This course presents a critical media studies approach to advertising and consumer culture, past and present. Advertising, marketing, branding, and promotion play a central role in capitalist societies and media industries, reflecting and refracting dominant cultural attitudes and ideologies. How does advertising shape what and how we consume? What are its social, cultural, economic, and environmental impacts? Students will learn to analyze the form, content, and ideology of advertisements, and think critically about the advertising they are subjected to in everyday life.