Complementing material covered in MAAC 1001, this course presents a more hands-on approach to critical media studies by introducing students to basic concepts in semiotics and close analysis of media texts. Lectures will cover notions of signs and signification, the way codes and conventions contribute to socially-constructed meaning, as well as the personal, political and cultural implications embedded in all media constructions. Students will learn to break down and analyze magazines and television ads, music clips and movie posters, websites and viral videos, isolating how each of these texts convey messages and reflect the values and assumptions of the world that produced them. In addition to tests and written assignments, students will complete individual projects that will apply what they have learned to communicate critically and creatively via digital media. Students who have already completed MM 1002 for credit many not enrol in MAAC 1002.