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COMMUNICATIONS 1500 COURSE SYLLABUS

Understanding Mass Media (3 units)

Fall 2015

Instructor: Brad Van Alstyne

Office: Angelico 119Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 8:00am-9:00am or by appointment..

Phone: office 415-485-3293, cell 415-203-4905

E-mail: bradley.vanalstyne@dominican.edu

Note: this syllabus is subject to change during the semester. If any changes are made, students will be notified.

Survey course designed to examine the role of print and electronic media in dissemination of information to present an overview of the various fields that make up the study of human communication. This study reveals how a wide spectrum of media influences, shapes and presents how we see the world and how our world is in turn shaped by the types of media we use. Topics include the various types of mass media, role of mass media in manipulating political elections, freedom of speech, how media sways how one thinks, and the responsibility each individual has in filtering mass media. Fall Semesters.

Program student learning outcomes

Students will

1. Apply and evaluate communication research methods at the introductory level. 2. Write clearly, accurately and effectively in genres appropriate for the intended

audience. 3. Synthesize information to support a cogent oral argument suitable to the topic,

purpose and audience. 4. Critically evaluate a communication text or artifact 5. Create media that brings academic knowledge and skills into practice 6. Make moral arguments that demonstrate awareness of and sensitivity to differing

values and ethical perspectives.

7. Apply current tools and technologies appropriate for communication professions.

Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will be able to name and the various forms of electronic and print media as well as the goals and focus of each.

2. Students will be able to state and define the various theories of mass media and mass media consumption.

3. Students will demonstrate the ability to present two college level speeches regarding the media’s portrayal of a current event.

4. Students will demonstrate the ability to write two college level papers regarding the media’s portrayal of a current event.

Text: Mass Communication: living in a Media World, 4th Edition. Hanson, Ralph, E..

ISBN: 978-0-87289-484-6

Course Policies

Attendance: To get the most out of this course it is important that you attend regularly for your own good as well as the good of your classmates. Not only will you learn through experience but each one of you will also play an important role in the growth of your classmates through feedback (verbal and written) as well as group exercises and projects.

Participation: Your final grade will include a participation mark, which will account for 10% (100pts) of your overall grade. This grade is based solely on attendance. As this course is a very interactive experience, on the days you are here I can guarantee that you will participate in some manner. If you miss a class, you will lose your allotted participation points for that evening. During most class sessions we will also do a variety of group exercises for which you will also receive points towards your final grade. These exercises may not be made up without a valid excuse or prior notice of your absence. You will be allowed to make up one quiz.

Make up and late assignments: Each class session your assignment is late, you will lose 5 points of the overall point value of that assignment. If you fail to give a speech on the night you have been scheduled, your grade for that speech will automatically drop 10% per night until it is given. You are allowed to make up one quiz during the course of the semester.

References: it is essential that you cite any sources during the course of verbal or written work that you have used in your research. For written work MLA or APA is acceptable. Doing so will help you establish credibility both as a speaker and as a writer and help you avoid plagiarism.

Academic Honesty Honor Code

Dominican University of California is rooted in the Dominican ideals of love of truth, beauty, and the life of the mind, combined with a deep respect for the dignity and worth of the individual. In the spirit of this philosophy, all members of the University community have the responsibility to protect and maintain an academic climate in which the fundamental freedom to learn and grow can be enjoyed by all its members.

Faculty, administration, staff, and students are expected to demonstrate standards of conduct, personal honor, regard for the rights of others, and respect for order, which are essential for good citizenship and appropriate to the pursuit of academic goals. In becoming a member of this academic community, one accepts the right and responsibility to abide by standards of intellectual integrity and standards for conduct. The Honor Code depends upon the willingness of members of the campus community, individually and collectively, to maintain and perpetuate standards of the Honor Code. When one becomes aware of a violation of this principle, he/she is bound by honor to take some action. He/she may report the violation, speak personally to the individual involved, or do whatever is appropriate under the circumstances. If one stands by and does nothing, both the spirit and the operation of the principle of honor are threatened.

Academic Honor

Dominican University of California is an academic community. All of our community members are expected to abide by ethical standards both in their conduct and in their exercise of responsibilities toward other members of the community. Students, faculty members, administrators, and staff are expected to adopt standards of behavior that place a high value on respecting the ideas of others. All intellectual accomplishments – examinations, papers, lectures, experiments, and other projects – should adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity and ethics.

The faculty, administration, and staff recognize their obligation to provide continuing guidance as to what constitutes academic honesty and to promote procedures and circumstances that will reinforce the principle of academic honor.

Fundamental to the principle of independent learning is the requirement of honesty and integrity in the performance of academic assignments, both in the classroom and outside. Students should avoid academic dishonesty in all of its forms, including plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic misconduct.

The University reserves the right to determine, in any given instance, what action constitutes a violation of academic honesty and integrity.

Please see the Dominican University of California Course Catalogue for the specific policies and penalties regarding academic honesty.

Diversity Declaration

Dominican University of California declares that its commitment to diversity and the fulfillment of its educational mission is best achieved when every member of the University community upholds in thought, word, and deed:

"E Pluribus Unum; Ut Unum Sint*  Two profound visions ? our American civic tradition and our Catholic religious heritage ? inform Dominican University of California?s commitment to the principle of pluralism and to the dream of a reconciled community.  Faithful to these birthrights, Dominican seeks to nurture attitudes and behaviors that promote global awareness, inclusive sensibilities, and respect for the dignity of each individual regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, culture, political conviction, or disability ? all in the light of the Truth that breathes forth love and in the hope of a common life that transforms the world."

*Out of many, one; that all may be one?

Consistent with the above declaration and Dominican ideals, the University recommends that every member of the community support and express his or her active commitment to diversity utilizing the guiding principles stated below:

All members of the University community are collectively responsible for enabling and institutionalizing diversity throughout the University

All members of the University community consider diversity constructively in all planning, policy, decision-making, procedural, academic and administrative operations throughout the University

All members of the University community refuse to accept any behavior or action that is diversity intolerant, insensitive, and or discriminatory

All members of the University community promote an on-campus environment that values equity and access of opportunity for all of its participants irrespective of background, nationality, culture, religion, class, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, and disability

Course Assignments/Points

Media Analysis Critique/Presentations (2) 100pts

Media piece projects (book covers, front page newspapers, magazine ads) 200pts

Midterm 100pts

Final 100pts

Quizzes 300pts

Participation 100pts

Outside Projects (TBA) 100pts

In Class/Group Exercises 200pts

Papers (1 and 2) 100pts

Speech 1 and 2 100pts

Course Total 1400pts

Tentative Course Schedule

Week One: Intro to course, student introductions.

Week Two: Intro to Mass Media, group exercises.

Week Three: The print media, exercises.

Week Four: Recordings and movies.

Week Five: Radio and television.

Week Six, The web, midterm review

Week Seven: midterm.

Week Eight: Mass Messages: news, and public relations.

Week Nine: Mass Messages: advertising and media research.

Week Ten: Mass media issues: mass communication and media effects.

Week Eleven: Mass media issues: social and global effects, ethics.

Week Twelve: Mass media issues: visual messages, politics.

Week Thirteen: Human communication theory.

Week Fourteen: Business and communication, final review.

Week Fifteen: Business and communication continued, final

Papers:

Students will write a 3-5 double spaced paper in APA style on a current issue within the mass media. All papers are required to have a bibliography of at least 5 sources and the last page of the paper should be the transcript of an interview of an individual currently working in the field

who has an expertise in the area the student has chosen to write about. Please see the attached writing rubric for grading standards.

Speeches:

Both speeches will be informative in nature and focus on any aspect of mass media. All speeches will be 4-6 minutes in length, require at least one visual aid, one typed outline and 3-5 sources which must be cited during the speech. Please see the attached speech rubric for grading standards.

Grading:These are the standards used to evaluate the quality of papers, projects and participation. Familiarize yourself with them so that you know precisely what is valued in your work."A" work – Outstanding, exceptional work, demonstrating extra effort and going beyond the basic requirements of the assignment. Responds to the assignment topic with concise and comprehensive information that demonstrates critical and imaginative thinking about the issues

Provides convincing supporting arguments, evidence, examples, and factual detail Demonstrates a thorough familiarity with the subject and extensive research Is clear, well organized, free of grammatical errors & clichés, and has correct

spelling throughout"B" work – Good, solid and competent work, fulfilling the requirements of the assignment in terms of content and length

Responds to the topic and presents the facts logically with adequate supporting evidence and research

Is somewhat imaginative in presentation and exhibits a good level of research of the subject in discussion

Very few errors in grammar, spelling, and/or trite phrases Addresses most of the issues required to answer the question or topic.

"C" work – Fair, average work that meets the minimal requirements of the assignment in terms of content and length, but is in lacking in some important respect

Shows that some effort was put forth toward responding to the topic and organizing your presentation logically

Demonstrates some if perhaps limited evidence of research and effective argument

Has no major errors of fact More than a few grammatical or spelling errors May overlook some of the pertinent issues about the topic

"D" work – Below average work that exhibits marginal effort, with serious shortcomings in terms of content, organization and/or length

Manages to address only a few of the issues concerning the topic Clear inadequacies in research, organization and/or logical thinking Many errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, or facts Reads like an unedited first draft of a paper

"F" work – Poor, completely inadequate work in terms of content, research and/or length

Fails to address the subject or topic Little or no evidence of research – doesn’t go beyond personal opinion Serious lack of organization or logical thinking Exhibits plagiarism or violates Dominican ethical standards

Rubric for Public Speaking

(100 points)

Student’s Name_____________________________________ Date _____________

Course name and number _________________________________ ______________

Assignment:

Instructor:

Circle one number (1-5) for each category. Add the total and divide by ten for an average. A score of 1 is low, 3 is average and 5 is high. You may also see these as 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D and 1=F.

Clarity

1 States the purpose clearly. 1 2 3 4 5

2 Content is organized 1 2 3 4 53 Incorporates stories and/or examples 1 2 3 4 54 Supports ideas 1 2 3 4 55 Summarizes the main idea(s) 1 2 3 4 5

Authority

1 Uses tone, speed and volume as tools. 1 2 3 4 52 Vocabulary is appropriate 1 2 3 4 5

3 Appears confident and comfortable 1 2 3 4 54 Uses eye contact 1 2 3 4 55 Proper speaking posture/gestures 1 2 3 4 5

Research

1 Research is thorough/accurate 1 2 3 4 52 Research is applicable 1 2 3 4 53 Sources are appropriate 1 2 3 4 54 Sources are cited correctly 1 2 3 4 55 Sources are cited clearly 1 2 3 4 5

Interview

1 Interviewee is appropriate 1 2 3 4 52 Interview questions are applicable 1 2 3 4 53 Interview is thorough 1 2 3 4 54 Interview questions are thoughtful 1 2 3 4 55 Responses are stated clearly 1 2 3 4 5

Rubric for Writing Assignments

(100 points)

Student’s Name_____________________________________ Date _____________

Course name and number _________________________________ ______________

Assignment:

Instructor:

Circle one number (1-5) for each category. Add the total and divide by ten for an average. A score of 1 is low, 3 is average and 5 is high. You may also see these as 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D and 1=F.

Clarity

6 Thesis is clearly stated 1 2 3 4 57 Content is organized 1 2 3 4 58 Incorporates stories and/or examples 1 2 3 4 59 Supports ideas 1 2 3 4 510 Summarizes the main idea(s) 1 2 3 4 5

Authority

6 Writes with authority/confidence. 1 2 3 4 57 Vocabulary is appropriate 1 2 3 4 58 Argument flows clearly 1 2 3 4 59 Uses personal experience 1 2 3 4 510 Arguments follow logically 1 2 3 4 5

Research

6 Research is thorough/accurate 1 2 3 4 57 Research is applicable 1 2 3 4 58 Sources are appropriate 1 2 3 4 59 Sources are cited correctly 1 2 3 4 510 Sources are cited clearly 1 2 3 4 5

Interview

6 Interviewee is appropriate 1 2 3 4 57 Interview questions are applicable 1 2 3 4 58 Interview is thorough 1 2 3 4 59 Interview questions are thoughtful 1 2 3 4 510 Responses are stated clearly 1 2 3 4 5