Media Literacy - Comm 3263, Sec 01 Summer 2010

Media Literacy - Comm 3263, Sec 01 Summer 2010 Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays 10:10-12:05, Ford B60

Instructor: Tony Nadler Email: [email protected] Office: Ford 275 Mailbox: Ford 250 Office Hours: Mondays 12:05-2:05, and by appointment Phone: 612-626-0574 (email is better for messages)

This is an intensive summer course that condenses a semester’s worth of material into 8 weeks. This course is not designed to provide a comprehensive overview of media literacy, nor an in-depth study of a particular issue or theme. Rather it has been created to prompt many questions about the role that media play in shaping our social world. The readings and lecture material are not presented to you as the definitive findings of media scholarship, but rather they should serve as starting points for exploring media critically by providing novel perspectives and background knowledge. This means that everything we read or cover in lecture should be approached "critically" - balancing a degree of skeptical questioning with an effort to understand and grapple with challenging perspectives as fully as possible.

The first four weeks center on the theme of “texts.” During this time we will focus primarily on issues about how meanings are created in media texts and through patterns of representation. The second half of the course centers on the theme of “contexts” and integrates the study of meanings within media texts with an emphasis on exploring social, political, and historical conditions that account for why certain kinds of meanings circulate freely in popular media and others do not. The first half of the class approaches media literacy in a way that is closer to the familiar notion of literacy as a skill for decoding meaning, the second half of the course tilts towards a “media citizenship” approach to literacy. Media citizenship asks us not only to be savvy decoders and consumers of media, but to think about how we can play a role in creating a media system that fulfills democratic ideals. A premise of this approach is that a vibrant democracy requires thought and deliberation about how to create media structures that can circulate diverse ideas, dreams, and possibilities for expressions of identity. The media citizenship approach suggests that media structures might be just as important for democracy to succeed as properly functioning “formal” political institutions such as elections, courts, legislative bodies, etc.

Required Reading

Reading packet for Comm 3262, Sec 001, available at Paradigm Copies.

Most course readings will be in the packet, but I will also be adding online articles that you should print and bring to class on the days we discuss them. There will also be a few required podcasts and audio-video materials available at no charge online. Because we will be going over passages in fine detail, please bring your reading packet to class each day!!

How we’ll use class time

[1] This is a discussion-oriented seminar style class. Classes will often begin with an interactive lecture. Toward the end of most sessions, I will discuss key concepts, terms, or background important for upcoming reading.

Advice on Reading

Keeping up with the reading and participating in class discussion will be essential to your own success in this course, and everyone’s collective effort will be essential for us all to get the most out of the class. Completing the reading will require a significant amount of time. Please do not try to rush through the reading material. To do well in this class, you’ll need to closely follow the authors' arguments, take notes, and start formulating your own responses in reading blogs.

Course Expectations:

Creating a comfortable and respectful environment

As a group, you are coming from many different backgrounds and experiences. It is a great opportunity for each of you (and me) to learn from each others’ perspectives. We need to work as a group to make everyone feel as comfortable and willing as possible to express their views and create an environment that fosters an appreciation of difference while everyone feels free to express disagreement. Too often school settings have the effect of making some students feel they are not worthy of attention or respect. I encourage you to add to class discussion when you are still thinking things through or you are puzzled by something.

Reading Blogs

Most class days you will be responsible for completing an entry on the class blog in response to the day’s reading or issue. You can access the class blog on the course’s Moodle site through the “Q & A” Forum. The reading blog is central to the course, and it’s meant to help you remember the material better and begin processing it before our discussion.

Your reading blogs will be graded on the basis of a check-plus, check, or check-minus. A check is the baseline score and means that you’ve put in a good effort to provide a thoughtful answer to the blogging prompt; a check also means your response shows a significant degree of comprehension of the material for that day. Since these assignments are so frequent, you do not need to give very long answers – a paragraph or two will usually suffice. This is an informal assignment so grammar, spelling, etc. will not affect your score unless mistakes make it difficult to understand the basic meaning of your response. You will receive a check-plus when you go beyond the standard expectations and provide an answer that demonstrates a special effort to add more of your own analysis or a particularly strong engagement with the reading. A check-minus means you provided some response, but have not responded to the whole question or have not demonstrated familiarity with the reading.

There will be 15 reading blog opportunities throughout class, and the scores you receive on the top 12 of them will determine your grade for this assignment. Receiving 12 checks will mean you earn an 89% on this part of your grade. Every check-plus will boost this score by

[2] 1%, and every check-minus will subtract from it by 1%. You need to complete a minimum of 10 of these reading blogs in order to pass the course.

Class Participation

This class will be more interesting and fulfilling for us all if we have strong participation from everyone. Class participation includes small and large group participation, and it is a major grading factor. Strong class participation means contributing to group discussions frequently, usually several times each day. Feel free to check in with me about your participation grade at any time. Also, please talk with me if you have special difficulties with participation.

We will have two in-class exams. These exams will be open note and open book, and it will be impossible to do well on them unless you have done the reading in advance. The exam questions will all focus on your understanding of course material and your ability to use it for your own analysis and criticism. The exams will not be based on memorization.

Attendance

Attending class on a regular basis is imperative to your learning and keeping a consistent and lively dynamic in our group discussion. I will be taking attendance or asking you to sign in. You need to attend 75% of the class in order to pass the class (at least 17 of our 23 sessions). Missing class repeatedly will also significantly hurt your participation grade.

Assignments and Grading

Here is how the grading breaks down by assignment.

Assignment % of grade Exam 1 22 Exam 2 23 Reading blogs 15 Advertising presentation 5 Micro-research assignments 5 Media issue discussion essay 15 Class participation 15

A 93-100 C+ 78-79 A- 90-92 C 73-77 B+ 88 -89 C- 70-72 B 83-87 D 60-69 B- 80-82 F Below 60

Minimum Course Requirements

In order to pass the class with a C- or better, you need:  To attend at least 75% of all class sessions (at least 17 days)

[3]  Satisfactory completion of at least 2/3rds of the reading blog assignments on time (at least 10)  Satisfactory completion of all the micro-research assignments  To complete a media discussion essay  To complete an advertising presentation

Assignments

Advertising Presentation

For this assignment you will give a 4-6 minute oral presentation to our class analyzing an advertisement using concepts from course reading.

Media Issue Discussion Paper This is a 3-5 page essay offering your own analysis of a current, media-related controversy. You should bring some of our class readings into the conversation along with your own analysis and a limited amount of additional research. I will offer a few suggestions for several discussion topics, but you may also propose your own.

Micro-research Assignments We have 3 days this semester in which you will be asked to gather readings or other materials online relevant to the day’s topic. These assignments will be posted on the course blog at least a week prior to their due date. Completing a micro-research assignment will entail handing in the material you found along with a short summary and discussion. (For instance, on the “net neutrality” day, I will ask you to find at least two articles online representing different views on the issue and write a short analysis of their differing perspectives).

** Extra Credit Assignment You can earn up 2% extra credit added to your final grade for documenting how you have contributed up to 2 pieces of media criticism to the public sphere (1% added for each contribution). By “media criticism,” I mean that that you have contributed to a public discussion about the societal implications of media invoking some of the themes from this class. Some examples of ways of contributing to the public sphere include: a letter about media policy sent to the FCC or a legislative representative, a letter to the editor of a newspaper or magazine, a comment submitted to a blog or online periodical (the only thing I require is that the blog is not run by you or a friend of yours).

Other Course Policies:

Late Work

Reading blogs must be completed on time (before the class session when we discuss them). For other assignments, you will lose 5% of your grade for each calendar day it is late.

Disabilities

If you are registered with disability services and require any accommodations, I will be happy to work with you. Please speak with me as soon as possible to discuss any arrangements. [4] Plagiarism/Scholastic Dishonesty

Any act of plagiarism or other forms of scholastic dishonesty (cheating, creating false records, etc.) will result in a failing grade for this class and a formal report may be filed with the Office for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity. Please visit their website (http://www1.umn.edu/oscai/) for more information. Avoiding plagiarism does not mean you cannot refer to other people’s ideas, you are absolutely encouraged to do so -- but cite your sources.

Syllabus

I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus throughout the semester, but I will announce any changes in class or via email.

Study Abroad

The University of Minnesota and the Department of Communication Studies is committed to helping students learn and test their knowledge in a global context. If you are interested in seeking the opportunity to study, work, intern or volunteer in another country you should seek out the Learning Abroad Center in 230 Heller Hall and .

Reading Schedule Week 1

Day 2 Wednesday 6/16 – Debating Media Literacy 1

Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid.” The Atlantic. July/August 2008. Web. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us- stupid/6868/

Shirky, Clay. “Why Abundance is Good: A Reply to Nick Carr.” Britannica Blog. 17 July 2008. Web. http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/07/why-abundance-is-good-a-reply- to-nick-carr/

Carr, Nicholas. “Why Skepticism is Good.” Britannica Blog. 17 July 2008. Web. http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/07/why-skepticism-is-good-my-reply-to-clay- shirky/

Rich, Moto. “Literacy Debate: Online R U Really Reading.” New York Times. 27 July 2008. Web. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/arts/27iht-27reading.14806779.html

Day 3 Friday 6/18 – Debating Media Literacy 2

Potter, W. James. “Defining Media Literacy.” Media Literacy. 3th Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005. 15 – 31.

[5] New Mexico Media Literacy Project. “Media Literacy Concepts.” n.d. http://www.nmmlp.org/media_literacy/ML_concepts.html

Hobbes, Renee. “Seven Great Debates in Media Literacy.” Media Awareness Network. n.d. Web. http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/resources/educational/teaching_backgrounders/ media_literacy/7_debates.cfm

Week 2

Day 4 Monday 6/21 - Semiotics I

Williamson, Judith. “Introduction: Meaning and Ideology” Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising. New York: Boyars, 1978. 11 – 14.

Williamson, Judith. “A Currency of Signs.” Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising. New York: Boyars, 1978. 20 – 39.

Day 5 Wednesday 6/23 - Semiotics II

Williamson, Judith. “Signs Address Somebody.” Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising. New York, Boyars, 1978. 40-70.

Wallace, David Foster. “Irony’s Aura” from “E. Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction.” Review of Contemporary Fiction 13 (1993): 174-185

Day 6 Friday 6/25 – Ideology and Hegemony

Screening: Dreamworlds III

Week 3

Day 7 Monday 6/28 – Ideology Cont. and Representing Class

Nealon, Jeffrey and Susan Searls Giroux. “Ideology.” The Theory Toolbox: Critical Concepts for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2003.

Horkheimer, Max and Theodor Adorno. Selections from Dialectic of Enlightenment. [Not in packet, see Moodle site]

Day 8 Wednesday 6/30 - Representing Race 1

[6] Banet-Weiser, Sarah. “Consuming Race on Nickelodeon.” Kids Rule!: Nickelodeon and Consumer Citizenship. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2007.

Lim, Thea. “Mixed Race Mess: Alicia Keys and Unthinkable Interracial Dating.” Racialicioius. 25 May 2010. http://www.racialicious.com/2010/05/25/mixed-race-mess- alicia-keys-and-unthinkable-interracial-dating/ [Not in Packet, visit this web address]

Day 9 Friday 7/2 - Representing Race 2

Screening: Bamboozled

Week 4

Monday 7/5 – Holiday, No Class

Day 10 Wednesday 7/7 – Representing Feminism

Douglas, Susan. “Girls Gone Anti-Feminist.” In These Times. 22 February 2010. Web. http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/5575/girls_gone_anti-feminist/

Levy, Ariel. “Raunch Culture.” Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. New York: Free Press, 2005. 7-45.

Kipnis, Laura, O’Rourke, Meghan and Wendy Shallit. “Pornified and Female Chauvinist Pigs: What’s Caused the Sexualization of Our Culture.” Slate.com. 20-22 September 2005. http://www.slate.com/id/2126570/entry/2126749/.

Day 11 Friday 7/9 – Debating Pornography From Feminist Perspectives

Guest Lecturer – Melody Hoffman

Dworkin, Andrea. Selections from Pornography: Men Possessing Women. New York: Plume, 1979.

McElroy, Wendy. Selections from XXX: A Woman’s Right to Pornography. New York: St. Martin’s Press. 1995.

Week 5

Day 12 Monday 7/12 Exam 1

[7] Day 13 Wednesday 7/14 - Political Economy and Media Policy Introduction

Meehan, Eileen. “The Blame Game.” Why TV Is Not Our Fault: Television Programming, Viewers, and Who's Really in Control. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005. 1 – 26.

McChesney, Robert. “Theses on Media Deregulation.” The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas.” New York: Monthly Review Press, 2008. 414-424.

Day 14 Friday 7/16 – Sampling and copyright

Lessig, Lawrence. "For the Love of Culture: Google, Copyright, and Our Future.” The New Republic. 26 January 2010. Web. http://www.tnr.com/article/the-love-culture? page=0,5.

Screening: Copyright Criminals

Week 6

Day 15 Monday 7/19 – Net Neutrality Debate

PBS Now “A Closer Look at Net Neutrality” http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/222/index.html#here. [Online video, ask me if you would prefer the Youtube.com version]

Micro-research Assignment #1

Day 16 Wednesday 7/21 – Hypercommercialism and Branded Society

McChesney, Robert “The Age of Hyper-Commercialism.” The Problem of the Media: US Communication Politics in the Twenty-first Century. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2004. 138 – 174.

Twitchell, James. “An English Teacher Looks at Branding.” Journal of Consumer Research 31 (2004): 484 – 489.

Recommended (not in packet): Twitchell, James and Sut Jhally. “On Advertising: Sut Jhally v James Twitchell.” Stay Free! n.d. http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/16/twitchell.html

Day 17 Friday 7/23 – Media Subversion and Culture Jamming

Saunders, George. “In Persuasion Nation.” Harpers. November 2005: 81 – 89.

[8] Dery, Marc. “Culture Jamming: Slashing, Hacking, and Sniping in the Empire of Signs.” Open Magazine. Originally published 1993. http://www.rebelart.net/source/dery.pdf.

Screening: Logorama

Week 7

Day 18 Monday 7/26 – Advertising Presentations

Student Advertising Presentations

Day 19 Wednesday 7/28 – A Critical History of Journalism

McChesney, Robert. “Understanding U.S. Journalism I: Corporate Control and Professionalism.” The Problem of the Media: US Communication Politics in the Twenty-first Century. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2004. 57 – 97.

Day 20 Friday 7/30 - End of Mass Media? Part 1 - Debating the Future of Journalism

Johnson, Steven. "Old Growth Media and the Future of News." Stevenberlinjohnson.com. 14 March 2009. Web. http://www.stevenberlinjohnson.com/2009/03/the-following-is-a- speech-i-gave-yesterday-at-the-south-by-southwest-interactive-festival-in-austiniif-you- happened-to-being.html

Starr, Paul. "Goodbye to the Age of Newspapers (Hello to a New Age of Corruption)" The New Republic. 4 March 2009. Web. http://www.tnr.com/article/goodbye-the-age- newspapers-hello-new-era-corruption?page=1%2C4.

Week 8

Day 21 Monday 8/2 - End of Mass Media? Part 2 – Debating Online Surveillence

Andrejevic, Mark. “iMonitoring: Keeping Track of One Another.” iSpy: Surveillance and Power in the Interactive Era. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2007.

Day 22 Wednesday 8/4 – Media & the City

[9] Guest Lecturer – Bill Lindeke

Day 23 Friday 8/6 - Final Exam