reading. These three modalities, while distinct and independent to a degree, are deeply interconnected. For instance, the physical act of reading involves visually following graphemes or letters on paper or on screen, and occasionally, hearing oneself read. Our focus in this course, however, is socio-cultural. We will explore how audiences engage in acts of "seeing, listening, reading" within a given media ecology, which in turn is shaped by larger societal forces, especially capitalist market economy and the new technologies of information and communication. This course will also offer a historical perspective on how our modes of perception, of which acts of seeing, listening, and reading are integral parts, have changed noticeably since the onset of modernity (however one might date it) and how they continue to change in the present.

Registration Requirements

Registration is limited to SoC First-Year students assigned to take a first-year seminar in Fall 2026. If attempting to swap a section after registration, please reach out to dear-soc@northwestern.edu for assistance.

Learning Objectives

Learning Goal: Engage critical thinking skills while exploring the breadth of School of
Communication creative and research endeavors.

Learning Outcome: Students will identify key factors relevant to the course topic,
differentiate between multiple perspectives and interpretations, and explain how at least
two School of Communication disciplines might approach a given topic.

Learning Goal: Experiment with research and communication conventions associated with
School of Communication disciplines.

Learning Outcome: Students will demonstrate their ability to communicate ideas and/or
experiences compellingly by using appropriate research tools, soliciting feedback,
employing disciplinary conventions, and addressing audience expectations.

Learning Goal: Collaborate with peers from different SoC majors to highlight the benefits of
interdisciplinary inquiry.

Learning Outcome: Students will collaborate with peers across different majors to
successfully complete at least one group project and reflect upon the skills employed to
accomplish that task.

Class Attributes

SOC First-Year Seminar