Starting with the first colonial newspaper, U.S. journalism has actively promoted, organized, and even led identity-based discrimination and violence in our country. This reading-intensive course outlines this history and situates contemporary U.S. journalism in this historical context. Through guest visits, group discussions, and in-class presentations, this course also grounds students in fundamental ethical principles of journalism, examines capitalist and technological influences on the field, interrogates concepts such as "objectivity" and "truth," and challenges some of the industry's most venerated norms. Students read the work of Ida B. Wells, W.E.B. DuBois, Joan Didion, Alexandra Bell, Gabe Schneider, Juan González, Ryan Christopher Jones, and Jay Rosen, among others. Close attention is paid to alternative and "ethnic" press, Native American journalism, gender, and practices that are being challenged within beats such as food, travel, and foreign reporting.