Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2026 - CMNS 800 G100

Contemporary Approaches in Communication Studies (5)

Class Number: 5748

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 9 – Dec 6, 2026: Fri, 12:30–4:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

This course surveys current interdisciplinary perspectives in communication studies and theory. It is normally offered in the fall term, and expected in the first year of graduate study.

COURSE DETAILS:

In the post-digital world, communication media have become ambient and ubiquitous, entrenching capitalist relations into the everyday ways we work, play, and live. In this course, we examine the diverse ways that contemporary critical communication studies scholars are putting the current media manifold into perspective. Beyond considerations of the mediatization of everyday life, we will investigate how politics, subjectivity, community, and aesthetics are framed by capitalist relations and entangled with one another in complex ways. In the face of compounding crises, digital media are commonly identified as both instantiations of the problems of global capital and as potential elements in struggles of resistance and transformation. Covering critical problems such as: the cooptation of participatory cultures, ‘racial’ logics of digital technologies, how algorithmic power shapes contemporary labor, and the extractive strategies developed by societies of control, the objective of this seminar is to (re)introduce students to a set of contemporary critical theoretical approaches to media and communication. It is expected that the course will be useful to help students to orient their research programs through a process of critical encounter and generative exchange. Students will be encouraged to use the course material for their research projects.

I encourage you to speak to me early in the course to discuss your interest and enable me to support you in working strategically towards your final term paper.

Grading

  • Seminar Participation 15%
  • Seminar Written Contributions 15%
  • Short Book Review (1000 words) DUE October 23, 2026 20%
  • Final Paper (3000-4000 wds for MA Students; 5000- 6000 wds for PhD Students) DUE December 7, 2026 50%

NOTES:

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relationship to established university-wide practices. In addition, the School will follow Policy S10.01 (September 2026) with respect to Academic Integrity including use of AI, and Policies S10.02, S10.03 and S10.04 with regard to Student Discipline. For further information visit: https://www.sfu.ca/about/leadership-governance-strategy/policies/gazette/s10-01.html

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All course readings will be available online through Canvas.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.