Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

class dilemma

I’m reconsidering my class schedule for the coming semester. Right now, my Fall 2003 schedule consists of these three classes:

• LING-382: Language Style, Standardization and the Media - “An examination of efforts of media institutions to influence language style and to examine the social and cultural ramifications of that effort.” (i.e. the AP Stylebook)
• CCTP-746: Human-Centered Solutions: Conducting User Research - “As human environments become dominated by technology, we are increasingly at risk of technology dictating our needs as opposed to meeting them … This course will review and apply a human-centered design process for delivering solutions to human populations.”
• CCTP-736: E-Commerce and the Theoretical Foundations of Consumer Behavior - “This course will explore the theoretical foundations of consumer behavior and the engagement of consumer processes in historical, traditional, and today’s evolving online environments.”

However, I’m thinking of dropping the latter two classes because a) they’re offered early on Saturday and b) my program is offering a few new media-oriented classes. My dilemma now is that there are three classes I’m considering, and I can only choose two. (I’m keeping the linguistics class, and I have no interest in taking more than three classes per semester.) So … the contenders:

• CCTP-689: Theories of Culture and Interdisciplinarity - “[This class takes] an anthropological approach that focuses on the problems of “making meaning” and how this process is represented in various structured narrative forms or genres such as novel, ethnography, film, travelogue, critical essay, or interview. In short, we are concerned with the interpretation of culture in its manifest forms.”
• CCTP-693: Comparative Media - “This course examines the different cultural entailments and dynamics that present themselves in news reporting, offering a perspective on variation and ideology across media. A comparative approach that highlights sociocultural factors (class, gender, race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, education and economic position) is designed to illuminate the role of the media in political and cultural debates, globally and locally.”
• CCTP-795: Presidential Politics & Communication - “Presidential efforts to set and frame the political agenda through the mass media are some of the most important tools of presidential governance, and this course will look at White House media strategies relating to war, the economy and even the definition of a president’s own character.”