Alternative text to Downing et al, "Questioning the Media"

From: Michael Fitzgerald [[email protected]]

I taught a similar course at Art Institute. I selected Sturken &
Cartwright's Practices of Looking, which I thought it was excellent, but I
think it might have been a bit over the students' heads. Perhaps this is
more of a grad-school-level text. Depends on the students, I suppose.

Michael Ray Fitzgerald, Jacksonville University

-----Original Message-----
From: H-NET List for Scholarly Studies and Uses of Media
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bell-Metereau, Rebecca L
Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2013 6:20 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Alternative text to Downing et al, "Questioning the Media"

From: Thomas B. Grochowski
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>

I'm teaching a junior-level course in media criticism, and for years I've
used the Downing et al text, Questioning the Media: A Critical Introduction.
I still find it the most useful thing I do for introducing the theoretical
perspectives to cover in the course (semiotics, audience studies, feminism,
etc.), but the one weakness of the book is that the most recent edition is
nearly 20 years old, and I believe that I need to find something like it but
more contemporary. I'm not too crazy about the larger anthologies because
they tend to be absurdly expensive. And just to give you a similar title
that I used to like: the Dines and Humez Gender Race and Class in Media was
a useful supplement and even a possible alternative, but more recent
editions have been frankly disappointing. That's the kind of thing I'd like,
if I could get one reasonably priced. I have been supplementing the Downing
with additional relevant readings, which I would be okay doing again this
summer, but I was curious as to what anyone else would suggest. Thanks.

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