BROOKLYN COLLEGE
Department of Television and Radio
MEDIA CRITICISM (Television and Radio Criticism)
TV/R 30.5W Section EW6 (Course Code 1756)
Fall, 2008, Wed, 6:30 PM - 9:15PM
505 Whitehead Hall

Dr. Foulger
Office: 404S Whitehead Hall

Compact Semester Syllabus

A more detailed version of this syllabus is available online at http://davis.foulger.net/brooklyn/fall2008/mediacriticism/syllabus.htm .

Course Description

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.

Required Texts

• Allen, R.C. (1994). Channels of discourse, reassembled: Television and contemporary criticism. The University of North Carolina Press.

• Levinson, P. (2001). Digital McLuhan: a guide to the information millennium. Routledge.
• Lunsford, A. (2006). Easy Writer: A Pocket Reference 3rd edition + iCite CDR.
  New York: Bedford/St. Martins. (Note that this is a required text for all TV/Radio classes, so you may have it already and should certainly retain it).

Additional Materials

• A body of content of your choosing. You will need to obtain this body of content yourself. You will view it repeatedly.
• If you don't have a VCR or DVD player at your local place of residence (dorm room, apartment, home, etc) that you can use this way, you should obtain one. Combo VCRs and DVD players are currently available from retailers for as little as $30. DVD recorders are available for as little as $70. Portable DVD players sell for as little as $60.
• The Class Schedule and Assignments for this class are available on the Internet. See http://davis.foulger.info/brooklyn/fall2008/mediacriticism/index.htm.
• My Discussion Notes for this class will be available via the Internet. See http://evolutionarymedia.com/student.htm?MediaCriticismFall2008.

Learning Objectives

1. 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.

2. tudents should demonstrate an ability to analyze mass media content using the writing style of critical academic scholarship in the field of communication.
3. tudents should be able to assess the ways in which content is shaped to and by the media in which it is created and consumed; the ways in which (andreasons why) that content changes when it is repurposed to another medium.

Outcomes Assessment

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.

Discussion Notes

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.

Discussion/Learning Space

Two and a half hours 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 make use of Blackboard or other online discussion environments. I will inform you of any such change in advance.

Course Rules

1. Attendance is required for all classes, including the final exam period. Punctuality is much desired.

2. Complete reading assignments, questions, and think assignments prior to coming to class. Be prepared to discuss readings.
3. Write in your own words. Reference the ideas you use to the original sources. Plagiarism and cheating will are unacceptable.
4. Papers should be printed out for submission. Double space your papers and print them out using standard 12 point fonts (Ariel, Times Roman, and Courier are all acceptable). I will notice attempts to pad the length of your papers with oversized fonts and lines spacing and count it against you.
5. Unexcused late papers will be penalized 1/2 of a letter grade if one period late and one full grade thereafter.

Good Advice

1. 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.

2. Keep a copy of any paper you submit, just in case the original gets lost.
3. Write your name on the front of any assignment you submit, including questions, think assignments, and papers.
4. Assuming you work on a computer, maintain backups of your paper in a reliable and convenient format. USB flash drives work on just about all computers now, can be readily obtained for less than $20.00, and are much less likely to fail than diskettes. Assume the worst. Maintain two backups.
5. If at any time you find yourself confused or have questions, especially in terms of the writing assignmentss, please ask me (either in class or in private) for help. One person's question may help countless others in class. If you can't meet me during my office hours, we can probably find another time.
6. Please speak with me confidentially if you have a disabling condition that may require some accommodation in class. I'm here to help.
7. Brooklyn College's Learning Center (in Boylan) is an excellent resource if you have any issues working through the writing process. They can help you develop writing strategies for any stage in the process: from planning, to drafting, to editing, to reflecting.

Class Schedule and Assignments - Fall, 2008