JMC 262 Principles of Media Studies

Schedule of Classes and Assignments

Fall 2009


C&H refers to Croteau & Hoynes, Media/Society (3rd edition). Readings marked *** are available through the library's electronic reserves.  Readings marked [D2L] are posted to D2L.  Q indicates dates when homework questions are due.

Introduction; Media in the Social World

9/2 First class meeting, course introduction

 

9/9 Read C&H Chapter 1, Q


UNIT I: MEDIA INDUSTRIES


Media Industries

9/14 Read: C&H Chapter 2

 

9/16 Q


Media and Politics I: Regulating Media Content and Ownership

9/21 Read: C&H Chapter 3

 

9/23 Read: Turner, "My Beef With Big Media"*** Q

Media and Politics II: Regulating Digital Media

9/28 View/Read: Lessig, "Free Culture" (this is a Flash video of a lecture that syncs an MP3 track to the talk's PowerPoint slides; please also print a copy of the speech's transcript to bring to class) and read Copyright: Glossary [D2L]; lecture slides Q

9/30 Read Felten, "Nuts and Bolts of Net Neutrality" [D2L]


Routines of the Media Workplace

10/5: Read C&H ch. 4 Q

10/7: Read Becker, "Scenes From a Marriage: MTV weds reality to drama, and the union pays off" [D2L]


UNIT II: MEDIA TEXTS


Basics of Media Criticism: Textual Analysis

10/12 In-class screening TBA

10/14 Discussion of screening, 10/12; lecture slides

10/19 Q

10/21 Midterm Exam Greene Hall


Media, Ideology, and Representation

10/26: Read C&H ch. 5 Q

10/28: In-class screenings TBA

11/2 Read C&H ch. 6 Q

11/4 Read Battles & Hilton-Morrow, "Gay Characters in Conventional Spaces" ***


UNIT III: MEDIA AUDIENCES


Media Influence and the Political World

11/9: Read C&H ch. 7; final paper proposal due (assignment)

11/11: Read Jenkins, "Lessons from Littleton" *** 


Active Audiences and the Construction of Meaning

11/16: Read C&H ch. 8

11/18: Read Anderson, "Watching Children Watch Television and the Creation of Blue's Clues" *** Q


Media Technology and Social Change

11/23 Canceled

No class 11/25 -- Thanksgiving

UNIT IV: PARTICIPATORY CULTURE


Ordinary People Make Media

11/30 Read C&H Ch. 9, Grossman, "Time's Person of the Year: You" and Fox and Madden, "Riding the Waves of Web 2.0" Q

12/2 Read Jenkins, "Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars" *** 


Final Paper Due (assignment): Friday, December 4, by 12:00 pm (please leave your paper in my mailbox in JOH 117 if you don’t see me in my office on this morning)


12/7 Read Duncombe, "I'm a Loser, Baby: Zines and the Creation of Underground Identity" ***

12/9 Read Schiff, "Know It All: Can Wikipedia Conquer Expertise?" *** Q

12/14 Read Wasik, “My Crowd, Or: Phase 5: A Report From the Inventor of the Flash Mob” ***


Final Exam: Wed., December 16, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm place TBA


Michael Z. Newman
Dept of Journalism & Mass Communication
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee