Last updated: February 27, 2024 @ 12:23PM

Communication, Popular Culture and Film

Chair
Jennifer Good

Professors Emeriti
Barry K. Grant, Jim Leach

Professor
Marian Bredin

Associate Professors
Jacqueline Botterill, Liz Clarke, Tim Dun, Derek Foster, Greg Gillespie, Jennifer Good, Russell Johnston, Anthony Kinik, Peter Lester, Sarah A. Matheson, Christie Milliken, Bohdan Y. Nebesio, Karen L. Smith

Assistant Professors
Dale A. Bradley, Kate Cassidy, Michelle Chen, Duncan Koerber

Adjunct Faculty
Nick Baxter-Moore, Joan Nicks, Jeannette Sloniowski

Academic Administrator
Josephine (Pina) McDonnell

Academic Advisor and Internship Coordinator
Jordan Belanger/Megan Johnson

Digital Media Coordinator
Connor Wilkes

General Information

Administrative Assistant
Tamara Milicevic

905-688-5550, extension 4290
Scotiabank Hall 309
brocku.ca/cpcf

The Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film offers four separate programs of study in Business Communication, Media and Communication Studies, Film Studies, and Popular Culture Studies. A four-year program leading to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) Honours degree, a 4 Year BA with Major, and a three-year program leading to the BA Pass degree is offered in all four programs. Majors in the Department may complete a Concentration in Digital Culture. Minor programs are available in Digital Culture, Film Studies, Media Studies and Popular Culture for majors in other Departments/Centres as well as a Certificate in Film Studies. In addition, the Department is involved in programs with community colleges which offer students the opportunity to earn a BA Honours Communication Studies, BA Honours Popular Culture or a BA with Major Film Studies degree and a college diploma or certificate.

Communication Studies

Business Communication
Students in Business Communication must attain a minimum 60 percent major average to continue in the program, and a minimum of 70 percent major average by the end of Year 3 for approval to Year 4 Studies (Honours).

Business Communication is an interdisciplinary program combining the study of communication with a study of some aspects of business. The program aims to equip the student with a sound theoretical basis for analysing and practicing communication within the business environment.

Please consult the Communication Studies entry for a listing of courses and program requirements.

Media and Communication Studies
Students in Media and Communication Studies must attain a minimum 60 percent major average to continue in the program, and a minimum of 70 percent major average by the end of Year 3 for approval to Year 4 Studies (Honours).

Media and Communication Studies is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the impact of media and communication in the creation of meaning, identity and social change, emphasizing the study of media content, audiences and institutions in their political, economic, and social contexts in Canada and elsewhere.

Please consult the Communication Studies entry for a listing of courses and program requirements.

Film Studies
Students in Film Studies must attain a minimum 60 percent major average to continue in the program, and a minimum of 70 percent major average by the end of Year 3 for approval to Year 4 Studies (Honours).

Film Studies is a sequence of critical and historical courses that examine a variety of approaches to film. The courses explore the nature of film language and develop an analytical perspective on film as both an art and a medium. Other courses explore issues and theories in popular culture. Students may have opportunities to engage in media production in selected upper year courses.

Please consult the Film Studies entry for a listing of courses and program requirements.

Popular Culture Studies
Students in Popular Culture Studies must attain a minimum of 60 percent major average to continue in the program, and a minimum of 70 percent major average by the end of Year 3 for approval to Year 4 Studies (Honours).

The study of popular culture offers critical and historical courses which examine popular culture and its relation to folk, mass and high culture. The undergraduate program in Popular Culture Studies is interdisciplinary in nature, bringing together theoretical and analytical perspectives drawn from both the humanities and the social sciences, and applying them to the study of diverse cultural forms including film, television, social media, literature, music and advertising and their economic, political and historical contexts.

Please consult the Popular Culture Studies entry for a listing of courses and program requirements.

Brock/Colleges Articulation Agreement Program

Please consult the Communication Studies, Film Studies and Popular Culture entries for a listing of program requirements.

Description of Courses

Note that not all courses are offered in every session. Refer to the applicable term timetable for details.

# Indicates a cross-listed course
* Indicates a primary offering of a cross-listed course

Prerequisites and Restrictions

Students must check to ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met.
CPCF 1F25
Media and Culture: Texts and Practices
Introductory survey of the fields of communication, popular culture and film. Relations among texts, images, representations and socio-cultural practices.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: not open to BCMN, MCMN, FILM (single or combined) and PCUL majors.
Note: this course may be offered in multiple modes of delivery. The method of delivery will be listed on the academic timetable, in the applicable term.