Communication Studies (CMNS) 202

Media and Power in Canadian Society (Revision 3)

Status:

Open

Delivery mode:

Individualized study online. Delivered via Brightspace.

Credits:

Areas of study:

Arts or Social Science

Prerequisites:

None

Course start date:

If you are a:

Self-funded student: register by the 10th of the month, start on the 1st of the next.
Funded student: please check the next enrolment deadline and course start date.

Precluded:

CMNS 202 is a cross-listed course—a course listed under two different disciplines—with POLI 291. CMNS 202 may not be taken for credit by students who have obtained credit for POLI 291.

Challenge:

CMNS 202 is not available for challenge.

Faculty:

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Outline

Part I: Introduction to the Study of Communication and Power in Canada

Unit 1: What Makes Communications in Canada Unique?
Unit 2: Understanding the Relationship Between Communication and Power
Unit 3: Representation and Cultural Identity

Part II: Media Industries and Their Powers

Unit 4: The Media Industries
Unit 5: Public Broadcasting
Unit 6: Communication Rights and Restraints Part 1 – Communication as a Human Right and Media Reform
Unit 7: Communication Rights and Restraints Part 2 – Protection of Privacy and Intellectual Property Rights

Part III: Regulating and Challenging Media Power

Unit 8: Communication Policy and the CRTC
Unit 9: Alternative Media

Part IV: Digital Transformations and the Power of Networks

Unit 10: Canada as a Network Society
Unit 11: Convergence
Unit 12: Critical Questions for Big Data

Evaluation

To receive credit for CMNS 202, you must complete all of the assignments and achieve a minimum composite course grade of D (50 percent). The chart below summarizes the course activities and the credit weight associated with each assignment.

Activity	Weight
Assignment 1	20%
Assignment 2	20%
Assignment 3	20%
Assignment 4	20%
Assignment 5	20%
Total	100%

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery modes may vary from their individualized study counterparts.

Opened in Revision 3, November 3, 2023

Updated December 19, 2025

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Communication Studies (CMNS) 202

Overview

Outline

Evaluation

Materials

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