The media audience has always been crucial for stakeholders such as content producers, publishers, advertisers and regulators. Nowadays, anyone with a social media presence maintains a relationship with an audience.

This course offers a survey of different traditions in audience studies, including literature in communication, cultural studies, sociology, political science, and economics. It will explore methods of audience analysis, debates about audience agency versus effects, and the role of technology in shaping audiences. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding contemporary patterns of media use in digital cultures, and their implications for issues such as audience polarization, misinformation and the public sphere. Students will write a paper that reviews a body of audience studies literature in relation to an audience phenomenon of interest.