Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2026 - CMNS 452 E100

Race and the Media (4)

Class Number: 4923

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 5 – Apr 10, 2026: Tue, 4:30–7:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    26 CMNS units with a minimum grade of C- or 60 units with a minimum CGPA of 2.00.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines the contemporary construction and maintenance of race and ethnicity, through movies, music, and the Internet. Provides grounding in scholarship on media, race, ethnicity, and identity. Explores the historical role of entertainment in racialization. Investigates contemporary issues and forms of media and race. Students who have taken CMNS 486 with subtitle "Race and the Media" cannot take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

Entertainment media and popular culture are key sites of struggle over the representation of race and ethnicity. Film, television, news, music, video games, and other communicative media saturate our everyday lives and social institutions, delivering images and narratives that inform our social identities and understandings of other social groups.

This course examines how race and ethnicity are shaped by and shape media practices. Through the examination of a variety of media texts, we will consider the history of the social construction of race, critical frameworks and concepts surrounding the mediated representation of race and ethnicity, and the role of social movements in challenging and changing these representations, myths, and narratives. Students will be grounded in scholarship on race, ethnicity, and develop a critical vocabulary to discuss these topics. We will also examine how race intersects with other axes of identity in mediated representation, including gender, sexuality, and class.

Grading

  • In-Class Reading Responses and Contributions 25%
  • Group Discussion Facilitation 15%
  • Final Project Proposal 20%
  • Final Project 40%

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 with respect to Academic Integrity, and Policies S10.02, S10.03 and S10.04 with regard to Student Discipline. For further information visit: www.sfu.ca/policies/Students/index.html.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Required readings will be available on the CMNS 452 Canvas webpage under “Files".

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

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.