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ABOUT


Welcome to the Media Writing Lab at DePauw University. This site features commentary and criticism written by students enrolled in Professor Kevin Howley's Media, Culture & Society course.

Throughout the semester, students organize and publish a weeklong series of thematic essays (500-600 words each) that address some aspect of media and popular culture. Modeled after the Media Commons project, In Media Res, this site promotes collaborative research, interactive learning, multi-modal writing.

The views and opinions expressed in the Media Writing Lab are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the instructor, the Department of Communication & Theater, or DePauw University.

 Instructor: Kevin Howley
Teaching Assistant: David Petrushka
Technical Assistance: Jin Kim

For more information regarding the Media Writing Lab write to us at: khowley@depauw.edu.

Popular posts from this blog

SHAMELESS: MORE THAN ENTERTAINMENT

By Natalie Raskas Social class identification has become increasingly vague in recent years. Most Americans consider themselves middle class whether they technically qualify or not (Martin, 2018).  However, the lower class, making up around 29% of the population, is still the socio-economic minority in America (Geewax, 2015).  One could argue that most middle- and upper-class Americans have no clue about the common struggles and daily challenges members of the lower-class face. Popular culture, specifically television is one of the primary ways people are exposed to different classes, other than their own.  Sadly, such entertainment can propagate broad misconceptions about the lower class, as is evident in the wildly popular  Shameless  television series. Shameless , developed by John Wells is an American TV show based on an original produced in the U.K.  The show depicts a family, “The Gallaghers,” with six children ran...
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PREVALENCE OF COLORISM IN BLACK AMERICAN MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS

By: Cailey Griffin     It would be extremely difficult to make the argument that the media doesn’t have power. The media has the power to foster a sense of community amongst people by bringing friends and family together to view a television show. The media has the power to regulate the emotions of individuals by creating fictional characters the average viewer will become attached to. The media also has the power to serve as a representation of the different “types” of people in society. In media platforms there’s usually a clear representation of what it means to be a man, what it means to be a woman, what it means to be a person of color, and what it means to be a person from a particular socioeconomic background. These media representations of different groups and types of people are not always incorrect or negative. In fact, I would argue that media representations are largely positive for certain people. However, the group that seems to consistently get ...
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ABUSE OF LARRY NASSAR: UNRAVELED

By Daniel Scotto Growing up, it is instilled in us to dream big and put every ounce of concentration and effort into achieving those dreams, whatever they may be. Only a select few Americans have the coveted opportunity to represent their country on the Olympic stage. The amount of talent and dedication it takes to be on that high caliber of a team is nearly impossible to accomplish. With that being said, when these sorts of accolades are taken away from someone or tarnished, there is no possible way to make up for this loss. This is what happened to around 350 women that fell victim to Larry Nassar. Larry Nassar joined the USA Olympic gymnastic program as an athletic trainer in 1986. The women on the multiple gymnastic teams during his tenure could have never expected the horrifying events that were to come. Joining the esteemed ranks of being an Olympic athlete puts you on a pedestal. As an Olympic athlete, you expect to be treated as such. Nassar u...
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