Doctoral student advisement:
I’m currently accepting doctoral students who are interested in working on related topics (e.g. online creativity, youth online political expression, social media, political activism, media literacy, etc). For more info on my ongoing research, please see my CV, check out the work of the Media & Social Change Lab (MASCLab), and feel free to get in touch!
Courses I usually teach at Teachers College:
Technology & Culture (MSTU 4028)
This course examines the relationship between technology, culture and society, with a particular emphasis on new and emerging media. In the first part of the course, we will explore popular and theoretical discourses around technology, paying particular attention to how technology shapes and is shaped by societies, economies and civic life. In the second part of the course, we will focus more closely on new media, examining the digital mediation of our social lives and its effects on individuality, identity, communication, relationships and social belonging. Finally, we will adopt a more global perspective and explore the transformation of cultural production, activism and entrepreneurialism in the digital age, including the political, ethical and economic ramifications of these socio-cultural shifts. Course readings will include sources both popular and academic, theoretical and empirical, contemporary and non-contemporary, optimistic and skeptical, thus representing a wide variety of perspectives regarding the relationship between technology and culture.
The History of Communication (MSTU 4016)
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the history of communication, while explicating the relationship between communication and sociocultural change. The course proceeds chronologically, paying special attention to significant communication milestones, such as the transition from orality to literacy, the development of the printing press, the telegraph, mass media technologies and finally the contemporary reign of digital media. In analyzing the social and cultural impact of communication technologies from a historical perspective, we will also assess the popular framing of different forms of communication throughout history, especially in terms of social and cultural hierarchies, ethics, regulation and social use/abuse. This historical inquiry will necessarily problematize the tendency to talk about digital media as an entirely novel and unprecedented phenomenon, and will instead situate contemporary media along a continuum of innovation and social change.
Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Communication & Culture (MSTU 5606)
The aim of this course is to introduce students to foundational works and influential ideas in the study of communication and culture. Through close reading, discussion and practical applications, students will acquire a thorough grounding in how thinkers have addressed key issues in the study of communication over the past two centuries. The theoretical perspectives and topics that we will discuss include semiotics, structuralism, Marxism, ideology and hegemony theories, feminist theory, cultural analysis and global communication frameworks. Importantly, in order to facilitate comprehension and to make these perspectives as useful and relevant as possible, we will apply these theoretical tools to examine a wide range of communication practices, popular media and sites of cultural expression.
Digital Research Methods: Qualitative Analyses of Online Data (MSTU 6100)
This course aims to engage students in hands-on qualitative research using online data. We will discuss, step-by-step, the various elements of conducting online research, and apply these understandings to the development and execution of a research study in line with student interests. Students will learn how to craft research questions related to the study of social media and online spaces; design ethical, effective and rigorous research studies; collect and analyze online data; and present, write up and disseminate their findings. Throughout the course, we will pay special attention to what makes Internet research unique (or not) and discuss the particular opportunities and challenges of working with online data. Through readings and examples, students will be exposed to current research in social media and Internet studies. Because this course attempts to pull back the curtain on online research, we will also discuss my own research in this area, as I share my process, lingering questions and lessons learned along the way. At the end of the course, students will have produced a research paper, ready to be submitted to conferences and journals.
Ioana Literat 