COM 341 - Social Media & the Self

1 course unit

Explores the performance of identity on social networking sites like Facebook and Tumblr, against the backdrop of the history of consumer culture. A core theme is the tension and overlap between ideals of authenticity and self-possession. Other themes include subcultural style, emotional labor in the workplace, and self-help culture. Students explore the online self with the emergence of the internet and into the Facebook era, with an emphasis on changing definitions of public and private, algorithmic memory, gender and sexuality, and the economics of sharing.