Fall 2021 - CMNS 858 G100

Selected Topics in Communication Studies (5)

Crit.Theory/CMNS/Authority

Class Number: 6678

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 8 – Dec 7, 2021: Fri, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Specialized graduate course offering on a topic related to the current research of school faculty or visiting professor.

COURSE DETAILS:

Critical Theory, Communication and Authoritarianism

This course explores critical theories of authoritarianism with special focus on their analyses of communication and media technologies. The rise of European fascisms in the 1920s and 1930s provided the urgent context for the original distinction between ‘traditional’ and ‘critical’ theory. Scholars linked to the Institute for Social Research (a.k.a. ‘The Frankfurt School’) drew on the concepts and methods of Hegel, Marx and Freud, among others, to produce pioneering analyses of the role that new forms of communication played in shaping the character and trajectory of modern authoritarianism. From the standardisation of listening in radio to the role of the unconscious in propaganda, and from the techniques of fascist agitators to the place of cinema in the mass psychology of fascism, these studies remain a crucial source of insights about authoritarianisms old and new. The course will explore key texts from the critical theory of authoritarian communication and interrogate their capacity to address present varieties of authoritarianism and their technological mediations. We will draw on anti-colonial and Black radical theories of fascism to inquire into the changing regimes of race and capital that subtend today’s authoritarianism, while investigating the place of gender and sexuality in the formation of authoritarian subjectivities. We will also detail the shaping impact of new media on what Theodor W. Adorno called ‘the pattern of Fascist propaganda’, with attention to phenomena taking place beyond a Euro-American context.

 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • Achieve a command of foundational literature in the critical theory of authoritarianism.
  • Achieve an understanding and command of the concepts and methods through which critical theorists have addressed the place of media and communication in the formation of authoritarian regimes and subjectivities.
  • Critically engage with the potentials and limitations of ‘classical’ critical theories of authoritarianism for the study of the present.
  • Articulate differences and similarities between the authoritarianisms and fascisms studied by classical critical theory and contemporary formations of populism, neo-fascism, the ‘alt-right’ and white supremacy.
  • Analyse the place of race, class, gender and sexuality in the critical study of authoritarianisms old and new.

 

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

The instructor will provide a reading list.

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2021

Teaching at SFU in fall 2021 will involve primarily in-person instruction, with approximately 70 to 80 per cent of classes in person/on campus, with safety plans in place.  Whether your course will be in-person or through remote methods will be clearly identified in the schedule of classes.  You will also know at enrollment whether remote course components will be “live” (synchronous) or at your own pace (asynchronous).

Enrolling in a course acknowledges that you are able to attend in whatever format is required.  You should not enroll in a course that is in-person if you are not able to return to campus, and should be aware that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who may need class or exam accommodations, including in the context of remote learning, are advised to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112) as early as possible in order to prepare for the fall 2021 term.