This course explores critical and theoretical approaches to understanding contemporary media, particularly mass media such as television, radio, and Internet streaming media. We will examine the meanings, pleasures, and practices associated with our production and consumption of media content.
We live in our media. We spend more time engaged in communication than we spend in any other activity, including sleeping, and there are media choices associated with every minute of that communication. In this course, you will learn how to analyze the media and the messages they enable. To do this we need to step back from the way we usually think about media and consider alternate perspectives; we need to learn how to use those perspectives to view, hear, read about, think about, discuss, and write about the media we use and the content we consume from those media.
To do so, we will survey several major methods associated with media theory and criticism. Media theory considers the ways in which, "in the words of Marshall McLuhan, "the medium is the message"; the ways in which the possibilities, uses, effects, practices associated with media imbue messages with meaning. Various methods of media criticism apply differing theoretical premises to identifying the message of the medium. The critical methods examined in this course include semiotics, narrative theory, genre theory, ideological theories, cultural studies, and media ecology.
This course is designed to help you to think about the media you use to make and consume messages. It will present a variety of of different perspectives on the media within a framework that should complement your production experiences and goals. You will be asking questions, exploring possibilities, and writing intensively (this is a writing intensive course) about difficult and sophisticated ideas, and cultivating skills that are crucial to your development not only as future media makers and storytellers, but also as participants in our evolving media culture.
Allen, R.C. (1994). Channels of discourse, reassembled: Television and contemporary criticism. The University of North Carolina Press.
I may add another fairly inexpensive text sometime early in the semester as a replacement for a text I dropped this spring.
The Allen text should cost about $20-$35 in print form. It is available in an electronic edition for about $11 from Amazon.com. The Brooklyn College bookstore should have copies, but I expect many of you will prefer the electronic edition, which is designed to work with Amazon's Kindle e-reader and software. At last check it was NOT available for the Barnes and Noble Nook e-reader or the SONY e-reader, but you may want to check for availability on these platforms.
If you choose to use the electronic version (I will be) from Amazon, it can be used in any of three ways. You can use it on your Windows PC using free software that can be downloaded from Amazon. You can also use it on an iPhone and iPod Touch using free Kindle software that can be downloaded for free from the Apple Apps store. One presumes that it will also work on the new Apple iPad and is supposed to work soon on MacIntosh computers. The third and most expensive option is Amazon's Kindle e-books. I use the smaller (six inch screen) version that currently sells for about $260 (considerably more than the text). I find the electronic version more readable than the text version, but what you do will be up to you. The only option you don't have is to NOT read the text.
A body of content of your choosing. You will need to obtain this body of content yourself. You will view it repeatedly.
Students should understand a variety of theory-based qualitative/critical methodologies and be able to apply them to mass media content. It is expected that these methods will help students to reintegrate their existing production experience.
Your understanding of critical methodologies and ability to analyze mass media content will be assessed through three papers comprehension of reading assignments will be evaluated through three papers which will count for 60% of your course grade. Your ability to write in the style of communication scholarship will be developed in the first two papers, but principally assessed in the third, which is worth 30% of your overall grade. Your understanding of critical methodologies and the "message of the medium" will also be tested in a single essay style exam worth 20% of your grade. Participation will be assessed through your in-class participation (5% of your grade), online participation (5% of your grade), submission of questions (5% of your grade), and submission of "think" assignments (5% of your grade). While many assignments will be submitted online, papers MUST be printed out and submitted as hard copy.
Details of how grades will be computed can be found below.
My usual practice is to make my lecture/discussion notes directly available to the class via the Internet. I will frequently display those notes during class. You can print them out later. You may be able to print them out before class, but I don't guarantee that you will. I frequently change my discussion notes right up to the beginning of class (and sometimes during class). The version posted at the end of class can generally be considered to be reliable, but I occasionally modify them after class based on class discussions.
Three and a half hours (the scheduled meeting time) is a long class. I will therefore try to keep class sessions shorter and conduct a portion of the class online using a class discussion/learning space called a "Moodle" located at http://messageecologies.com/ed. There will be required discussions and assignment submissions there. You can also use this group to exchange of any class-related information or questions. Only class members (and perhaps one or two selected others) can post to or read messages in this discussion space. You will be registering into this Moodle on the first day of class. You'll have assignments to complete there for the second day of class and most subsequent days. There is a possibility we will also use online discussion environments. I will inform you of any such change in advance.
Point your web browser at http://messageecologies.com/ed
|
Weight |
Description |
Short Criticism Paper 1 |
15% |
A short (approximately three page) research paper applying one methodology to your selected content. |
Short Criticism Paper 2 |
15% |
A short (approximately three page) research paper applying one methodology to your selected content. |
Term Paper |
25% |
A longer (at least six pages; at least 10 pages for an A) research paper applying the methodologies of your choice to your selected content. |
Term Paper Presentation |
5% |
A 6-8 minute presentation that overviews what you found in your term paper for the class. Note that a six page term paper would normally take at least 12 minutes to read. You won't have that much time, and its usually a good idea to play a short clip from your body of content, so focus on the notion of "overview". |
Exam |
20% |
Classic Question and Answer testing, conducted at the end of the semester. Covers all of the material covered in the course covered up to that date, including classroom discussions and readings. |
Think Assignments |
5% |
Think assignments entail doing a small assignment involving thought or observation. Simply turning them in on time nets the points so long as you appear to have taken the assignment seriously. Think assignments will be submitted online, but will often be the subject of in class and online discussions. |
Questions |
5% |
Submit two questions before class each day based on the readings. Questions will be submitted online, but class sessions, both in class and online, will often be based, at least in part, on your questions. |
Participation |
10% |
This portion of the grade is based on your ability to intelligently talk about the subject matter of the class session, based on the readings and other material I bring to your attention. Your ability to both ask good questions and participate in answering them will depend on your familiarity with the days readings. If I feel strongly that the class is not prepared, I may give a quiz that will count as a part of this portion of the grade. Half of the participation grade (5% of your overall grade) will be based on participation during class meetings. Half will be based on participation in the online Moodle. |
Total Grade |
100% |
Based on above. |
Attendance Subtraction |
open |
Attendance is mandatory. The Brooklyn College Bulletin states that "Students are expected to attend all scheduled sessions of every class for which they register. Students late for class may be excluded from the room. An instructor may consider attendance and class participation in determining course grade." While I am unlikely to lock the door, I will take account of missed class time in computing grades. |
Effort Bonus |
Up to 10% |
An optional addition, based on good and enthusiastic participation, interest in subject matter, etc. There is no guarantee I will give any of these points to anyone. |
Attendance is required for all classes, including the final exam period. Punctuality is much desired.
Attendance is mandatory. The Brooklyn College Bulletin states that "Students are expected to attend all scheduled sessions of every class for which they register. Students late for class may be excluded from the room. An instructor may consider attendance and class participation in determining course grade." While I am unlikely to lock the door, I will take account of missed class time in computing grades. You should not, as a general note, ask me for "permission" to miss class. While I will try to be understanding of documented emergencies, the basic reality (which has more to do with your ability to learn when you aren't in class than anything else) is that absences make your grade grow smaller.
I have caught a number of students attempting to pass off other people's work as their own. Such behavior is unacceptable in any classroom, and I won't accept it in mine. My usual practice will be to zero any assignment on which a student has been found to be cheating and consult with the department chair on what other actions may be appropriateExamples of cheating include:Bottom line: Write in your own words and reference the ideas you use to the sources you read them in.
- Duplicate test answers. I cannot prevent students from studying together or comparing notes on a take home exam (should I give any). Test answers should always be in your own words (e.g. not copied out of a book or off of someone else's test paper).
- Plagiarized term paper content. I encourage you to look at content from a wide variety of sources, but the content of your term paper should be in your own words.
- Unreferenced term paper content. Where, in the course of writing a term paper, you present the ideas of others, you must indicate where they came from with a reference. This is true even when you have stated the ideas in your own words or if the ideas or their sources seem obvious.
It is your responsibility to ensure that all assignments are submitted by the due date. I will reduce the grade on an assignment by one half letter grade if one period late and one full grade thereafter. As a general rule, it is always best to turn in assignments on time, but not turning in an assignment at all is far worse than turning them in late. A letter grade penalty is far less onerous than a zero.
The reading and writing load for this course is fairly heavy. This is intentional. TVR 30.5 is both the capstone course in Television and Radio and the department's writing course. If you can't keep up with the readings, papers, or other assignments, you may want to drop the course early on and try again in another semester.
Students who have a disabling condition which might interfere with their ability to successfully complete this course are encouraged to speak to me confidentially. I will be happy to cooperate in identifying alternate means of demonstrating such mastery where there is a demonstrable need.
Bottom line: I'm here to help.
If you have a question I encourage you to ask it in class. There are no stupid questions; only answers that didn't need to be. If you don't know the answer to a question it is likely someone else is curious as well. Please ask. The worst that can happen is that I defer my answer to a meeting after class or during office hours.
If you have a problem in the class I encourage you to contact me as quickly as possible. Several means of contact are listed at the top of my Brooklyn College home page, including telephone, e-mail, and instant messenger. I also maintain regular office hours. Note, in particular, that I will not grant an incomplete for the course unless you talk to me about it in advance or I am aware of conditions which would make it impossible for you to complete the course during the semester.
Course Schedule
Session |
Date |
Subject |
Reading/Assignment (due before class on the date specified) |
1 |
M, Feb 1 |
Introductions |
No Reading |
2 |
W, Feb 3 |
The Landscape of Media Criticism |
Read http://davis.foulger.info/research/unifiedModelOfCommunication.htm and http://evolutionarymedia.com/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi?IntroductionToMediaCriticism |
3 |
M, Feb 8 |
Exploring and Explaining Media |
Read Allen, Introduction |
4 |
W, Feb 10 |
Doing Media Criticism |
TBD |
- |
M, Feb 15 |
Presidents Day, Classes Cancelled |
|
5 |
W, Feb 17 |
Semiotics |
Read Allen, Chapter One; Bring body of content to class |
6 |
M, Feb 22 |
Semiotics (Continued) |
TBD |
7 |
W, Feb 24 |
Narratology |
Read Allen, Chapter Two |
8 |
M, Mar 1 |
Narratology (Continued) |
TBD |
9 |
W, Mar 3 |
Writing Media Criticism |
TBD; First Annotated Bibliography Due |
10 |
M, Mar 8 |
Genre Theory |
Read Allen, Chapter 4 |
11 |
W, Mar 10 |
Genre Theory (continued) |
Read Medium as an Ecology of Genre (web reading) |
12 |
M, Mar 15 |
Auteur Theory and Production-Oriented Approaches |
TBD; Short Paper 1 Due |
13 |
W, Mar 17 |
Medium as Message Theory |
Read "The X is the Message" |
14 |
M, Mar 22 |
Audience-Oriented Criticism |
Read Allen, Chapter 3 |
15 |
W, Mar 24 |
Audience-Oriented Criticism (continued) |
TBD |
- |
Mar 29-Apr 6 |
Spring Recess |
|
16 |
W, Apr 7 |
Ideological Analysis |
Read Allen Chapter 5; Optionally Read Allen, Chapter 7 |
17 |
M, Apr 12 |
Ideological Analysis (Continued) |
Short Paper 2 Due |
18 |
W, Apr 14 |
Cultural Theory |
Read Allen, Chapter 8 |
19 |
M, Apr 19 |
Theories of Mind |
Read Allen, Chapter 6; Second Annotated Bibliography Due |
20 |
W, Apr 21 |
The Post-Modern Turn |
Read Allen, Chapter 9 |
21 |
M, Apr 26 |
Uses of Media |
TBD; First Complete Draft of Term Paper Due |
22 |
W, Apr 28 |
Term Paper Presentations |
No Reading |
23 |
M, May 3 |
Term Paper Presentations |
No Reading |
24 |
W, May 5 |
Term Paper Presentations |
No Reading |
25 |
M, May 10 |
Term Paper Presentations |
No Reading |
26 |
W, May 12 |
The Rearview Mirror |
TBD; Final Submission of Term Paper for Grading |
27 |
M, May 17 |
Thinking Systematically about Media; Exam Preview |
Read Allen, Afterword. |
28 |
May 19-25 |
Final Exams, Date TBD |