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HUMN 3460Media CriticismDr. Gerald Lucas

IntroductionThis course is designed as the first part of a sequence with HUMN 4460 Senior Seminar in New Media and will provide a founda-tion for further study by equip-ping students with the skills re-quired to interpret and analyze various media forms, especially photographic, cinematic, and televisual texts.

Students will examine film and television as visual media, cultural forces, and economic institutions. Primary attention will be paid to how the fundamental elements of media combine to create meaning and tell stories,

the forms media texts take, and the way these structures in turn influence viewers/listeners. The course will also explore what me-dia is and why various media forms have developed in certain ways through history and across nations.

By the end of the term stu-dents should be able to demon-strate a working knowledge of the terms and concepts underlying contemporary media studies, the economic, social, and political impact of the media industries, and the implications of the ongo-ing advances of computers and information technologies.

MaterialsThe following books are required for the class; be sure to bring them to class everyday reading is as-signed from them (no excuses):‣ Gill Branston and Roy Stafford

(eds.). The Media Student’s Book, Fourth Edition. 2006.

‣ Paul Marris and Sue Thorn-ham (eds). Media Studies: A Reader, Second Edition. 1999.

And I recommend the following to compliment your study of me-dia:‣ Raymond Williams. Keywords,

Revised Edition. 1983.

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Dr. Gerald Lucasmedia@grlucas.nethttp://litmuse.net

HUMN 3460.01Tues 5:30-7:50pH/SS-122

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There are three major requirements for Media Criticism, each of which must be successfully com-pleted to pass the course. Assignments are weighed on a point system, depending on their importance. For example, a reading quiz might have 10 points while the final exam might have 200.

Final ExamA final cumulative exam will be given that will test your knowledge of the subject matter (texts, lecture material, and vocabulary), your ability to synthesize this material, and your creativity in going beyond the discussion and lecture materials. The final exam will include vocabulary, identification, and interpreta-tion. All exam grades will be based upon objective knowledge of the material, thoroughness, depth of insight, precision, and originality.

WritingTo get you thinking more critically about the major issues covered, you are required to respond to class readings in writing both formally and informally. All writing should be thoughtful, refer to specific por-tions of the text, use the critical vocabulary, and cite correctly using MLA citation method.

FORUM

Informal forum responses will be written online on LitMUSE, so the entire class can benefit from read-ing your thoughts. The forum will also give you a

chance to respond to others’ ideas. Your writing in the forum should total at least 350 words per week and directly address the weeks’ subject matter.

WEB SITE

Three times (see Schedule) during the semester, you will have to contribute the class web site. For this, you will pick your best forum and/or daily work, revise it, and submit it in a more formal way (includ-ing citations) to a class web site.

Daily WorkRegular class attendance, question posing, and active participation in classroom discussions are required. Participation, effort, and attitude will count signifi-cantly in this course. Quizzes, other class activities, and homework assignments and ad hoc projects not explicitly outlined above will be considered daily work.

“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Be-cause they control the minds of the masses.”

Malcolm X

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“All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values”

Marshall McLuhan

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Materials(cont. from page 1)

LitMUSEYou are required to have an account on LitMUSE, the server that will support all of your work in this class. As a part of this requirement, you should have access to a computer with Internet capability and a current web browser, like Firefox.

Pen and PaperYou should also bring an ink interface of some sort, as well as dead trees on which to take notes. You should not sit in class like you’re watching TV: take notes.

ElectronicsMaterials, like cell phones, food, maga-zines, iPods, etc., should be left in your car. If you answer a cell phone in my class, I will expect you to leave. In addi-tion, I do not allow class discussions to be taped, so do not bring any voice record-ing devices to class. You may use laptops unless I ask you not to bring them.

Rated PG-13Finally, since class lecture and discussion will often touch on the controversial, this college classroom is not an appropriate place for children.

PoliciesYou will be accountable for knowing and practicing each of these policies. Consider them like the law: the excuse “I didn’t know” will carry no weight.

AssignmentsYour work represents you. Therefore, I expect everything you turn into me to exemplify the very best of your profes-sional self. Please proofread all writing before submission.

AttendanceAttendance will be taken at every class meeting. If you come in late, it is your responsibility to inform me of your pres-ence that day. If you fail to do so, you are absent. Two tardies count as one absence. There are no “excused ab-sences” in my class, but you are allowed to miss one class before your grade suf-fers. Each additional class missed beyond the allotted one will result in your final semester’s grade being dropped one let-ter.

DeadlinesLate work is not acceptable and will re-ceive a zero. Technical, computer mal-functions are not acceptable excuses for late work. Quizzes and in-class activities cannot be made up for any reason.

EmailThe best and quickest way of contacting me is via email. Only use the email ad-dress that I provided on this document for class business: <media@grlucas.net>.

Grades

Letter grades are based upon a tradi-tional ten-point scale. If you would like to know your official grade, you should see me during my office hours or make an appointment.

PlagiarismAny time you use ideas that are not your own — be they paraphrased or copied verbatim — in anything that you write, you must supply a citation in MLA for-mat. Willful plagiarism will result in automatic failure of this class and will be submitted to the Dean for further poten-tial consequences. See <http://litmuse.net/plagiarism/> for

more information on avoiding plagia-rism.

Special NeedsAny student who has special needs the Counseling and Career Center and fill out the appropriate paperwork.

TechnologyComputer competency is an integral

skill in any discipline. Students should be familiar with the general uses of a com-puter and should be willing to put forth the effort to learn what they need to in order to succeed in the course.

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Robert Bresson

“The problem with communication ... is the illusion that it has been accomplished.”

George Bernard Shaw

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“In describing today's accelerating changes, the media fire blips of unrelated information at us. Experts bury us under mountains of narrowly specialized monographs. Popular forecasters present lists of unrelated trends, without any model to show us their inter-connections or the forces likely to reverse them. As a result, change itself comes to be seen as anarchic, even lunatic.”

Alvin Toffler

Week 1 (8/19): Intro & Overview

Week 2 (8/26): Key ConceptsChpt. 1 Interpreting Media (MSB 9-40); Fiske “The Codes of Television” (MS 220-230)

Week 3 (9/2): Narrative as StructureChpt. 2 Narratives (MSB 41-73); Ellis “Broad-cast TV Narration” (MS 238-244); Williams “Programming as Sequence or Flow” (MS 231-237)

Week 4 (9/9): Genres & Other ConventionsChpt. 3 Genres and Other Classifications (MSB 74-102); Richard Dyer “The Roles of Stereotypes” (MS 245-251)

Week 5 (9/16): Representation & RaceChpt. 5 Questions of Representation (MSB 141-173); Hall “Race Ideologies and the Me-dia” (MS 271-282); Color Adjustment [dir. Mar-lon Riggs, 1991]

Week 6 (9/23): Representation Cont.Squire “Empowering Women? The Oprah Winfrey Show” (MS 354-367); WEB SITE SUB-

MISSION 1 DUE

Week 7 (9/30): Culture & IdeologyChpt. 6 Ideologies and Power (MSB 174-206); “The Media and Social Power Introduction” (MS 5-17)

Week 8 (10/7): The Culture IndustriesChpt. 7 Industries (MSB 207-257); Adorno “Culture Industry Reconsidered” (MS 31-37)

Week 9 (10/14): Music IndustryChpt. 7 Industries (MSB 257-267); Chpt. 13 Distribution (MSB 416-436); “Courtney Love Does the Math”; Film: Money for Nothing

Week 10 (10/21): AdvertisingAdvertising (MSB 296-328 & MS 699-703); Nava and Nava “Discrimination or Duped?” (MS 766-774); Malcolm Glad-well, “The Coolhunt”: Film: Merchants of Cool

Week 11 (10/28): TV NewsSection 6 “News” (MS 627-696) Intro and all essays in section; Chpt. 6 Ideologies and Power: Case Study: News (MSB 194-206); WEB SITE SUBMISSION 2 DUE

Week 12 (11/4): TV “Reality”Chpt. 14 Documentary and ‘reality TV’ (MSB 455-478)

Week 13 (11/11): Audience & Reception“Section 4:2 The Politics of Reading” (MS 467-515) Intro and all essays in section; Chpt. 8 Audiences (MSB 268-296)

Week 14 (11/18): Fan Culture & RecodingJenkins “’Strangers no More, We Sing,’ . . . ” (MS 547-556); Hermes “Media, Meaning and everyday Life” (MS 557-564)

Week 15 (11/25): Birth of New MediaTBA

Week 16 (12/2): ReviewWEB SITE SUBMISSION 3 DUE

ExamTuesday, 12/9, 6-8:50pm

Notes

Dr. Gerald R. Lucashttp://litmuse.net/media@litmuse.netOffice: H/SS-117Office Hours: MW 11-12; T 4-5

SCHEDULEThis schedule reflects only an overview of readings and assignments, but does not always indicate other specific class session assign-ments or activities. See LitMUSE. Last revised: August 14, 2008 6:15 AM.

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