From Barbie to Beyoncé, from theater screen to smartphone, via local network or streaming platform, from fan fiction to fan convention, and traversing borders of nation and continent, popular media culture influences the everyday world around us. Making sense of the always shifting array of media-centered leisure activities and cultural expressions in this “everyday world” is the focus of the Concentration in Media and Popular Culture.<br><br>Popular media culture is also the place where contemporary issues often surface, so the ability to decode, interpret, and articulate informed assertions about this culture requires a specific set of analytical skills. The Media and Popular Culture concentration provides the theoretical knowledge, historical grounding, and methodological instruction for analyzing and understanding the appeal of cultural phenomena in cinema, television, music, and new media. The concentration also provides students with critical thinking skills that potential employers highly value.