• Media Culture & Society
    • MSCR 1220
      • SEC01: TU/FR 9:50 am - 11:30 am
      • Snell Engineering 308
      • Joseph Reagle, Ph.D.
        • <email address>
        • Office hours: FR 3:30 PM, end-of-class sessions, or by appointment.
        • Comm Studies, 215 Holmes Hall (Tip: Enter at 41A Leon St. (Earth and Environmental Sciences), take the left door and go up two flights of stairs; my office is the second door on the right.)
    • Course objectives
      • This course will engage the complex role of mediated communication in America, from the individual to society at large. Successful completion enables one to:
        • 1. recall, compare, and give examples of relevant concepts and frameworks (e.g., "meaning" and "interpretation");
        • 2. recognize the applicability of concepts to contemporary circumstances (e.g., gender bias in sports);
        • 3. select cases for which concepts are applicable (e.g., ideology, power, hegemony) and cogently demonstrate their applicability in speech and writing
      • All sections of this course use the same book, but this one is skewed towards new media because of my interests.
    • Policy
      • Active learning
        • "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." -- Confucius
        • This is an active learning course meaning that you will be engaged with activities such as class and group discussion, participating in and designing class exercises, collaborative note-taking, and peer assessment.
      • Academic policies
        • In short, come to class on time and with the readings and assignments completed; be respectful and willing to collaborate. There are no provisions for missed exams or late assignments. If I notice you texting, then you are doing it too much. If I think your use of a computer is distracting you and others, I will put you on the spot (e.g., ask you to immediately send me your notes). Such deviations from classroom professionalism and respect may result in dismissal from class and demerits against your grade. See full course policies for more detail.
        • In general, if you have an issue, such as needing an accommodation for a religious obligation or learning disability, speak with me before it affects your performance; afterward it is too late. Do not ask for favors; instead, offer proposals that show initiative and a willingness to work.
        • Academic Integrity : "The promotion of independent and original scholarship ensures that students derive the most from their educational experience and their pursuit of knowledge." Violations include cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and participating in or encouraging dishonesty. I will, and have, report violators to the Office of Student Conduct.
        • Our college requires all students to complete TRACE evaluations at the end of the semester. You will be asked to provide a screen shot to your instructor that reflects your participation, even if you (anonymously) opt-out of completing the survey.
      • Activities
        • 20 Class participation
        • 10 Responses
          • You will be required to send a reading response for a handful of readings. We will likely use Blackboard, but might use an email list. Please title your response appropriately.
          • So that I have some time to review them, responses are due 8:30 AM on the day of class.
        • 15 Midterm exam
        • 30 Analysis
          • Each analysis should be ~800 words (~3 pages).
          • All written assignments should be double-spaced, 12 point font, 1-inch margins. One page should contain approximately 250 words. Pages must be numbered and stapled together. Format your essay according to an appropriate style/citation (APA, MLA, Chicago) guide.
          • On the due date, print copies must be submitted in class and the electronic version must be submitted to BlackBoard Turnitin. You must get feedback (according to the criteria of engagement, understanding, writing, and scholarly support) from two peers.
          • Include your name only on the final page, the final word count, as well as those students you asked to give you feedback on your essay.
          • 1) Interpretation and polysemy
            • Find and analyze a "text" (e.g., image, poem, or music video) that lends itself to interpretation and polysemy. (You may use as many texts as you like.) Make use of at least one approach to interpretation (i.e., narrative, genre, semiotic, content, visual), and the concepts of polysemy, `sign = signifier + signified`, and codes.
            • Due: Oct 12
          • 2) Ideology and power
            • Find and analyze a "text" such that you can make use of the concepts of ideology, power, and hegemony -- and any complementary concepts.
            • Due: Nov 13
          • See Choosing a topic , Writing Class Essays , and Writing Rubric and Common Writing Mistakes .
        • 1 Email filter task
          • Due: Nov 9
        • 1 Browser AdBlocker
          • Due: Nov 20
        • 1 TASK survey
          • Our college requires all students to complete TRACE evaluations at the end of the semester. Please provide a screen shot to your instructor that reflects your participation, even if you (anonymously) opt-out of completing the survey.
          • Due: Mon Dec 03
        • 22 Final exam
        • Bonus
          • Unlocking text notes
            • Grossberg et. al (2006) is required in all sections; sadly, it has some weaknesses. None-the-less, proficient reading of even boring texts is a skill you can learn . I will give two optional quizzes at the beginning of each half of the semester, if you get at least a 4 out of a 5 on the quiz or show me how your work (your reading annotations/summary) and how you will improve in the future, I will give you a copy of my notes on the text for that half of the semester.
          • Merits
            • You have the ability to earn half-point merits not to exceed 4 points over the course of the semester. Nomination for a merit is proposed by a peer and decided upon by the instructor. This could include being the first to identify and correct a mistake in a slide or looking up and reporting back on something that was confusing in class.
            • Other appropriate offerings include meta tasks such as presenting and facilitating discussion of news items, learning tips, or tool demos.
            • Good sources for news items in this class include On The Media , AdBusters , Feministing .
      • Grading Rubric

        • "A" students have all of the following attributes, they:

          1. show mastery in assignments. Their work demonstrates impressive understanding of readings, discussions, themes and ideas. It is fluid, clear, analytical, well-organized and grammatically polished. Reasoning and logic are well-grounded and examples precise.
          2. have virtually perfect attendance . Their commitment to the class resembles that of the teacher.
          3. are prepared for class. They always read assignments and participate fully. Their attention to detail is such that they occasionally catch the teacher in a mistake.
          4. show interest in the class. They look up or dig out what they don't understand. They often ask interesting questions or make thoughtful comments.
          5. have retentive minds. They are able to connect past learning with the present.
          6. have a winning attitude . They have the determination, initiative and self-discipline to succeed.

          Please see the complete rubric for other performance levels and for writing and participation.

    • Resources
      • Readings
        • Lawrence Grossberg, Ellen Wartella, D. Charles Whitney, J. Macgregor Wise
          • MediaMaking: Mass media in a popular culture
            • d=2006 ed=2 p=Sage is=0-7619-2544-9
            • This book is referred to as "MM" below. When this is assigned with another reading you may skim for key concepts and focus on the other reading.
        • PDFs kept on Blackboard require you to log in there first; other resources may be accessed off-campus via LibX via our library .
        • Writing guide
          • I still use the handbook I acquired as an undergraduate; it's wonderful to have a concise and easy guide for questions (e.g., when does punctuation go outside a quote mark?). When I give feedback on composition issues, I will reference this handbook:
          • Diana Hacker
            • A pocket style manual with 2009 MLA and 2010 APA updates
              • d=20100427 p=Bedford/St. Martin's ed=5 i=9780312664800
        • Course bibliography

          • NU makes both RefWorks and EndNote available to students, you can also use the freely available browser-based Zotero

          • Best practice: bibliography
          • bibTeX file (you can import this into your bibliography tool)
      • Slide handouts
      • Exercises
        • These are exercises that we will use in class.
      • Best Practices
        • These practices include guides on: The Craft of Reading; Making Sense of Concepts; Achieving Balance in Discussion; Some Thoughts on Presenting; Writing Class Essays; and Feedback on Writing: Rubric and Writing.
      • NU
        • Major Religious Holy Days
        • Library resources
        • Writing center
      • Keep what you learn
        • If you are not using mnemonics and spaced repetition to remember things, your life could be much easier!
    • Classes
      • Sep 07 Fri
        • Intro
      • Sep 11 Tue
        • What is "the media," how should we understand communication, and how is power implicated in these two questions?
        • MM “Media in Context”, ch=1 pp=3-33
      • Sep 14 Fri
        • Can we discern a trajectory from oral, to print, to electronic culture? How ought we understand technological change (i.e., determinism) and its relation to modernity and "the masses"?
        • MM "Narratives of Media History” ch=2 pp=34-63
        • "Level up" quiz
      • Sep 18 Tue
        • Does social media have an emancipatory effect, or is it hype?
        • Malcolm Gladwell
          • Small change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted
            • d=20101004 or=The New Yorker
        • Assignment
          • Write a short response on the reading.
      • Sep 21 Fri
        • How ought we understand the economics of media making? This chapter uses a Marxist/critical perspective on media (e.g., use and exchange value) to review the affect of scale, profit, and market structure on the content that is available to us. We also read an exposé on the (dirty?) business of attention.
        • MM “Media and Money” ch=4 pp-99-132
        • Ryan Holiday
          • Trust me I'm lying: Confessions of a media manipulator
            • pp=17-68 ch=2-6 a=New York p=Portfolio/Penguin d=2012 r=20120913
        • Class screening: Merchants of Cool
      • Sep 25 Tue
        • MM “Meaning” ch=5 pp=135-160
        • How can we understand "meaning," a deep but complex notion?
      • Sep 28 Fri
        • How do we extend our new understanding of meaning to the actual analysis and interpretation of texts?
        • MM “The Interpretation of Meaning ch=6 pp=161-192
        • Reference
          • Daniel Chandler
            • Paradigms and Syntagms
              • d=2002 bt=Semiotics for Beginners p=Routledge a=New York
      • Oct 02 Tue
        • Let's consider some examples of polysemous text more closely
        • Jenna Lyles
          • If Jesus was a girl do you think I'd still be your man?
            • d=20101123 or=This is What Feminism Art Looks Like
        • brandon
          • Op-Ed: An artists’ dialogue on CocoRosie’s Grey Oceans
            • d=20100621 or=Stereo Gum
        • Assignment
          • Write a short response on meaning/interpretation and your own example "text". Include links or embeds of images or videos as appropriate
      • Oct 05 Fri
        • What is the relationship between the media and how it is that we understand ourselves and others?
        • MM "Producing Identities" ch=8 pp=219-252
      • Oct 09 Tue
        • We continue with identity and ask if the online world liberates are notions of identity, or further reinforces them?
        • Lisa Nakamura
          • Race in/for cyberspace: identity tourism and racial passing on the Internet
            • d=199808 p=Allyn & Bacon bt=Cyber.Reader e=Victor J. Vitanza a=Needham Heights r=20061011
        • Assignment
          • Write a short response on the reading.
      • Oct 12 Fri
        • Do we consume media, or does it consume us?
        • MM "Consuming the Media" ch=9 pp=253- 292
        • Assignment
          • Analysis #1 due
      • Oct 16 Tue
        • Midterm review
        • Assignment
          • Review the topics/concepts I sent and be prepared to collaboratively create candidate exam questions.
      • Oct 19 Fri
        • NO CLASS
      • Oct 23 Tue
        • Midterm Exam
      • Oct 26 Fri
        • What kind of effects can media have on us? What does this presume about or understanding of media and of ourselves?
        • MM "Media and Behavior" ch=10 pp=293-336
        • Class Screening: Consuming Kids
        • "Level up" Quiz
      • Oct 30 Tue
        • This is a difficult chapter. It introduces the ideas of ideology and ideological power and defines three types of theories (realistic, humanistic, and constructionist). Each of these theories are explored in terms of their meaning, their implications for struggle, and how a theorist of each might look at Princess Diana's death differently.
        • MM “Ideology” ch=7 pp=193-216
      • Nov 02 Fri
        • How can we understand the relationship between media and governance? What latent (or overt) power exists within this relationship?
        • MM “Media and Politics” ch=11 pp=339-377
      • Nov 06 Tue
        • W. Lance Bennett
          • The News about democracy: Information crisis in American politics
            • d=2004 pp=1-34 bt=News the Politics of Illusion ed=6 ch=1 p=Longman
            • PDF on Blackboard
      • Nov 09 Fri
        • Has using Google affected our ability to concentrate? Should we be concerned or skeptical of new technology?
        • Nicholas Carr
          • Is Google making us stupid?
            • d=200807 j=Atlantic Monthly r=20080627 kw=criticism
      • Nov 13 Tue
        • MM “The Media, the Public, and Normative Theories” ch=12 pp=378-421
        • Assignment
          • Analysis #2 due
      • Nov 16 Fri
        • Cass R. Sunstein
          • The daily we: Is the Internet really a blessing for democracy?
            • d=2001 j=Boston Review is=Summer r=20061107
        • Assignment
          • Write a short response on the reading.
      • Nov 20 Tue
        • Is Wikileaks just what our press/governance system needs, or a turn for the worse?
        • Raffi Khatchadourian
          • No secrets: Julian Assange's mission for total transparency
            • d=20100607 j=The New Yorker
      • Nov 23 Fri
        • NO CLASS
      • Nov 27 Tue
        • George Ritzer
          • The "McDonaldization" of society
            • j=Journal of American Culture v=6 n=1 pp=100–107 is=Spring d=1983
            • PDF on Blackboard
        • (Skim) MM "Media Globalization" ch=13 pp=421-455
        • Assignment
          • After class, write a short response on the reading and class discussion.
      • Nov 30 Fri
        • Exam review
      • Dec 04 Tue
        • Final exam