Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the blog site for Media Literacy summer session!

About me: My name is Liora Elias and I'll be the instructor for Media Literacy this summer. I was born in Tucson, Arizona but have lived in Minneapolis most of my life. I've also lived in the East Coast, as well as England. My BA is from the University of Minnesota in what was then called Women's Studies, and is now called Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies. I also have a Master's Degree from Simmons College in Gender and Cultural Studies. I'm currently working on my PhD in Communication Studies with a focus on Critical Media. My areas of research include: television studies, queer studies, film studies, gender studies, feminist studies and cultural studies.

This is the first time I've used a blog in the classroom setting -- so hopefully you'll all have some great feedback for me at the end of the semester. I'm hoping this forum becomes a space for sharing our collective ideas as the semester unfolds.

You are each required to post one discussion question on the blog for each class session. We will use these questions to begin our discussion each day. These questions can 1) challenge an idea or assumption that comes up in the reading 2) encourage further discussion of a particular idea or topic or 3) be used for clarification.

In addition, you will post one blog entry per week -- these are one or two paragraph responses to a reading or screening of your choice. Feel free to be creative. We will discuss both of these assignments in class, but be sure to let me know if you have questions.

Looking forward to a great semester!

-Liora