An introduction to the history of the news in Western societies—from ballads of the sixteenth century to the newspaper to the present. We will focus on France, Britain, and the U.S., with the occasional look elsewhere. A series of questions guide our studies: How have news media changed? Who controls the news? What connections are there between the form and the content of news? What has been the social impact of news? We will explore these questions through classic works on the printing revolution, the history of the press, the sociology of news, and media criticism, together with newspapers, films, newsreels, and fiction.
This course is a practical introduction to the critical skills of the historian. We will hone the skills needed for strong historical research. As such, this course is excellent preparation for Junior I.S. in history. This course is a writing course. A series of papers will cultivate the varieties of writing that college-level history courses require. Students will learn: how to develop an interpretation out of a primary source; how to write about secondary works of history; how to write a short research paper. This course is also a discussion seminar. Aside from occasional short lectures and student presentations, the format for the course will be discussion. MWF 11