HSOC-301: American Politics & Media

Is the media liberal? Are all politicians in the pockets of corporations? Is dissent unpatriotic? Is the U.S. a nation to be loved or feared? Is it a democracy? An empire? Both? How are we, as citizens (of any country), to find our way through the rhetoric of the left, the right, the middle? How can we make sense out of the increasing flood of political and cultural information that bursts from our computers, televisions, radios, newspapers, and movies? Whom should we believe? This course seeks to provide the tools to help make sense of it all.