I’m Chris Adam, your instructor for this course. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
You can find me in 1841 Old Main. My student hours are 1:00-4:00 on Wednesdays, but I can meet at other times that work for you.
The best way to reach me is by email – cadam@tru.ca. I try to respond to emails within 24 hours, but I do protect my weekends for recharging and family. You’re always welcome to email at a time that works for you; just know that you might wait until Monday for a response to an email sent between Friday evening and Sunday.
What Are We Here to Do?
This course asks how media construct identity and power, and how you are positioned inside that process, not just observing it from outside. Media, in this course, means anything that circulates meaning: advertising, games, podcasts, memes, news, social media, film. The list will grow as we go through the course, and sometimes the content we work will be heavy. I’ll give everyone a heads up in case there is course content that might be upsetting.
Why Study This?
Understanding how representation works – who it centres and who it erases – is a skill that carries into every field that touches media, which by now is most of them.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will document your abilities to:
- Identify and explain key theories of representation and critical concepts and methods associated with communication studies.
- Critically assess examples and case studies of media representation through the concepts and methods of the theory.
- Analyze the construction of social identities and meanings through media representation, with consideration of questions of power.
- Apply strong critical thinking and academic writing skills.
How This Course Is Built
| Unit | Weeks (Dates) | Focus question and key concepts | Submissions |
| 1. Seeing | 1-3 (September 10 through September 24) | What is your personal media landscape? Key concepts: representation, discourse, sign, denotation/connotation. | Media audit |
| 2. Naming | 5-7 (October 6 through October 22) | What systems of meaning are at work? Race, gender, class, Indigeneity as representational categories. Key concepts: ideology, interpellation, othering, stereotyping, erasure. | Annotated media analysis |
| 3. Questioning | 8-11 (November 3 through November 19) | Whose discourse is this, produced by whom, for whom? Indigenous media sovereignty as a case study. Key concepts: media ownership, production context, counter-narrative, sovereignty. | Comparative media analysis |
| 4. Positioning | 12-14 (November 24 through December 8) | Where are you in all of this? Key concepts: positionality, critical reflexivity, media literacy as practice. | Final self-assessment and final grade documentation |
Readings
Readings assigned for each unit will be available on this course website (see link in menu at top).
Student Assessment
Assessment in this class will be a collaborative process. Together, in conversation, we’ll decide what your final grade should be. (See Ungrading information link at the top of this page.)
There are three major assignments in this course. Each one will receive extensive feedback from me, and will be marked as either “complete” or “redo.” Students will have as many redo opportunities as they need to complete an assignment.
The final submission (unit four) in this course will be made in the format of your choice. It will be your negotiation document for the grade you have earned during the course, with documentation of your learning from the three assignments listed above and examples from your interactions in the class setting.
© 2026 Media, Representation and Society – Christine Adam
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