Join us in Media Studies

I’m Nathan Schneider and I’m an assistant professor in the Department of Media Studies at the College of Media, Communication and Information (CMCI). 

I came to CU from New York City, where I worked as a journalist for a range of magazines, wrote several books and consulted with various organizations. Much of my work is focused on how people build businesses on the internet, so the chance to come to CMCI was really exciting. Our college is an academic center that also connects students and faculty to the wider world of industry and entrepreneurship—a place where activists, business people, scholars and researchers collaborate, both in and out of the classroom.

Theory, collaboration and hands-on experience is central to my teaching. In my course called Hacker Culture, students learn about different forms of hacking that have shaped the internet as we know it—from hackers who break things to hackers who build things, and everyone in between. We learn about that culture not only through what we read and discuss, but also by entering it ourselves and taking on projects that expose us to these secretive worlds. We play with code, explore intellectual property licenses and look at how creative work is shared online.

Media studies is a major that allows you to better understand the world intellectually, and apply that understanding in concrete ways. I hope you will apply to CMCI and join us this fall as we continue to shape this new model of a college!