SCHEDULE and ASSIGNMENTS

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January 23rd
SESSION ONE: Introduction
Discuss course syllabus – objectives, schedule, assignments, grading and texts. Review writing and viewing requirements, and introduce online class journal. Introduce research paper and Life Arts Project.

January 30th
SESSION TWO: Understanding Mass Communication and Media
Review SMCR model. Discuss differences between mass communication and media. Introduce cultural approaches, examining communication tools thru cultural transitions.
- DUE SESSION 2 (1/30) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 1
Listening Suggestion: On the Media - NPR
Project homework: Public issue proposal (1/2 page).
Reading: A Cultural Approach to Communication – James Carey
How Communication Works – Wilbur Schramm

February 6th
SESSION THREE: Understanding Mass Media Construction
Evaluate modern media creation, analyzing the importance of mechanical reproduction to mass communication and looking at connections between media and messages.
- DUE SESSION 3 (2/6) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 2
Viewing Assignment: Democratic & Republican Debates
Project homework: Public issue annotated bibliography (7 sources in APA).
Reading: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction – Walter Benjamin
The Medium is the Message – Marshall McLuhan

February 13th
SESSION FOUR: Understanding Mass Media Reception
Explore the role of media reception by looking at audience uses. Examine media spectacle, and look at reception differences in public and private spheres.
Screening: Dear Bill Gates. Dir. S Christman, 2006. (17min.)
- DUE SESSION 4 (2/13) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 3
Viewing Assignment: Growing Up Online: Frontline. 2007 (90min)
Project homework: Campaign analysis (3 pages).
Reading: Audience: The Uses We Make of Media – James Watson
What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream - Noam Chomsky
The Commodity as Spectacle – Guy Debord

February 20th
SESSION FIVE: Dissecting Mass Media – Politics of Representation
Examine modes of representation unique to mass media. Analyze the significance of framing reality to the dissemination of ideology and the construction of power.
- DUE SESSION 5 (2/20) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 4
Viewing Suggestion: The Atomic Café. Dir. Rafferty, 1982. (88 min.)
Project homework: Public issue research (3 pages).
Reading: The Politics of Representation in Network Television – Herman Gray
Notes on the Construction of Reality in TV News Programs – David Chandler
The Precession of Simulacra – Jean Baudrillard

February 27th
SESSION SIX: Dissecting Mass Media – Art of Rhetoric
Review rhetorical techniques prevalent in mass media: visual, aural and textual. Distinguish dominant cultural narratives and the archetypes they present.
- DUE SESSION 6 (2/27) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 5
Viewing Assignment: The Living Room Candidate
Project homework: LAP worksheet.
Reading: Operation Margarine & Myth Today – Roland Barthes
The Lost World of Stereotypes – Martin Barker
Debbie Does Salad – Frederick Kaufman

March 5th
SESSION SEVEN: Building Modern Society – Public Service Campaigns
Investigate methods used to construct public opinion. Compare and contrast public service campaigns, dissecting their tropes and ideologies. Select LAP campaign topics.
- DUE SESSION 7 (3/5) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 6
Viewing Assignment: The Moving Image Archive
Project homework: LAP proposal (1/2 page). LAP contract (in class).
Reading: Communications and the Constitution of Modernity – Graham Murdock
The Public Sphere – Jurgen Habermas
Collective Opinion as Social Force – Irving Crespi

March 12th
SESSION EIGHT: Building Modern Society – Culture Wars
Introduce the culture industry, examining its theoretical value and applicability. Investigate connections between culture industries and global economic imperialism.
- DUE SESSION 8 (3/12) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 7
Viewing Assignment: Merchants of Cool: Frontline. Dir. B. Goodman, 2001. (60 min.)
Project homework: Submit blog design. Submit sample survey questions.
Reading: The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception – Horkheimer & Adorno

March 19th
SESSION NINE: The Uses of Mass Media – Propaganda, Politics and Power
Explore rhetorical tropes specific to political and/or ideological propaganda. Look at historical examples linking propaganda and public opinion to institutions of power.
- DUE SESSION 9 (3/19) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 8
Viewing Suggestion: Why We Fight. Dir. E Jarecki, 2005. (98 min.)
Project homework: Get blog online. Conduct surveys.
Reading: A Propaganda Model – Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky
Propaganda in Peace and War – L Gorman & D McLean

March 26th
SESSION TEN: The Uses of Mass Media – Industry and Consumer Culture
Evaluate links between industry and mass media, including the buying/selling of ideas and the construction of consumer cultures through product mass marketing.
- DUE SESSION 10 (3/26) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 9
Viewing Assignment: The Persuaders: Frontline. 2004. (90 min.)
Project homework: Submit PSA script.
Reading: The Mass Culture/Mass Society Hypothesis – Arthur Asa Berger
Unwrapping Use Value – Susan Willis

April 2nd
SESSION ELEVEN: The Uses of Mass Media – Agency and Social Change
Agency and Social Change (Guest Lecture)
Learn what it takes to use mass media as an agent for social organization and change.
- DUE SESSION 12 (4/2) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 10
Viewing Assignment: tba
Project homework: Shoot PSA script.
Reading: The Missing Dimensions: News Media and the Management of Change – Peter Golding
Culture, Media and Society: Agency & Structure, Continuity & Change – KE Rosengren

April 9th
SESSION TWELVE: The Uses of Mass Media – History and Human Rights
History and Human Rights (Guest Lecture)
Evaluate the impact mass media has upon historical documentation and human rights.
- DUE SESSION 12 (4/9) -
Viewing Assignment: tba
Project homework: Shoot PSA script.
Reading: The Developing World Under Electronic Seige – Herbert I. Schiller
Summary of Findings in Globalization of the Mass Media

NO CLASS - April 16th
SESSION THIRTEEN: Analyzing Media Critically
Mass Media Literacy (Field Trip)
Apply theories of representation and rhetoric to dissect current news propaganda.
- DUE SESSION 15 (4/30) -
Viewing Assignment: News War: Frontline. 2007. (270 min.)
Project homework: Draft LAP reactions. Complete blogs.
Reading: Disinformacracy – Howard Rheingold

NO CLASS - April 23rd
SESSION FOURTEEN: Analyzing Media Critically
The Age of Misinformation (Field Trip)
Apply theories of representation and rhetoric to dissect current news propaganda.
- DUE SESSION 15 (4/30) -
Viewing Assignment: Manufacturing Consent. Dir. Wintonick, 1993. (167 min.)
Project homework: Complete final LAP packet.
Reading: Media Control – Noam Chomsky

April 30th
SESSION FIFTEEN: The Impact of Mass Media on Society
Explore Rupert Murdoch’s ever-expanding media empire and its impact on society.
Screening: Outfoxed: Murdoch’s War on Journalism. Dir. Greenwald, 2004. (114 min.)
- DUE SESSION 15 (4/30) -
Project homework: Final LAP packet due.
Reading: Stealing Our Futures – Carla Brooks Johnston

May 7th
SESSION SIXTEEN: The Impact of Mass Media on Society
Explore the media climate during Senator McCarthy’s infamous Communist witch-hunts.
Screening: Good Night, and Good Luck. Dir. George Clooney, 2005. (93 min.)
- DUE SESSION 16 (5/7) -
Project homework: Prepare public LAP presentations.
Reading: The Medium and Its Conscience – Philip Lopate

May 14th
SESSION SEVENTEEN: The Impact of Mass Media on Society
Learn how films are rated and censored by the Motion Picture Assoc. of America.
Screening: This Film Is Not Yet Rated. Dir. Kirby Dick, 2006. (90 min.)
- DUE SESSION 17 (5/14) -
Project homework: Prepare public LAP presentations.
Reading: Mass Communication, Popular Taste and Organized Social Action – Lazersfeld & Merton

May 21st
SESSION EIGHTEEN: Public LAP Presentations
Produce and attend a public presentation of class life arts projects.

Screening material listed includes only full-length viewings. We will also examine numerous radio, magazine, news, television and film clips. Many segments will be screened in class, but you will sometimes be required to view media on your own.