McGill University – Art History and Communication Studies – COMS 683 Media, Activism and Social Change

Time: Tuesday, 14:35-17:25 Room: W 220

Dr. Arne Hintz Room W-250 Phone: 514-398-4997 Email: [email protected] Office hours: Tuesday, 12:30-14:00

Course description The ways in which media are produced and consumed are undergoing fundamental changes. Traditional divisions between the senders and the receivers of media messages are blurred, citizen journalism is complementing the journalist profession, community media are increasingly recognized as a third media sector next to commercial and public service media, and tactical uses of communication and cultural expression are interfering with mainstream media processes and messages. While many such grassroots media practices are created in opposition against established media relations and power structures, a broader range of interactions with 'the mainstream' is visible, from contestation to cooperation and cooptation.

In this course we will analyze activist, alternative, civil society- and community-based media practices within the context of globalization and social change. We will discuss various forms of mediated expression, both 'old' and 'new', as products and instruments of cultural, economic and political struggles, and as part of social dynamics of democratization and citizen participation.

The first part of the course will develop the social and political context of media activism; provide an understanding of theoretical concepts such as hegemony, cultural imperialism, civil society, social movements and social change; and discuss the conceptual variety of alternative and participatory communication. In the second part we will look more closely at specific forms of media activism, from community radio and the radical press to hacktivism and culture jamming. In the third part, finally, we will analyze specific agendas, such as media reform, communication rights, and access to the knowledge commons.

The goal of the course is to develop a thorough understanding of media practices that exist beyond the established media structures, and to explore relations with a variety of broader social dynamics. The course addresses media and communications students who are interested in activist, alternative and citizens media, as well as students from other fields of the social sciences who would like to study participatory media as examples of interventions in the process of social change.

1 Course format The course will follow a seminar format. Each session will begin with an introductory presentation by the instructor followed by a discussion of the week's topic. Students will be expected to have done the necessary preparation, according to the schedule presented at the beginning of the course. Each student will present two or three readings during the course of the semester. Some sessions will feature guest speakers.

The course should allow students to develop – and ground – their research interests. Class discussions will relate the specific class topics to those interests. The syllabus allows for some flexibility if students wish to explore some themes more in-depth. The course will end with the presentation of student research papers.

Evaluation 20% Seminar participation 20% Presentations of readings 10% Weekly discussion questions 20% Presentation of final paper 30% Final paper

Seminar participation: Students will regularly attend classes, inform the instructor of any absence in advance, and participate actively in class discussions.

Presentations of readings: Students will give short presentations on class readings, typically 2-3 times during the semester (depending on class size).

Weekly discussion questions: Students will submit one or two questions for discussion prior to each session based on the assigned readings, to be posted on the course website in advance of the class. The questions will demonstrate students' reflections on the readings.

Presentation of final paper: Students will give a 10-15 minute presentation in class about their final paper.

Final paper: A final paper (5,000 words + references) has to be submitted according to department deadlines. The topic will be discussed and agreed with the course instructor. Extensions are only possible in extraordinary circumstances.

***Course packs with all required readings will be available from the McGill Bookstore***

Some sessions include recommended readings. These are not mandatory, but they can help to get a broader perspective on an issue. Students are generally advised to look beyond the specific reading list of each session and draw connections to other texts which they have read outside this course or in addition to class readings.

2 Timetable and list of readings

Week 1: 'The People Formerly Known as the Audience' – Discussion on Participation in the Media Sphere; Introduction to the Course

Rosen, Jay (2006) 'The People Formerly Known as the Audience', PressThink, http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2006/06/27/ppl_frmr.html (this text is not included in the reader, please read it online) Brecht, Berthold (1927) 'The Radio as an Apparatus of Communication', in: Alfonso Gumucio Dagron and Thomas Tufte, eds. (2006), Communication for Social Change Anthology, South Orange, New Jersey: CFSC, pp 2-3. Downing, John (2001) Radical Media: Rebellious Communication and Social Movements, Sage. (Chapter 1: 'Popular Culture, Audiences and Radical Media', pp 3-11)

Week 2: Media Empires and Hegemony

Baker, C. Edwin (2007) Media Concentration and Democracy: Why Ownership Matters, Cambridge University Press (chapter 1, pp 5-53). Herman, Edward S. and Chomsky, Noam (1988) Manufacturing Consent, Pantheon Books (chapter: ’A Propaganda Model’, pp 1-35). Hardt, Michael, and Negri, Antonio (2000) Empire, Cambridge: Harvard U Press (excerpts from chapters 1.1, 1.2, 3.4, pp 8-34, 294-300). Downing, John D.H. (2001) Radical Media: rebellious communication and social movements, London: Sage (chapter 2: 'Power, Hegemony and Resistance', pp 12-22).

Recommended: Sreberny-Mohammadi, Annabelle (1997) 'The Many Faces of Cultural Imperialism', in P. Golding and P. Harris (eds) Beyond Cultural Imperialism, London: Sage.

Week 3: Civil Society, Social Movements and the Multitude

Kaldor, Mary (2003) 'The Idea of Global Civil Society', International Affairs, 79(3), pp 583-593. Lipschutz, Ronnie D. (2005) 'Networks of knowledge and practice: global civil society and global communications', in Wilma de Jong, Martin Shaw, Neil Stammers (eds.), Global Activism, Global Media, London: Pluto Press, pp 17-33 (this text is not in the reader, it will be distributed in class). Hardt, Michael and Negri, Antonio (2004) Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire, Penguin Press (excerpts: pp 99-115, 79-91, 215-219, 264-267). Khagram, Sanjeev, James V. Riker and Kathryn Sikkink (2008) 'From Santiago to Seattle: Transnational Advocacy Groups Restructuring World Politics', in Vincenzo Ruggiero and Nicola Montagna (eds.) Social Movements. A reader. London and New York: Routledge, pp 326-338.

3 Recommended: Meyer, David S. (2005) Introduction. Social Movements and Public Policy: Eggs, Chicken, and Theory, in: Meyer, David S., Valerie Jenness and Helen Ingram (eds.) Routing the Opposition. Social Movements, Public Policy, and Democracy. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp 1-26.

Week 4: Contesting Media Empires: Concepts of Grassroots Media

Couldry, Nick (2003) 'Beyond the Hall of Mirrors? Some Theoretical Reflections on the Global Contestation of Media Power', in Nick Couldry and James Curran (eds) Contesting Media Power. Alternative Media in a Networked World, Lanham: Rowman&Littlefield, pp 39-54. Hadl, Gabriele, and Dongwon, Jo (2009) 'New Approaches to Our Media: General Challenges and the Korean Case', in Mojca Pajnik and John H.D. Downing (eds) Alternative Media and The Politics of Resistance. Perspectives and Challenges, Ljubljana: Mirovni Institut, pp 81-109 (this text is not in the reader, it will be distributed in class) Bailey, Olga; Cammearts, Bart; and Carpentier, Nico (2008) Understanding Alternative Media, New York: Open University Press (chapter 1: 'Four Approaches to Alternative Media', pp. 3-34) Rodriguez, Clemencia (2001) Fissures in the Mediascape: An International Study of Citizens' Media, Hampton Press (chapter1: 'From Alternative Media to Citizens' Media', pp 1-24)

Recommended: Downing, John (2010) 'Community' media, 'network' media, 'social movement' media: Why do they matter? And what's in a name? Text prepared for the conference “Mitjans comunitaris, moviments socials i xarxes”, Barcelona (Spain): Cidob, 15/03/2010. http://www.portalcomunicacion.com/catunesco/download/2010_Downing_Nanomedia_en glish.pdf

Week 5: Communication for Social Change and Development

The readings for this week are the following texts from: Gumucio-Dagron, Alfonso, and Tufte, Thomas, eds. (2006) Communication for Social Change Anthology: Historical and Contemporary Readings, South Orange, New Jersey: CSFC

Bordenave, Juan Diaz (1977) 'Communication Theory and Rural Development: A Brief Review', pp 133-142 Beltran, Luis Ramiro (1979) 'A Farewell to Aristotle: Horizontal Communication', pp 157-170 Huesca, Robert (1996) 'Naming the World to Theorizing its Relationships: New Directions for Participatory Communication for Development', pp 528-536 Deane, James (2001) 'Communication for Social Change: Why Does It Matter?', pp 522-524

Recommended: Browse through some of the following chapters and excerpts in the Anthology (available at the library):

4 Boal, Augusto (1974) 'Theater of the Oppressed' Rogers, Everett (1976) 'Communication and Development: The Passing of the Dominant Paradigm' Hedebro, Goran (1979) 'Towards a Theory of Communication and Social Change' Servaes, Jan (1985) 'Communication and Development Paradigms – An Overview' Ramirez, Mina (1986) 'Communication as if People Matter: The Challenge of Alternative Communication' Kivikuru, Ullamajia (1993) 'Going Grassroots' Riano, Pilar (1994) 'Women in Grassroots Communication: Furthering Social Change' Sreberny-Mohammadi, Annabelle, and Mohammadi, Ali (1994) 'Small Media and Revolutionary Change: A New Model' Thomas, Pradip (1994) 'Participatory Development Communication: Philosophical Premises' Huesca, Robert (2003) 'From Modernization to Participation: The Past and Future of Development Communication in Media Studies'

Week 6: Community Radio – Reclaiming the Airwaves

Coyer, Kate (2007) 'Mysteries of the Black Box Unbound: An Alternative History of Radio' and 'Access to Broadcasting', in Kate Coyer, Tony Dowmunt, and Alan Fountain (eds) Alternative Media Handbook, London: Routledge, pp 15-28 and 112-122. Howley, Kevin (2005) Community Media: People, Places and Communication Technologies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (chapter 1: 'Locating community media', pp 12-38). Rennie, Ellie (2006) Community Media: A Global Introduction, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield (chapter 1: 'Introduction', pp 1-13). Berrigan, F. J. (1979) Community Communications: The Role of Community Media in Development, Paris: Unesco (pp 18-27).

Recommended: Lewis, Peter (2008) Promoting Social Cohesion: The Role of Community Media, Report to the Council of Europe, can be downloaded as a PDF at: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/media/MC-S-MD/H-Inf(2008)013_en.pdf

Week 7: Alternative Media Histories – From Theatre to Print to Video

Harter, Lynn, et al (2007) 'Catalyzing Social Reform Through Participatory Folk Performances in Rural India', in Lawrence R. Frey and Kevin M. Carragee (eds.) Communication Activism, Volume 2, Cresskill: Hampton Press, pp 285-314. Downing, John D.H. (2001) Radical Media: Rebellious Communication and Social Movements, London: Sage (chapter 22: 'Samizdat in the Former Soviet Bloc', pp 354-387). Halleck, DeeDee (2003) Hand-held Visions: The Impossible Possibilities of Community Media, Fordham University Press (excerpts from chapter 4: 'Smashing the Myths of the Information Industry: Creating Alternatives', pp 114-123, 160-168, 140-159).

5 Ouelette, L. (1995) 'Will the revolution be televised? Camcorders, activism, and alternative television in the 1990s', in P. d'Agostino & D. Tafler (eds) Transmission: Toward a Post- Television Culture, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp 165-187.

Week 8: Online Activism and Hacktivism

Bennett, Lance (2003) 'New Media Power: the Internet and Global Activism', in Nick Couldry and James Curran (eds) Contesting Media Power, Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, pp 17-38. Meikle, Graham (2002) Future Active: Media Activism and the Internet, New York: Routledge (Chapter 6: 'Hack Attacks and Electronic Civil Disobedience', pp 140-172). Kidd, Dorothy (2002) 'Indymedia.org: A New Communications Commons', in Martha Mc Caughey and Michael Dayers (eds) Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice, New York: Routledge, pp 47-70. Vegh, Sandor (2002) 'Classifying Forms of Online Activism: The case of Cyberprotests against the World Bank', in Mc Caughey, Martha, and Dayers, Michael (eds) Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice, New York: Routledge, pp 71-96.

Recommended: Dean, J., Anderson, J. W., and Lovink, G. (2006) 'Introduction', in J. Dean, J. W. Anderson and G. Lovink (eds) Reformatting Politics: Information Technology and Global Civil Society, New York: Routledge.

Week 9: Using the Mainstream, Subverting the Mainstream – Culture Jamming and other Interactions

Gitlin, Todd (1995) 'The Whole World is Watching', in P. d'Agostino & D. Tafler (eds) Transmission: Toward a post-television culture, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp 91-103. Harold, Christine (2004) 'Pranking Rhetoric: Culture Jamming as Media Activism', Critical Studies in Media Communication, 21(3), pp. 189-211. Liacas, Tom (2005) '101 Tricks to Play with the Mainstream: Culture Jamming as Subversive Recreation', in A. Langlois & F. Dubois (eds) Autonomous Media: Activating Resistance and Dissent, Montreal: Cumulus Press, pp 61-74. Gaber, Ivor, and Willson, Alice W. (2005) 'Dying for Diamonds: The Mainstream Media and NGOs – A Case Study of Action Aid', in Wilma de Jong, Martin Shaw, Neil Stammers (eds.), Global Activism, Global Media, London: Pluto Press, pp 95-109 (this text is not in the reader, it will be distributed in class).

Recommended: Timms, Dave (2005) 'The World Development Movement: Access and Representation of Globalisation-Activism in the Mainstream Press', in Wilma de Jong, Martin Shaw, Neil Stammers (eds.), Global Activism, Global Media, London: Pluto Press, pp. 125-132.

6 Week 10: Movements for Media Reform and Communication Rights

Hackett, Robert A. and William K. Carroll (2006) Remaking Media: The Struggle to Democratize Public Communication, London: Routledge (chapter 10: 'Identity, Vision, Strategies: Media Democratization as Counter-Hegemony', pp 186-198). Newman, Russell, and Scott, Ben (2005) 'The Fight for the Future of Media', in Robert McChesney, Russell Newman and Ben Scott (eds) The Future of Media: Resistance and Reform in the 21st Century, New York: Seven Stories Press, pp 21-40. Hamelink, Cees (1994) The Politics of World Communication: A Human Rights Perspective, London: Sage (chapter: 'Towards a People's Right To Communicate', pp 284-327). Mueller, Milton (2004) ‘Reinventing Media Activism: Public Interest Advocacy in the Making of U.S. Communication-Information Policy, 1960-2002’, The Convergence Center, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University (chapters 6 and 7, pp 65-82) http://faculty.ischool.syr.edu/mueller/reinventing.pdf (text is not in the reader, please read it online)

Week 11: Enclosures and Openings: Intellectual Property, Free Software, and P2P

Bollier, David (2003) Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth, London: Routledge (Chapter 8: 'The Privatization of Public Knowledge', 119-134). Boyle, James (2008) The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind, New Haven: Yale University Press (Chapter 3: 'The Second Enclosure Movement', pp 42-53). Benkler, Y., and Nissenbaum, H. (2006) 'Commons-based peer production and virtue', Journal of Political Philosophy, 14(4), pp 394-419. Coleman, G. (2009) 'Code is Speech: Legal Tinkering, Expertise, and Protest among Free and Open Source Software Developers', Cultural Anthropology, 24(3), pp 420-454.

Week 12: Policy Frameworks, Policy Interventions and Participation

Jimenez, Nuria, and Scifo, Salvatore (2010) 'Community Media in the Context of European Media Policies', Telematics and Informatics 27(2), pp 131-140. Milan, Stefania (2010) ‘Community Media Activists in Transnational Policy Arenas’, in K. Howley (ed.), Understanding Community Media, Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp 308-317. Hintz, Arne, and Milan, Stefania (2010) 'User Rights for the Internet Age: Communications Policy According to 'Netizens', in Robin Mansell and Marc Raboy (eds), Global Media Policy Handbook, Blackwell (forthcoming). Cammaerts, Bart (2009) 'Civil Society Participation in Multistakeholder Processes: In Between Realism and Utopia', in Laura Stein, Dorothy Kidd and Clemencia Rodriguez (eds), Making Our Media: Global Initiatives Toward a Democratic Public Sphere, Cresskill: Hampton Press, pp 83-101.

Week 13: Presentation of Student Research Papers

7 McGill Policies

McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see www.mcgill.ca/integrity for more information).

In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded. (Approved by Senate on 21 January 2009).

Additional policies governing academic issues which affect students can be found in the McGill Charter of Students' Rights

In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the University’s control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change.

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