A Real Student Review of Steinhardt’s Media, Culture, and Communication Course Offerings
As a Media, Culture, and Communication major in Steinhardt, I’ve come to love how open the MCC major is. The wide range of course offerings within the department, as well as the courses available to us through other programs, have allowed me to shape my curriculum to fit my career goals. I’m interested in marketing but have a special interest in branded events and activations and have found a wide range of courses that are relevant to my professional aspirations -- although I did have to spend a big chunk of time looking up class descriptions, sample syllabus’, and course reviews. So, for anyone who is also interested in marketing, branding, or events, I’ve written a review of the most relevant courses I’ve taken in relation to these interests.
Part 1: A REVIEW OF MCC STEINHARDT’S CONSUMPTION AND CONSUMER IDENTITY COURSE
Don’t let the name mislead you, MCC Steinhardt’s Consumption and Consumer identity class is not as theoretical as it sounds. This course is taught by Professor Olga Kopenkina and is approached through the context of branding. Throughout the duration of this course, we’ve discussed consumer taste and agency in the context of how brands use their taste and purchasing options, how brands become culturally iconic (like Nike or Apple), self-branding, consumption in relation to nationality, political branding, environmentalist consumption, and consumption practices in the food industry. All of these concepts were addressed through consumer identity as a way to frame consumption practices and brand marketing techniques.
As far as workload goes, this course is definitely manageable. The homework consists of readings that can be found on course resources, though I recommend buying the required book as we’ve gone over it multiple times throughout the semester. Personally, what I liked about this course was that each of the major assignments built up to the final paper assignment. In the beginning of the semester, we had three short assignments in relation to the readings, in the middle of the semester there was a brand assessment of one of the world's 20 most iconic brands, and due at the end of the semester is a 10-15-page final paper. Now, normally even I would be a bit daunted at the thought of writing a 15-page final paper, but this paper is not as scary as it sounds. The final paper is essentially a brand assessment rather than a thesis paper about the readings, though the readings are easily applicable and useful for the construction of this paper. Broken down into three sections, the final paper consists of an analysis of the brands company, their strengths, weaknesses, threats, opportunities, marketing strategies, and profitability; an assessment of the brands manufacturing and selling processes; and an identification and analysis of the brand’s consumer identity and communities. In addition to this paper, there is also a 10-minute presentation about said brand.
Evidently, the final assignment focuses on research, writing, and presentation skills that would be required in a marketing position. Being able to find detailed information about a brand is one of the key skills required by account managers and strategist in devising briefs for creative teams at a marketing firm. For people like me who are interested in experiential marketing techniques, activations, and events, it’s also valuable to be able to assess the consumer community of a brand and be able to understand how consumers interact with the brand product.
Overall, this class is beyond relevant and manageable for any student. I loved taking this class and highly recommend this course to anyone interested in marketing/ advertising, and for those of you who are looking for a class more about theory or identity, I would recommend taking a different course.
