OVERVIEW

Media Studies 300W
Code 1837 Sec. 9W3
Wednesdays 9:00-11:50 a.m.

Instructor: Amy Herzog
Email: amyherzog@mindspring.com Office: G-101B

Description:
This course will provide an introduction to different contemporary approaches to the study of media. We will examine a wide spectrum of traditions, theories and debates that are central to the field (including Marxism, political economy, semiotics, psychoanalysis, reception, feminism, critical race theory, and postmodernism) in relation to a range of media texts (radio, film, television, popular music, print, advertising, music videos, sports, and the internet). Our focus will be on the insights and limitations these approaches offer in understanding media culture-- the meanings we take from the media, our everyday interactions with it, and its global impact. In addition, we will consider alternative media outlets and practices that utilize the media as a critical tool.

Requirements:

Attendance and Participation: You are expected to attend and actively participate in each class. Participation includes reading assigned material prior to class, asking questions, taking notes, and contributing to discussions. Please arrive on time: two “lates” will count as an absence. Leaving class during the break or during a screening will count as an absence. STUDENTS WHO MISS MORE THAN 3 CLASSES WILL BE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO WITHDRAW. Because the syllabus may be modified periodically, you are responsible for contacting the instructor should you miss a class. TURN OFF ALL CELLULAR DEVICES before class begins.

Journals: Every week, you will be asked to hand in an informal “journal” response to the readings. I am not expecting a polished essay—I am more interested in your candid response to the texts: what did you like? What didn’t you understand? How do the author’s ideas relate to your own understanding of the media? I am also interested in hearing your thoughts about class discussions and screenings. It is mandatory, however, that you write about the assigned readings.
Journals can be handwritten and do not need to be longer than one page. Given your busy schedules, it is understandable if there are weeks when you fall behind—thus you can take 2 “freebie” weeks during the semester when you will not be penalized for missing a journal. Journal entries are due at the beginning of class—late journals will not be accepted.

Discussion Leading: Each week, a group of students will be responsible for presenting questions or responses that will launch our in-class discussion. This does not need to be a formal or lengthy presentation, but should instead be a means of integrating your interests and perspectives with the course material. In practical terms, it means reading ALL the assigned articles particularly carefully, coming prepared with questions and comments to discuss, and “kick-starting” the discussion in class if it begins to lag. I would encourage you to bring in outside materials (video clips, images, ads, music, etc.) that relate to the issues raised in the reading.

Writing: This is a writing intensive course, and we will focus a great deal of attention of the writing process. Written assignments will include a range of informal journals and more polished papers. The parameters for each assignment will be discussed in class.

 

Late policy:
Be forewarned: my late policy on papers is very strict. Papers are due at the beginning of class unless otherwise specified. If a paper is late, it will be marked down one full letter grade (e.g. a B+ becomes a C+). If a DRAFT of a paper is late, the grade for the final paper will also be downgraded a letter grade. Papers more than one week late will not be accepted. That said, do NOT skip class if you have not completed an assignment—it is wiser to explain the situation to me than to miss a week of material. I will not give incompletes except in cases of emergency.

Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is an EXTREMELY serious offense. All work submitted must be the original work of the student whose name appears on it. ANY text or idea taken from an outside source MUST be carefully cited. Err on the side of caution when preparing your written work: always give credit to all your sources. This is a particularly large problem when students consult websites. Taking text directly from a website without quoting and citing your source constitutes plagiarism.
Plagiarism and other acts of dishonesty will result in an automatic grade of zero for the assignment and notification of the department. Cases may incur further academic penalties, including a failing grade for the course and disciplinary action. There is absolutely no excuse for plagiarism and it will not be pardoned under ANY circumstances.

Grading:

Participation and Discussion Leading: 10%
Journals: 15%
Paper 1: (4-5 pages): 15%
Paper 2: (4-5 pages): 20%
Research exercise: 5%
Media Criticism Project proposal: 2%
Peer Feedback: 3%
Media Criticism Project (8-10 pages): 30%

Textbook:
•Questioning the Media: A Critical Introduction. 2nd ed. Ed. John Downing, Ali Mohammadi, and Annabelle Sreberny-Mohammadi. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995.
Available in the bookstore and at the reserve desk.
•Additional readings are available on e-reserve. Articles on e-reserve can be accessed as PDF files at http://queens.docutek.com

SYLLABUS

2/4: INTRODUCTION
Screening: Ant Farm, The Eternal Frame.

2/11: What is mass culture? What is popular culture? How do we study the media?
• QM Preface, chp. 1 and 2
• Douglas Kellner, “Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture” on e-reserve.

2/18: NO CLASS: CLASSES FOLLOW A MONDAY SCHEDULE

2/25: Media and messages
• Marshall McLuhan, “The Medium is the Message” on e-reserve.

3/3: Frankfurt school
• Excerpt from Dominic Strinati, “The Frankfurt School and the Culture Industry” on e-reserve.
• Theodor W. Adorno, “On Popular Music” on e-reserve.
• QM chp. 22.
No journal due.
Paper 1 due.

3/10: Intro to Semiotics and Structuralism
• Ellen Seiter, “Semiotics, Structuralism and Television” on e-reserve.
• Roland Barthes, “The World of Wrestling” on e-reserve.

3/17: Advertising and marketing,
• Sut Jhally, “Image-Based Culture” on e-reserve.
• Arthur Asa Berger, “The Maiden with the Snake: Interpretations of a Print Advertisement” on e-reserve.
Bring magazine ad to class.

3/24: Media, Power, and Control: Making News
• QM 5 & 6
• Moriarty and Shaw, “An Antiseptic War?” on e-reserve.

3/31: News analysis: Case Study: Rodney King
• John Fiske, “Los Angeles: A Tale of Three Videos” on e-reserve.
No journal due.
Semiotics Paper due.

4/7: SPRING BREAK

4/14: Ideology and Imperialism
• Stuart Hall, “The Whites of their Eyes: Racist Ideologies and the Media” on e-reserve.
• QM chp. 17 & 21
No journal due.
Topics for Media Crit. Project due.

4/21: Audiences, Texts, Interpretation
• QM 12
• Stuart Hall, “Encoding/Decoding” on e-reserve.
• Henry Jenkins “Textual Poaching” excerpt on e-reserve.
• Atara Stein, “Xena Warrior Princess, the Lesbian Gaze, and the Construction of a Feminist Heroine” online at http://www.whoosh.org/issue24/stein1.html

4/28: Politics of Representation: Gender and Sexuality
• QM 18
• Carol J. Clover, “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film” on e-reserve.
• Imani Perry, “Who(se) Am I” on e-reserve.
• Diane Raymond, “Popular Culture and Queer Representation” on e-reserve.
No journal due.
Research exercise due.

5/5: Politics of Representation: Race and Ethnicity
• QM 20
• Jan Nederveen Pieterse, “White Negroes” on e-reserve.
• Herman Gray, “Television, Black Americans, and the American Dream” on e-reserve.
• Chyng Feng Sun, “Ling Woo in Historical Context: The New Face of Asian American Stereotypes on Television” on e-reserve.

5/12: Post-modernism
• Dominic Strinati, “Postmodernism and Popular Culture” on e-reserve.
• Jean Baudrillard, “The Precession of Simulacra” on e-reserve.
Bibliography and abstract due. Bring two copies.

5/19: Subcultures, alternative media, and media as criticism
• Mark Dery, “Culture Jamming” online at http://www.levity.com/markdery/culturjam.html
• QM 14
Special journal topic: Find an example of alternative media criticism (the Dery article lists many resources)—write a description and critical response to this example—we will discuss these in class.
No journal due.
Peer feedback due.

Media Crit. projects due AT NOON on 5/26 (WED). Papers turned in without having previously submitted proposals or first draft will not be accepted. Absolutely no exceptions.