Communications
401D: Communication, media and culture
Instructor: Chiung
Hwang Chen, Ph.D.
Office: Ke Alaka’i Office
Phone: 3696
Email:
Office Hours: MWF 10-11
Objective:
The objective
of this class is to provide an understanding of the relationship between media
and culture. As one of the most significant cultural industries, media often
have impact on how we think, eat and behave. As consumers, we often take the
media for granted and overlook the role of the media in our lives and how they
shape our culture and view of the world. I hope through this class, you develop
deeper understanding of mass communication, media and culture and become a
critical media user and consumer of cultural products.
Texts:
McKibben,
Bill (1993). The age of missing information.
Bagdikian,
Ben H. (2000). The media monopoly. 6th edition.
Kitch,
Carolyn (2003). The girl on the magazine cover: the origins of visual
stereotypes in American mass media.
Hesmondhalgh, David (2002). The cultural industries.
Additional
readings will be posted on BlackBoard.
Assignments and Grading:
Quizzes: Keeping up with your reading is one key to understanding the
subject and being successful in class. 30% of your grade will come from daily
quizzes.
Term papers (50%): You are expected to write a small
paper and a larger final paper. The small one (
I will break
down your final project into three parts: literature review, media analysis,
and the final combined product. Basically, you need to choose a topic for your
project. Then you need to conduct library research and produce a 4- to 5-page
literature review on the topic of your choice. The narrower the topic, the
better chance you have for a good, meaningful paper. Then you will analyze a
media product (a film, a TV program, news coverage, a type of popular media,
etc.) on your topic. Your literature review needs to closely correspond to your
media analysis. Then you will revise the two parts and logically put them
together (add an introduction, methodology, and a conclusion, for example) as a
final paper—about 12 pages. This practice will better prepare you to conduct
academic research and put a paper (or senior project) together.
Words of
caution: Please be aware
of plagiarism. When you use other people’s ideas, phrases, or sentences, make
sure to clearly attribute. Also, be aware that you cannot use the same
paper for more than one class. No credit will be given to any plagiarized work
or double-dipping assignments. (For those who are taking senior seminar this
semester, talk to me in advance if you plan to use part of the paper for your
senior project.)
Presentation: 10% of the grade will be based on your
presentation of a reading assignment of your choice. The content, quality of
discussion, voice, visuals, timing (10-12 minutes), and effort will determine
the grade.
Class
participation will
comprise 10% of your final grade. You are expected to contribute to class
discussions. In fact, such participation is one of the best ways to learn how
to organize your thoughts, form proper questions, and express your opinions. So
I encourage you to participate in class, not only for your grade’s sake, but
also for your own advantage, no matter whether you plan to be a media worker,
go to graduate school, or go into another career.
Although I do
not want to make class attendance a requirement, you should understand
the consequence of excessive absences. University policy states that if a
student has 6 or more unexcused absences for the whole semester, he/she will
automatically get an F for the class. Also, if your
final grade is borderline, your effort is often the determining factor for
grading up or down.
Tentative weekly schedule:
1st week
Jan. 8 Introduction: communication, media
and culture
2nd week
Jan. 13: Age of missing information
p. 1-67
Jan. 15: Age of missing information p. 68-120
3rd week
Jan. 20: Age of missing information
p. 121-187
Jan. 20: Age of missing information
p. 188-252
4th week
Jan. 27: Media monopoly Preface to
the sixth edition (p. viii-xlvii)
Jan. 29: “Myth of the liberal me dia: propaganda model of news”—Video
***Journal and paper #1 due on Thursday at
5th week
Feb. 3 Media monopoly chapter 1 and
2
Feb. 5 Media monopoly chapter 3 and
4
***Topic and outline for the final paper
due on Thursday in class
6th week
Feb. 10: Media monopoly chapter 6
and 7
Feb. 12: “Illusions of news”—Video
7th week
Feb. 17: Media monopoly chapter 11,
13 and Afterword
Feb. 19: International broadcasting
systems
“Sexual stereotypes in media: superman
& the bride”—Video
***Bibliography for the final paper due on
Thursday in class
8th week
Feb. 24: “Cultural studies,
multiculturalism and media culture”;
“Reading images critically: toward a postmodern
pedagogy”
Feb: 27: The girl on the magazine cover chapter 1 and 2
9th
week
March 3: The girl on the magazine cover
chapter 3 and 4
March 5: The girl on the magazine cover
chapter 5 and 6
10th
week
March 10: The girl on the magazine
cover chapter 7 and 8
March 12: “Killing us softly 3”—Video
***Literature review due on Thursday at
11th
week
March 17: “White negroes”; “The whites of
their eyes”;
“The politics of representation in network
television”
March 19: “Representation & the
media”—Video
12th
week
March 24: “Adopting the Caucasian ‘look’: Reorganizing
the minority face”
March 26: “Television, black Americans,
and the American dream”;
“Winnebagos,
Cherokees, Apaches, and
13th
week
March 30: “Sensational virtue:
Nineteenth-century Mormon fiction and American popular taste”; “Surveying the
Mormon image since 1960”
April 2: “A colonized empire: Reflections
on the expansion of
***Media analysis due on Thursday at
14th
week
April 7: “Thai pop music and cultural
negotiation in everyday politics”; “The media, civil society and new social
movements in
April 9: “American Empire and cultural
imperialism”; “Internationalization, globalization and cultural imperialism”
15th
week
April 14: Wrap up
***Final paper
due on Thursday April 16 at