Faculty GUR Group to look at media studies course

The Faculty GUR Group at Western Washington University will be learning about the subject of media studies while exploring critical theory teaching methods used in this GUR that may transfer to any discipline.

The idea behind the group is that faculty, as well as students, need to sustain their general education. The group was formed to bring together people from different departments across the university to allow each participant to enhance their general education by acquiring useful knowledge their colleagues consider basic.

All faculty and staff are invited to attend one or both parts, each covering different material, of this free Media Studies: Self, Society, and Communication Practices course.

• Part 1: 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, in Miller Hall Room 105: In this first session, Helen will introduce her Media Studies course, outlining its aims, general content, and assignments, while discussing strategies for teaching critical theory in the GUR curriculum. To focalize the discussion, the session will emphasize teaching the relationships between media and theories of subjectivity, specially addressing how media constitutes social identity and relevant theories. She will contextualize our discussion of these theories and their relationship to media in thinking through the question of how theoretical tools can be used to facilitate students' engagement in a process of life long learning, critical thinking, and reflection.
• Part 2: 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 3, in Miller Hall Room 105: This second session will continue the discussion of teaching critical theory in the GUR curriculum with a specific focus on teaching media and affect theory. Specifically, we'll address the shift in media studies from thinking through what it is that media makes us think to a more embodied theory of media that considers how media resonates with our bodies as sites of intensity. In discussing a variety of theories of affect and how they relate to our relationships with media culture, we will continue to consider how abstract theory can be made accessible, translatable, and integrated into student learning in ways that can be potentially transformative.