Social Scientific Theories for Media and Communication JMC:6210:0001/ 019:231:001 Spring 2014

Professor: Sujatha Sosale Room: E254 AJB Office: W331 AJB Time: M 11:30-2:15 Phone: 319-335-0663 Office hours: Wed. 11:30 – 2:30 E-mail: [email protected] and by appointment

Course description and objectives

This course explores the ways in which media impact society and how individuals relate to the media by examining social scientific-based theories that relate to media effects, learning, and public opinion. Discussion includes the elements necessary for theory development from a social science perspective, plus historical and current contexts for understanding the major theories of the field.

The objectives of this course are:

• To learn and critique a variety of social science-based theories • To review mass communication literature in terms of its theoretical relevance • To study the process of theory building

Textbook:

Bryant, J. & Oliver M.B. (2009). Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research. 3rd Ed. New York: Routledge. [Available at the University Bookstore]

Additional readings will be posted on the course ICON.

Teaching Policies & Resources — CLAS Syllabus Insert (instructor additions in this font) Administrative Home The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the administrative home of this course and governs matters such as the add/drop deadlines, the second-grade-only option, and other related issues. Different colleges may have different policies. Questions may be addressed to 120 Schaeffer Hall, or see the CLAS Academic Policies Handbook at http://clas.uiowa.edu/students/handbook.

Electronic Communication University policy specifies that students are responsible for all official correspondences sent to their University of Iowa e-mail address (@uiowa.edu). Faculty and students should use this account for correspondences (Operations Manual, III.15.2, k.11).

Accommodations for Disabilities A student seeking academic accommodations should first register with Student Disability Services and then meet privately with the course instructor to make particular arrangements. See www.uiowa.edu/~sds/ for more information.

Academic Honesty All CLAS students have, in essence, agreed to the College's Code of Academic Honesty: "I pledge to do my own academic work and to excel to the best of my abilities, upholding the IOWA Challenge. I promise not to lie about my academic work, to cheat, or to steal the words or ideas of others; nor will I help fellow students to violate the Code of Academic Honesty." Any student committing academic Social Science Theories Syllabus/ Sp 2014/ Page 2

misconduct is reported to the College and placed on disciplinary probation or may be suspended or expelled (CLAS Academic Policies Handbook). It is important to attribute to source, either by quoting (if using exact words) or citing (if paraphrasing from original work). Failure to do so is considered academic dishonesty and carries severe penalties. Please us the APA style guide for this course to help you with attributing to source appropriately, and in the style preferred by social scientists in the discipline.

CLAS Final Examination Policies The final examination schedule for each class is announced around the fifth week of the semester by the Registrar. Final exams are offered only during the official final examination period. No exams of any kind are allowed during the last week of classes. All students should plan on being at the UI through the final examination period. Once the Registrar has announced the dates and times of each final exam, the complete schedule will be published on the Registrar's web site.

Making a Suggestion or a Complaint Students with a suggestion or complaint should first visit with the instructor (and the course supervisor), and then with the departmental DEO. Complaints must be made within six months of the incident (CLAS Academic Policies Handbook). Please talk to me, the instructor, first if you have complaints. If the issue is not resolved to satisfaction, the DEO, Professor Julie Andsager may be contacted at [email protected].

Understanding Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment subverts the mission of the University and threatens the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. All members of the UI community have a responsibility to uphold this mission and to contribute to a safe environment that enhances learning. Incidents of sexual harassment should be reported immediately. See the UI Comprehensive Guide on Sexual Harassment for assistance, definitions, and the full University policy.

Reacting Safely to Severe Weather In severe weather, class members should seek appropriate shelter immediately, leaving the classroom if necessary. The class will continue if possible when the event is over. For more information on Hawk Alert and the siren warning system, visit the Department of Public Safety website.

Other

Special needs I would like to hear from anyone who has a disability which may require seating modifications or testing accommodations or accommodations of other class requirements, so that appropriate arrangements may be made. Please contact me during my office hours.

Meetings and consultations with the instructor I check e-mail frequently, and especially during office hours. E-mail is the best way to reach me; my phone during office hours is the next best.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions regarding any aspect of the course—syllabus, term assignments, ideas for assignments, exams, what constitutes academic dishonesty, or any other issue related to the course. Depending upon the nature of the question or problem, I may do one or more of three things—ask you to check back with the syllabus (so consult it first before approaching me), discuss over e-mail, or indicate that a meeting during office hours or by appointment may be best.

Owner | [SCHOOL] Social Science Theories Syllabus/ Sp 2014/ Page 3

Complaints and grievances

If you have problems with any aspect of the course, please bring them to my attention at the earliest. Talk to me during office hours. I can then take appropriate measures to address the situation. If the problem is not resolved to your satisfaction, you can contact Professor Julie Andsager, Director, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, at 319/ 335-3486 or [email protected] and pursue the matter further.

Course requirements

For the most part, we will use student-generated reading responses to readings as “discussion starters” for each class period of assigned readings. Presentations will be sorted out in the first class session for the semester.

Assignments: Please adhere strictly to the deadlines set in the course calendar. See the grading section below for more details on each assignment. Guidelines for each assignment will be discussed in class and posted to ICON in cases where I consider them necessary. Writing is a critical part of communicating your knowledge and effective employment of theory, and care should be taken in written exercises and postings. The Writing Center can help with assignments before they are submitted to me. Please refer the following web site http://www.uiowa.edu/~writingc/ for details.

Course grading:

Attendance and participation (10%)

Attendance is required for all class meetings barring exceptional circumstances, which have to be appropriately documented. Students will animate a good part of in-class discussion, and the instructor will moderate it. All students are required to participate with relevant questions, observations, and remarks that will invite and facilitate discussion. In case of illness, you should provide a completed “self-report form” (available on the Registrar’s website at http://www.registrar.uiowa.edu/Student/FormsforStudents/tabid/79/Default.aspx) upon return to class and follow-up on any missed activity.

Assignments: All assignments are due by 5 PM on the specified deadline, through ICON upload, and where I indicate, on hard copy.

1. Discussion postings for each class meeting – all count for 25% Good discussions depend on your preparation with readings and reading discussion questions posted online before coming to class, so please ensure that you come to class prepared. To facilitate readings-based participation, each week students will post one synthesized discussion question based on the assigned readings for the week. These questions will determine the course of class discussion for each session.

2. 4 short analytical papers on three theories @ 5 points = 20% (topics in course calendar) 3. Teaching theory 10% (below) 4. Research paper = 35% (below)

Teaching theory. You will identify one theory that interests you and teach the rest of us about it. Select a scholarly article that you think applies your theory in interesting and effective ways, then incorporate it along with our assigned readings in your lesson. (Bring your selection to me two weeks in advance of your presentation day, and I’ll make copies for everyone. If you don’t manage to do that, bring copies for everyone the week before your presentation date.) Creativity is welcome in finding ways to engage your students in the days’ material and to help us remember the key concepts.

Owner | [SCHOOL] Social Science Theories Syllabus/ Sp 2014/ Page 4

You will turn in a written outline of key points, discussion topics and questions for the class to stimulate discussion. You’ll be responsible for about 30 minutes of the class on the day your theory has been assigned. These materials and your ability to clearly present the material form the basis of your grade on this assignment.

Research paper. You will find a theoretical perspective to specialize in for the duration of this course (at least). How to select this perspective? We will discuss in class, but the purpose is to allow you to take a concept or topic that you are interested in and thoroughly examine it in an appropriate theoretical framework. As we go through the semester, you should be seeking studies that build on the topic. The term paper will be somewhat similar to a literature review but will feature your analysis of the theory and whether the research on your topic has added to or altered the theoretical perspective and its development. Expect this paper to be about 20 pages in length, with at least 10 studies referenced plus any other references necessary to define and discuss the theory.

COURSE CALENDAR

This is a working schedule. Changes and deviations may be necessary. It is your responsibility to be informed of the correct schedule at all times. If changes are needed, they will be announced in the “News” section of the course ICON.

Note: Read the assignments before class. We will base much of our discussion each week on the readings, and our class is too small for you to be able to avoid participating in discussion. The full reference for most of the ICON readings is available in the bibliography following this calendar.

“Other” in the middle column indicates readings either on ICON or to be accessed by you via E- Journals through the Main Library webpage. Check the bibliography below for the appropriate spots.

Week/ date/topic Readings Assignments and due dates

Week 1, Mon. Jan. 27 Severin & Tankard, ch. 1-2; Other – Chaffee; Popper; Introduction, scientific Webb et al.; Westley method and theory

Week 2, Mon. Feb. 03 Severin, ch. 3-5, 7 Due Wed. Feb. 05: short paper1 – evaluating theory Models to theory, early theorizing

Week 3, Mon. Feb. 10 Text, Chapter 12

Spiral of Silence and Third- Other -- Noelle-Neumann; Person Effects Scheufele & Moy; Davison; Perloff;, Andsager & White

Week 4, Mon. Feb. 17 Text, chapters 3,

Cultivation and the scary Other - Gerbner readings – world - 1 read in order in bibliography

Owner | [SCHOOL] Social Science Theories Syllabus/ Sp 2014/ Page 5

Due Wed. Feb. 26: short Week 5, Mon. Feb. 24 Other – Hirsch readings – read paper2 – who won the in order in bibliography Gerbner-Hirsch debate? Cultivation 2, Perceptions of social reality, media priming Text chapters 4, 5

Week 6, Mon. Mar. 3 Text, chapters 6, 7

Cognition, Attitude, and Other -- Perloff (two chapters) Persuasion

Week 7, Mon. Mar.10 Other – Bandura, Festinger

Social learning and social Text, chapters 13, 14 cognitive theory Week 8, Mon. Mar. 17 Spring break, no class Text, chapter 1 Week 9, Mon. Mar. 24 Other -- McCombs & Shaw; Agenda setting McCombs & Ghanem; Scheufele & Tewksbury; Weaver Week 10, Mon. Mar. 31 Text, chapter 2 Due Wed. Apr. 2 short paper3 – should framing and agenda- Framing Other -- Gamson & Modigliani; setting be combined? Entman; Pan & Kosicki; Scheufele; Week 11, Mon. Apr. 7 Text, chapter 8

Uses and gratifications Other -- Katz, Gurevitch, & Haas; Blumler; Ruggiero; Slater

Week 12, Mon. Apr. 14 Other -- Tichenor, Donohue, & Due Wed. Apr. 16 – short Olien; Rogers paper 4 - which is more useful Diffusion and knowledge gap in studying media and social Text, chapters 9, 10 change in communities – diffusion or knowledge gap? Week 13, Mon. Apr. 21 Text, Chapters 25, 26, 27

New media technologies Other -- Eveland; Kim; Hargittai & Hinnant; Xenos & Moy Week 14, Mon. Apr. 28 Text, chapters 16, 17, 19, 20, Social science theories for 21 public issues

Week 15, Mon. May 5 Research paper presentations Week 16, Mon. May 12 Final paper due May 12

Owner | [SCHOOL] Social Science Theories Syllabus/ Sp 2014/ Page 6

Readings list (with some extra references)

Andsager, J.L., & White, H.A. (2007). Self versus others: Media, messages, and the third-person effect. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ICON

Chaffee, S.H. (1991). Explication (pp. 1-14). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. ICON

Comstock, G., & Scharrer, E. (2007). Media and the American child (pp.250-291). Burlington, MA: Academic Press.

D’Angelo, P. (2002). News framing as a multiparadigmatic research program: A response to Entman. Journal of Communication, 52, 870-888.

Davison, W.P. (1983). The third-person effect in communication. Public Opinion Quarterly, 47, 1-15. E-journals

Entman, R. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51-58. E-Journals.

Eveland, W.P., Jr. (2003, September). A “mix of attributes” approach to the study of media effects and new communication technologies. Journal of Communication, 53, 395-410. E-Journals.

Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117-140.

Gamson, W.A., & Modigliani, A. (1989, July). Media discourse and public opinion on nuclear power: A constructionist approach. American Journal of Sociology, 95, 1-37. E-Journals

Gerbner, G., & Gross, L. (1976). Living with television: The violence profile. Journal of Communication, 26(2), 173-199. – E-Journals

Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., & Signorielli, N. (1980, summer). The “mainstreaming” of America: Violence profile no. 11. Journal of Communication, 30, 10-29. – E-Journals

Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., & Signorielli, N. (1981, January). A curious journey into the scary world of Paul Hirsch. Communication Research, 8, 39-72. E-Journals

Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., & Signorielli, N. (1981, July). Final reply to Hirsch. Communication Research, 8, 259-280. E-Journals

Hirsch, P.M. (1980). The “scary world” of the nonviewer and other anomalies: A reanalysis of Gerbner et al.’s findings on cultivation analysis. In Mass Communication Review Yearbook (pp. 529-581). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications. ICON

Hirsch, P.M. (1981, January). On not learning from one’s own mistakes: A reanalysis of Gerbner et al.’s findings on cultivation analysis part II. Communication Research, 8, 3-37. E-Journals.

Hirsch, P.M. (1981, January). Distinguishing good speculation from bad theory: Rejoinder to Gerbner et al. Communication Research, 8, 73-95. E-Journals.

McCombs, M., & Ghanem, S.I. (2001). The convergence of agenda setting and framing. In S.D. Reese, O.H. Gandy, Jr., & A.E. Grant (Eds.), Framing public life (pp. 67-81). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erbaum Associates. ICON

Owner | [SCHOOL] Social Science Theories Syllabus/ Sp 2014/ Page 7

McCombs, M.E., & Shaw, D.L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of the mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36, 176-187. E-Journals

Noelle-Neumann, E. (1974). The spiral of silence: A theory of public opinion. Journal of Communication, 24(4), 43-51. E-Journals

Pan, Z., & Kosicki, G.M. (1993). Framing analysis: An approach to news discourse. Political Communication, 10, 55-75. E-Journals.

Perloff, R. M. (1993). The dynamics of persuasion. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. – 3 chapters in total. ICON

Popper, K. (1965). Science: Conjectures and refutations. In K. Popper (Ed.), Conjectures and refutations: The growth of scientific knowledge (pp. 33-58). New York: Harper & Row. ICON

Scheufele, D.A. (1999, winter). Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of Communication, 49, 103-122. – E-Journals.

Scheufele, D.A., & Moy, P. (2000). Twenty-five years of the spiral of silence: A conceptual review and empirical outlook. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 12, 3-28. E-Journals

Scheufele, D.A., & Tewksbury, D. (2007). Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolution of three media effects models. Journal of Communication, 57, 9-20. E-Journals

Slater, M.D. (2007). Reinforcing spirals: The mutual influence of media selectivity and media effects and their impact on individual behavior and social identity. Communication Theory, 7, 281-303. E-Journals

Webb, E.J., Campbell, D.T., Schwartz, R.D., & Sechrest, L. (1966). Unobtrusive measures: Nonreactive research in the social sciences (pp. 1-34). Chicago: Rand McNally & Co. ICON

Westley, B.H. (1963). Scientific method and communication research. In R.O. Nafziger & D. M. White, Introduction to mass communication research, 2nd ed. (pp. 238-276). Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. ICON

Xenos, M., & Moy, P. (2007). Direct and differential effects of the Internet on political and civic engagement. Journal of Communication, 57, 704-718. E-Journals.

Owner | [SCHOOL]