This is a syllabus for a Media Literacy course from Fall 2009. The course begins by introducing students to semiotics, political economy and ideological critique, moves on to study advertising and to examine representations of social identity, and then explores a few new media issues before ending with student presentations & exams.
Media Literacy: Decoding Media Images and Messages
Course Description
Media Literacy is a class designed to enable you to engage in the critical study of media messages and media culture. In this class we will examine media texts as constructed and explore the political, economic and social contexts in which media is produced, distributed and consumed. We’ll investigate how media messages are created and received within dominating ideologies of contemporary society, and look at such questions as
- How do we understand and evaluate the power of the media?
- How do media texts and practices contribute to our sense of who we are and how we think about our social world?
- What are the relationships between media representations and social inequalities?
Your task will be to investigate ideas generally taken for granted about media, culture and democracy, and to craft your own critical arguments about the political and social significance of particular media texts and practices.
Assignments and Grading
The final grade for the course will be based on the following breakdown of assignments:
| Requirement | Percentage |
| Participation & quizzes | 15% |
| Analysis paper 1 | 10% |
| Analysis paper 2 | 10% |
| Analysis paper 3 | 10% |
| Media object presentation | 15% |
| Final project/presentation | 15% |
| Final exam | 25% |
|
Participation (15%): Your participation grade is earned by actively attending class, participating in classroom activities and discussion, and respectfully listening and interacting with your peers. Be prepared for class by having the assigned readings done and bringing questions and comments. Your participation grade will be based on your attendance, and not just how often you participate, but the quality of your contributions. If you do not miss a class all semester, you will be rewarded an extra five points on your participation grade.
Quizzes: Pop quizzes may be administered periodically if the class, as a whole, is repeatedly under-prepared for class. You can avoid quizzes by coming to class prepared, with all relevant readings & screenings completed, ready to participate in discussion. If quizzes are administered, they will be factored into your overall participation grade. |
Analysis papers (10% each, 30% total): Students will turn in three analysis papers, each of which will be 4-5 pages (double-spaced) in length. In each paper, you will analyze a media object of your choice using theoretical approaches and concepts from recent readings and discussions. Further instructions will be handed out in class.
Media objects presentation (15%): Each student will sign up for a topic and select a media object which illustrates or in some way relates to the topic/reading. This media object can be a news item, website, video/clip (must be under 4 minutes), image, etc. For example, if you signed up for ‘advertising,’ you might bring in a television commercial you found on youtube. You will then give a presentation of approximately 10 minutes, in which you lead a class discussion on how the object relates to the concepts and theories in the reading(s) for that day. To this end, please prepare 2-3 discussion questions.
Important: You are required to email me two days before your assigned date, by 5 pm with the following information: 1) the media object you intend to present, and 2) how you plan to present it (Will you need to show a DVD or youtube clip? Will you need to use the internet? If so, send the relevant URLs). I must okay your object beforehand. If you miss this deadline, 5 points will automatically be deducted for each day the notification is late. Also be sure to contact me with any questions you may have concerning your presentation.
Final project & presentation (20%): This will be a group project; you are your partner are to imagine a media production – a short video, a television show or episode, a film, or a news article that is theoretically/conceptually informed by the course. This production should be something you could feasibly create, as students, with the resources you can assemble. It might be, for example, a film that challenges race and class based stereotypes, a news article that critiques consumer culture, or a video that dismantles dominant understandings of gender or queer identity. You do not have to actually create your production; rather, this assignment is about developing a vision for a production you could make. You will present your vision/concept to the class. The presentation (8-10 minutes) should: 1) describe what the production would look like to the viewer, 2) identify the goals the production (what your work aims to accomplish, and 3) explain how the production is theoretically and critically informed by course materials. You will provide the class with some kind of mock-up/visual aid that will help your audience envision your project (for example, a draft of the news segment, a story board or treatment for a video, etc). You will also turn in, individually, a brief reflection (1 page) of your impression of the group process. Because you only have up to 10 minutes to present – and the time limit will be strictly enforced – be sure to prepare for a polished presentation (practice!). Final presentations will take place at the end of the semester. Further instructions will be handed out in class.
Final exam (25%): There will be a comprehensive final exam that includes short answer and essay questions.
Course Schedule
Part 1: Media contexts
Tue., Sept. 8
Introduction
Discussion:
Models of communication, media effects and beyond
Thur., Sept. 10
Semiotics & meaning making
Reading: Media Making Ch. 5 “Meaning”
Tue., Sept. 15
Media and the public
Reading: Media Making Ch. 12 “The Media, the Public, and Normative Theories”
Thur., Sept. 17
Media as institutions, corporations, conglomerations
Reading: McAllister “Television News Plugola and the Last Episode of Seinfeld”
Tue., Sept. 22
Media & politics
Reading: Robert McChesney “September 11 and the Structural Limitations of US Journalism”
Thur., Sept. 24
Media & politics
Screening: Independent Media in a Time of War (2003)
Tue., Sept. 29
Advertising
Reading: Judith Williamson “A Currency of Signs”
Thur., Oct. 2
Advertising
Screening: Merchants of Cool (2001)
Part 3: Media representations
Tue., Oct. 6
Ideology & power
Reading: Nealon and Giroux “Ideology”
Due: Analysis paper 1
Thur., Oct. 8
Identity & social inequalities
Reading: Nealon and Giroux “Subjectivity”
Tue., Oct. 13
Representations of class
Screening: Class Dismissed
Thur., Oct. 15
Representations of class
Reading: Richard Butsch “Ralph, Fred, Archie, and Homer: Why TV Keeps Re-creating the White Male Working Class Buffoon”
Barbara Ehrenreich “The Silenced Majority” (WV)
Tue., Oct. 20
Representations of race
Reading: Sasha Torres, “Guiliani Time: Urban Policing and Brooklyn South”
Screening: Brooklyn South
Thur., Oct. 22
Representations of race
Reading: Chyng Feng Sun “Ling Woo in the Historical Context”
Tue., Oct. 27
Representations of sexuality
Reading: Diane Raymond “Popular Culture and Queer Representation”
Due: Analysis paper 2
Thur., Oct. 29
Representations of sexuality
Screening: Will & Grace
Tue., Nov. 3
Representations of gender: masculinities
Reading: Katz “Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity” (WV)
Bob Herbert “Women at Risk” NYT (WV)
Thur. Nov. 5
Representations of gender: femininities
Reading: Claudia Herbst “Lara’s Lethal and Loaded Mission”
Tue., Nov. 10
Representations of feminism
Reading: Susan Douglas “I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar” (WV) and “Bionic Bimbo” (CP)
Due: Group presentation partner preferences
Thur., Nov. 12
Representations of feminism
Reading: Rebecca Brasfield “Rereading Sex and the City”
Screening: Sex and the City
Tue., Nov. 17
Group presentation workshop
Due: Analysis paper 3
Part 4: New media technologies & course wrap-up
Thur., Nov. 19
Media convergence & participatory culture
Reading: Jenkins “Introduction: ‘Worship at the Altar of Convergence’”
Tue., Nov. 24
Online culture
Reading: Andrejevic “Three Dimensions of iCulture”
Thur., Nov. 26
Thanksgiving break
No class – Happy Thanksgiving!
Tue., Dec. 1
Surveillance society
Reading: Gates “Biometrics and Post-9/11 Technostalgia”
Thur., Dec. 3
Group presentationsa
Tue., Dec. 8
Group presentations
Thur., Dec. 10
Group presentations/Exam review
Tue., Dec. 15
Exam review
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