BROOKLYN COLLEGE Department of Television and Radio MEDIA CRITICISM
TV/R 30.5W Sections EW6 (Wed, Course Code 1567)
Spring, 2008, 6:40pm - 9:20 pm
517a Whitehead Hall

Dr. Foulger

Class Schedule and Assignments - Spring, 2008

Semester Syllabus / Discussion Notes / Blackboard

Draft. The details of the schedule are likely to change.

Session DateSubjectAssignment (to be completed before class on the date assigned)
1 Jan 30 IntroductionNo Reading.
2 Feb 6 The Landscape of Media Criticism;
Exploring and Explaining Media
Read Models of the Communication Process and Introduction To Media Criticism
3 Feb 13

Doing Media Criticism
Semiotics

Read Levinson, Chapters 1, 2, 3; Read Allen, Introduction, Chapter One; Bring body of content to class
4 Feb 20 Semiotics (continued)
Narrative Theory
Read Medium as an Ecology of Genre; Read Allen, Chapter 2
5 Feb 27

Narrative Theory (continuted)
Writing Media Criticism

Read Levinson, Chapters 4, 5, 6, Read An Introduction To Five Paragraph Media Criticism, First Annotated Bibliography Due.
6 Mar 5

Genre Theory
Auteur Theory and Production-Oriented Approaches

Read Allen, Chapter 4; Levinson, Chapters 7 and 8; Short Paper 1 Due
7 Mar 12

Medium as Message
Audience-Oriented Criticism

Read Levinson, Chapters 9 and 10; Read Allen, Chapter 3
8 Mar 19

Ideological Analysis

Read Allen Chapters 5; Optionally Read Allen, Chapter 7
9 Apr 2

Cultural Studies;
Theories of Mind

Read Allen, Chapters 6 and 8; Short Paper 2 Due
10 Apr 9

The Postmodern Turn;
Deconstruction of Media Content

Read Allen, Chapter 9; Term Paper Introduction Due; Web Readings. See Online Syllabus for links.; Second Annotated Bibliography
11 Apr 16 Uses of Media; Read Levinson, Chapters 11, 12, 13; First Complete Draft of Term Paper Due.
12 Apr 30

Term Paper Presentations

No Reading
13 May 7 Term Paper Presentations No Reading
14 May 14

The Rearview Mirror;
Thinking Systematically About Media

Read Message Ecology; Read Allen, Afterword. Read Levinson, Chapters 14 and 15. Final Submission of Term Paper for Grading
Final May 21
Final ExamFormally scheduled from 6:00pm - 8:00pm on the normal class day, but will not start until 6:40pm. Term papers and, if possible, final grades will be returned at this time.