MASS COMMUNICATIONS IN MODERN SOCIETY

SOC 343 – Winter 2006

 

Section 01 – 10:00 – 10:50 MWF in SJ230

Section 02 – 12:00 – 12:50 MWF in KL223

 

D. E. Miller, Ph.D.

411 St. Joseph Hall

 

Hours:      3:00 – 5:00 MWF (or by appointment)

Phone:       229-2430

e-mail:      Dan.Miller@notes.udayton.edu

webpage:   http://academic.udayton.edu/DanMiller/

 

In Mass Communication we will address two fundamental questions.  First, how different information technologies change the social and cognitive environment – resulting in emergent forms of social relations, self, and consciousness; and second, identifying the processes and consequences arising from the conflict over the control of those technologies and the information constructed with and through them.  Social psychological, sociological, and social historical perspectives will be brought to bear on these questions.  This course satisfies a requirement in the Values, Technology, and Society Thematic Cluster.

 

BOOKS and ADDITIONAL READINGS

 

Postman, Neil.  AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH.  Penguin Books, 1986.

De Zengotita, Thomas. MEDIATED: HOW THE MEDIA SHAPES YOUR WORLD

       AND THE WAY YOU LIVE IN IT. Bloomsbury, 2005.

Johnson, Steven. EVERYTHING BAD IS GOOD FOR YOU. Riverhead, 2005.

 

Additional readings, listed in the course outline, are available either through Electronic Reserve or as e-mail attachments.  Readings are likely to change as the term progresses and new issues arise.

 

EXAMINATIONS and GRADING

Your grade for this course will be based on your performance on four written examinations (50 points each) and two papers with each paper worth 50 points – for 300 possible total points.  The exams will be composed of questions drawn from readings and lectures. Test dates are listed on the course outline and are subject to change.

Final Grades will be determined using the following scale:

 

300 – 285 = A              269 – 260 = B+            239 – 220 = C+           179 – 150 = D

          284 – 270 = A-            259 – 250 = B              219 – 200 = C       

                                 249 – 240 = B-            199 – 180 = C-           

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

  1. Introduction and Definitions

 

  1. Perspective and Theory in Mass Communication

Readings:     Carey, James – “Harold Adams Innis and Marshall McLuhan”

                   Soules – “Harold Adams Innis: The Bias of Communication and the

                             Monopolies of Power”

 

  1. Oralities

Readings:     Havelock, Eric – “The Greek Legacy”

 

  1. Depictions and Decorations

Reading:       Marshack, Alexander – “The Art and Symbols of Ice Age Man”

 

Test 1 – January 30th

 

  1. Calendars and Clocks

Readings:     e-mail attachments

 

  1. Writing, Literacy, and Counting Systems

Readings:     Couch, C. J. and S. Chen – “Orality, Literacy, and Social Structure”

Schmandt-Besserat, D. – “The Origins of Writing”

 

  1. The Printing Press, Mass Literacy, and Social Change

Readings:     Goody, J. and I. Watt – “The Consequences of Literacy”

Eisenstein, Elizabeth – “The Rise of the Reading Public”

Ong, Walter – “Print, Space, and Closure”

Schudson, Michael – “The New Journalism”

Postman, Neil – AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH (begin)

 

Test 2 – February 27th

 

  1. The Secondary Orality of the Detribalized Proletariat

Readings:     Carey, James – “Time, Space, and the Telegraph”

                             McLuhan, Marshall – “Understanding Radio”

                   Boorstin, Daniel – “The Pseudoevent:  From Hero to Celebrity” 
                             Postman, Neil – AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH (finish)

 

  1. The Global Village (Idiot?)

Readings:     de Zengotita, Thomas - MEDIATED

Williams, Rosalynd – “Dream Worlds of Consumption”

Baudrillard, Jean – “Disneyworld Company”

 

Test 3 – April 3rd

 

  10. The Electrified Planet: The Internet, Games, iPods, Cell Phones, and More

Readings:     Nystrom, Christine – “Immediate Man” 

Leis, Kline, and Jhally – “Advertising, Consumers, and Culture”

Brown, Steven – EVERYTHING BAD IS GOOD FOR YOU

 

11. Economic, Political, and Religious Influence: Propaganda, Censorship, Privacy

Readings:     McChesney, Robert – “Global Media, Neoliberalism, and Imperialism”

 

12. The Future of the Illusion

Readings:     Rovira, Jim – “Baudrillard and Hollywood”

 

Final Examinations:

          Section 1 – Friday, May 5th at 12:20

          Section 2 – Tuesday, May 2nd at 12:20