Mass Communication And Mass Society Syllabus
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION THEORY - COMM 1302
Introduction To Mass Media - Syllabus MMC
Survey of Mass Communication - Sociology 43, Syllabus
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Theories of Mass Communication - Department of Mass
Communications and Center for New Media, Colorado State University - Pueblo, Instructor:
Samuel Ebersole, PhD
Application of information theories to mass communication problems. Nature of the
communication process in groups and between mass media and audiences. Contribution of
theoretical concepts to solving specific problems. (CSU-Pueblo Catalog)
The purpose of this course is to explore the theoretical foundations of the media from a
social scientific perspective. We will trace the development of media theories following
the four eras of mass communication theory as defined by the textbook: mass society
theories, limited-effects perspectives, critical and cultural approaches, and
meaning-making perspectives.
The student should be able to: Develop a working knowledge of theories that explain the
world of mass media and users of the media. Understand the historical development of the
field of mass communication and its theoretical foundations. Critically evaluate theories
as applied to practical mass communication problems, e.g., media portrayals of sex and
violence. Text: Baran, S. & Davis, D (2008). Mass communication theory: Foundations,
ferment, and future, 5th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Introduction
To Mass Media - Syllabus MMC
Instructor: Mr. Billy M. Oliver, Assistant Professor
Description: Development of a critical perception of the mass communication process and
its results in both printed and electronic media. Applications of the ethics and codes of
journalism to the changing roles and forms of journalistic media.
Required Text:
Baran, S.J. (2006). Introduction to Mass Communication: Media
Literacy and Culture. (4th ed.). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.
Learning Outcomes and Specific Competencies
At the completion of the course, students will know the following:
1. The role ethics play in the mass media.
2. How books became the building blocks for the mass media.
3. The role of magazines in the mass media.
4. A brief history of newspapers and their role in mass media.
5. A basic understanding of information storage.
6. The impact of movies on mass media.
7. A brief history of radio.
8. How television evolved from radio and where it stands today.
9. An overview of journalism.
10. The importance of the mass media to public relations.
11. Advertising's role in mass media.
12. The basics of media research.
13. Mass media's effects on society and the individual.
14. How mass media functions in a political environment.
15. A brief history and overview of media law.
Topics
1. The changing communications media environment.
2. Theories of communication media.
3. The Evolution of the information society.
4. Economic issues in communication media.
5. communication media policy and ethics.
6. Globalization of communications media.
7. Print media.
8. Audio media.
9. Visual media.
10. Multichannel media.
11. The telephone industry.
12. The information services industry.
13. The computer industry.
14. Communication media in the work place.
15. The advertising industry.
16. The public relations industry.
17. Effects of mass media.
18. The social impacts of information technologies.
Survey of Mass
Communication, Sociology 43, Syllabus, 11:15-12:05 MWF, 427 Waterman - Prof. Thomas
Streeter, thomas.streeter@uvm.edu; Dept. of Sociology.
This course looks at the social role and importance of modern media of communication and
culture, from the book to the internet. It explores questions like the following:
What role have media like newspapers, television, and the internet played in making the modern world the way it is?
What happens when so much of our communication happens on a "mass" basis, between people who don't see or even know each other?
How can we study the signs, symbols, and cultural meanings that make up media messages?
How are the media organized, and how does organizational form shape content?
What difference does it make, for example, if media are funded with, say, advertising or tax money?
Readings: MediaMaking: Mass Media in a Popular Culture, edited by Lawrence Grossberg, Ellen Wartella, and D. Charles Whitney (Sage, 1998); and Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy by Robert McChesney (Seven Stories Press, 1997) are available at the bookstore. Other required readings are available on electronic reserve.
Course Outline
The following is a list of readings and study questions for each section of the course.
Tentative dates when the material will be covered are listed after each heading; do the
readings before the date listed for discussing them in class. In each section, the
"theory" readings are listed first, and the "events" readings second;
usually your discussion list assignment will be to apply something from the
"theory" readings to something in the "events" readings. The questions
will both guide you in learning the course material throughout the semester, and will
serve as study questions for the exams. Look them overbefore doing the reading or
attending lectures. In all likelihood, it will be necessary to make minor changes in the
readings, schedule, and questions during the course; such changes will be announced in
class, and you are responsible for finding out about changes whether or not you attend
lectures. MediaMakingrefers to the textbook. Most other readings are on reserve in the
library.
Introduction
1. MediaMaking, Chapter 1
Why is the textbook titled "MediaMaking"? What are the differences between
interpersonal media, mass media, and network media? How can media be distinguished
according to channel modalities, economic modalities, institutions, technological
manifestations, content, and information technologies? What are institutions, cultural
forms, and mediation? What are the differences between a transmission and a cultural model
of communication? How can media power be understood as effects? as determination and
control? What are the differences between the conflict and consensus models of society?
Modernization, History, Social Development
1. MediaMaking, Chapter 2
2. Warren St. John, "Dating a Blogger, Reading All About It," The New York Times, May 18, 2003.
3. Bertolt Brecht, "Radio as a Means of Communication," (a talk
delivered in Germany in 1930), from Mattelart and Mattelart, Communication and Class
Struggle Vol 2, (New York International General, 1985 pp. 169-171;
4. Raymond Williams, "The Social History of the Uses of Television Technology,"
from Television: Technology and Cultural Form, pp. 19-31.
What are the differences between Braudel's event, conjuncture, eras, and epochs? What are
the different theories of mass society? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What
happens in the transition from oral to print to electronic culture? What is technological
determinism and what are the problems with it? What are modernization, modernism,
modernity, and postmodernism? What is meant by "stages of development" in social
theory? What are some common way of categorizing the stages, and how are they relevant to
understanding media? What are some of the differences between oral and print societies?
What is mobile privatization? What is its importance for media? What are the key
technological breakthroughs that accompanied the transition to the "print" and
"electronic" eras? What is technological convergence in communications? What
distinguishes manuscript, oral, and print cultures? What were the limitations of preprint
written culture? What different technologies make up the printing press, and what are
their origins? What roles did social conditions play in the spread of printing? What role
did copyright play in the evolution of books? The rise of publishing companies? How are
publishing companies organized? What new trends have been introduced in publishing in the
twentieth century? How did the rise of print shape science? the Protestant Reformation?
the formation of dissident political movements? modern bureaucracy?
How was the formation of radio broadcasting early in the twentieth century like the
formation of the internet today? What were the contributions of Marconi, and De Forest to
radio? What were the first uses of radio technology? What role did amateurs play in
radio's history? the military? entrepreneurs? Why were large corporations interested in
broadcasting at first? How did advertising become the principle funding source of American
broadcasting? How did this shape broadcast content? How and why did government regulation
arise in radio? What were the principle radio networks in the 1930s, and what has happened
to them since? What is the significance of the Communications Act of 1934? What does the
law say about regulation "in the public interest?"
People and Organizations
1. MediaMaking, Chapter 3
2. "Expert Opinion: How to Shoot a Nude Scene [and other insider advice]," New
York Times Sunday Magazine, 11/3/2002, pp. 28-32; .
3. Josh Rottenburg, "The Insider's Indie: how a low-budget flick by a no-name
director became a major studio's Christmas release," New York Times Sunday Magazine,
11/3/2002, pp. 22-24;
4. CHRIS BALLARD, "How to Write a Catchy Beer Ad," New York Times,
January 26, 2003.
5. Doug Underwood, "Assembly-line Journalism," Columbia Journalism Review,
July/August 1998, pp. 42-44
6. Katharine Q. Seelye, "TV Drama, Pentagon-Style: A Fictional Terror Tribunal,"
New York Times, March 31, 2002
7. Katherine Rosman, "JonBenet, Inc." Brill's Content, February 2000, pp.
96-107, 128.
Optional -- Peter Maass, "Good Kills," New York Times Sunday Magazine, April 20,
2003:
What are the different levels of analysis for understanding people and organizations in
media? How do they relate to one another? What is the resource dependence perspective?
What are roles, reference groups, and routines and how do they matter in the media? How do
formulas, trackrecords, predictability, efficiency, and "borrowing" work in the
media? What are the forms of censorship? What other ways does government relate to media?
Other institutions to media institutions? What is meant by the
"television-industrial-complex?" What does it have to do with the relation of
program producers to their audience? What is the difference between direct and structural
forms of advertising influence on television content? How do the structures and
characteristics of television contribute to the industrialization of culture? How are
program ideas and programs created?
Media and Economics
1. MediaMaking, Chapter 4
2. Robert McChesney, Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy, New York: Seven Stories
Press, 1997.
3. "Synergizing Private Lynch," New York Times, June 15, 2003.
4. JIM RUTENBERG, "To Interview Former P.O.W., CBS Dangles Stardom," New York
Times, June 16, 2003.
5. Paul Farhi, "Mega Hurts: Clear Channel's Big Radio Ways Are Getting a Lot of
Static These Days," Washington Post, Wednesday, May 29, 2002; Page C01,
6. Matt Witt, "We Rarely See Those Who Labor: Newspapers and broadcasters favor
corporate views, ignoring those of people who do America's work," 8-26-99: ibew1613.
7. Gloria Steinem, "Sex, Lies, and Advertising," from Joan Gorham (ed.), Mass
Media Annual Editions 99/00, Dushkin/McGraw-Hill, pp. 139173-181; originally published in
Ms. Magazine, July/August 1990, pp. 18-28.
8. Bill Moyers "Now: Media Concentration" (8 MB quicktime video; requires
Quicktime player.)
What are monopoly, oligopoly, and limited competition in media structure? What are the
differences between freedom of consumer choice and consumer control? What are the
differences between direct and indirect payments for media products? What is vertical
integration? "Synergy?" What are use value, exchange value, commodities, the
labor theory of value, surplus value, and economies of scale? What are the different
sources of media support? What forms of competition are important to media? What are the
roles of break even points, royalties, hit-to-release ratios, and secondary markets? How
do media try to reduce risk? What is the difference between vertical and horizontal
integration?
How does advertising support change the economic relation of media to its audience? What
is the traditional economic view of the nature of advertising? What are some problems with
it? According to Gloria Steinem, why was Ms. Magazine forced to downsize and stop
accepting advertising? What role does marketing and advertising play in a modern
industrial consumer economy? Why are packaging and trademarks important in the history of
advertising? Why did some industrialists advocate shorter hours and higher wages for
workers at the turn of the century? Why is their strategy important to understanding
consumerism, advertising, and media?
Meaning, Semiotics, Ideology
1. Soc. 43 Semiotics and Media
2. Ellen Seiter, "Semiotics and Television," from Robert C. Allen (ed.),
Channels of Discourse, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987, pp. 17-41.
3. MediaMaking Chapter 5, "Meaning"
4. MediaMaking Chapter 6, "The Interpretation of Meaning"
5. MediaMaking Chapter 7, "Ideology"
6. MediaMaking Chapter 8, "Producing Identities"
7. Sut Jhally, "Tough Guise" (videotape) (To see Part 2 online, click here;
requires Quicktime.)
What is the role of signs in culture and society? What are some problems with
representational and conceptual theories of meaning? What is semiotics? What is its theory
of meaning? On what principles is semiotics based? What is the principle of difference? of
the arbitrariness of codes? What is the meaning of the following terms, and how are they
related: sign, signifier, signified, iconic/motivated sign, arbitrary sign, metaphor,
metonymy, paradigm, syntagm, denotation, connotation, myths, codes, articulation? How does
one conduct a semiotic analysis? What role can semiotic codes play in social life? How
does semiotic competence matter for media and children?
What questions does an interpreter ask of a text? Why is the notion of the author and the
author's intention problematic? What are the following techniques of interpretation: theme
and symbol analysis, content analysis, genre theory, and narrative analysis? What is the
meaning of the following terms: discourse, narrator, narratee? What is the commutation
test? What are binary oppositions? What is polysemy? aporias? What are the techniques for
analyzing visual texts?
What is realism? the willing suspension of disbelief? What are realist, phenomenal, and
social constructionist theories of ideology, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
What is interpellation? How does it relate to ideology? What are the varieties and sources
of identity in the modern world? How do these matter to understanding the media? What are
the different ways of constructing the audience as a market? What are their social
implications? What is the difference between essentialist and nonessentialist ways of
understanding identities? What is subjectivity?
Understanding Audiences: Consuming the Media
1. MediaMaking, Chapter 9
2. Todd Gitlin, "The Problem of Knowing," pp. 19-30, and "By the
Numbers," pp. 47-55, from Inside Prime Time (New York: Pantheon, 1983).
3. Oscar H. Gandy, Jr., "Tracking the Audience," from John Downing, Ali
Mohammadi, and Annabelle Sreberny-Mohammadi (eds.), Questioning the Media: A Critical
Introduction, Newbury Park: Sage, 1990, pp. 166-179.
4. ROB WALKER, "The Marketing of No Marketing," New York Times, June 22, 2003.
5. Amy Harmon, "Star Wars' Fan Films Come Tumbling Back to Earth," New York
Times, April 28, 2002
6. Marshall Sella, "The Remote Controllers," New York Times, October 20, 2002.
What factors make the audience "mysterious" to media producers and social
scientists? What is the long term historical context of media consumption? What is meant
by the term "mass" in "mass media?" What does it connote about the
audience? What are some limitations to the term? How does the industry tend to view the
audience? Why is it helpful to say that meanings resides in audiences, not in texts? What
is the encoding/decoding model? What are preferred, oppositional, and negotiated meanings?
What is functionalism? What are the different kinds of functions of media? What are the
assumptions of functionalist approaches to the audience? What are some problems with
functionalist accounts? How are they circular and conservative? What are the three main
aspects of the social psychology of consumption of media? How do the differences between
public, private, and transitional spaces matter to the sociology of consumption? What is
the role of the home in the sociology of consumption? How do anonymous, institutional, and
family relations influence the sociology of media consumption? What are fans, fashions,
and subcultures, and how do they matter to media consumption?
What are the key features of the audience ratings system for television? What aspects of
the system have led the audience ratings to become the major measure of success of
television programming? What are the major criticisms of the ratings system? Why is Oscar
Gandy concerned about audience surveillance? What is meant by "the active
audience?" Uses and gratifications? Reception analysis? Dominant, negotiated, and
oppositional decodings? What role does information gathering play in modern industry? What
is the significance of the metaphor of the panopticon? How is digital distribution
changing the ways that people think and act towards pop music?
Media and Behavior
1. MediaMaking, Chapter 10
2. MediaMaking, Chapter 11
3. Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, "TV Addiction," Scientific
American, February, 2002.
What are the main theories of media effects? What methods are used to study them? Why did
cultural approaches to media studies develop in opposition to media-effects research? What
is the difference between cognitive, affective, and conative components of media effects.
Why was Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" broadcast important in the history of
media effects? What are the different dimensions of media effects? What are social
learning and "contagion" theories? What is the McGuire Process model? the theory
of reasoned action? information-processing approaches? What are the general findings of
media violence research? What is desensitization? the scary world syndrome? What are the
general findings of research into the effects of pornography? of research on educational
effects of media on children?
News, Politics, and the Public
1. MediaMaking Chapter 12
2. MediaMaking, Chapter 13
3. Jim Edwards, "Wrong Turns," Brill's Content, January 2001, pp. 113-169;
4. "Race Against Prime Time" (video, California Newsreel): available in the
Bailey-Howe library media center, or online: click here for part 1, and here for part 2.
(Requires Quicktime.)
5. Sharyn Wizda, "Parachute Journalism," American Journalism Review, July/August
1997, pp. 40-44.
Why is news important to modern democracies? What factors constrain news gathering and
dissemination? How do reporters decide what is news? How does economics influence their
decisions? What are the main categories of news and reporting? What are their
characteristics? How are newspaper and television newsrooms organized, and how do they
differ in the ways they present news stories? What role do wire services play in the news?
How have news consultants and new technologies influenced broadcast news? What is the
theory of objective journalism? What is its history? What news practices and techniques is
it associated with? How do these techniques influence the content of news? What are some
of the limits to and criticisms of news objectivity? What is the difference between
criticizing the news for bias and analyzing it as socially constructed? What is public
journalism? Deliberative democracy?
What is the history of news? Why is it hard to define newsworthiness? What are news beats?
How do reporters routinize the unexpected? What is the news net? Why do some worry about
reporters' tendency to "go native"? Where does the initiative for most news
stories come from? Why do news reports in different media so frequently resemble each
other? Why does journalist objectivity fit the standards of an ideology? How do media
influence political behavior? What are opinion leaders? Early-, campaign-, and
late-deciders? What is agenda-setting? priming? third person effects? the spiral of
silence?
What are some different definitions of the public? Why do some say the public is in
decline? What are the different ways of representing the public? What is civic or public
journalism? What roles do media and campaign advertising actually play in elections today?
How has television transformed the campaign process in the last forty years?
Media Policy and the Future of Global Democracy
1. MediaMaking, Chapter 14
2. MediaMaking, Chapter 15, "Media Globalization"
3. Global Culture: a photo essay by Joe McNally, with text by Joel L. Swerdlow and Erla
Swingle, National Geographic Vol. 196, No. 2, August 1999, pp. 2-33.
4. Umberto Eco, "Towards a Semiological Guerrilla Warfare," from Travels in
Hyperreality, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986, pp. 135-144.
5. Jonathan Weinberg "Internet Governance"
6. Lawrence Lessig, "The Architecture of Information"
7. Michael Curtin and Thomas Streeter, "Media," in Culture Works: The Political
Economy of Culture, University of Minnesota Press, 2001, pp. 225-249.
8. John Downing, "Alternative Media and the Boston Tea Party," from John
Downing, Ali Mohammadi, and Annabelle Sreberny-Mohammadi (eds.), Questioning the Media: A
Critical Introduction, Newbury Park: Sage, 1990, pp. 180-191.
Can you talk back to your TV? What is the enlightenment heritage? What are classical
liberal ideas of press freedom? Why have they eroded in the twentieth century? What are
social responsibility theories? What are the Marxist critiques of the media? What are
cultural arguments about ideologies? What conditions underlie international communication?
What is media imperialism? What are theories of hegemony and globalization? How are modern
and postmodern theories of hegemony different? What is "semiological guerrilla
warfare?" What does it have to do with the nature of contemporary media?
Syllabus: Popular Culture
Spring 2004 Instructor: Phil Rutledge, Email: prutledg@email.uncc.edu
uncc.edu/socant/syllabi/spring2004/socy2112-001.doc
TEXTS:
'MEDIA/SOCIETY: Industries, Images, and Audiences' by David Croteau and William Hoynes.
Third Edition. Pine Forge
Press, Ca.; 2003; ISBN: 0-7619-8773-p.
'TELEVISION MYTH AND THE AMERICAN MIND' by Hal Himmelstein. Second Edition. Praeger,
Conn.; 1994. ISBN:
0-275-93157-9
'UNDERSTANDING POPULAR CULTURE', by John Fiske. Unwin Hyman; Boston. 1989.
'READING THE POPULAR', by John Fiske. Unwin Hyman; Boston. 1989.
Download my lecture notes at www.zaxistv.com/sociology.htm. These notes are essential
material, especially during the first
weeks of class.
INTRODUCTION:
Popular culture typically refers to what we do in our leisure time. In this society, much
of what we do involves consumption. We are a culture of mass consumers. Almost every
aspect of our modern leisure lifestyle (i.e., music, TV, sports, nightlife, etc) is based
on purchasing something that was initially made by someone else (probably on an assembly
line) and is then sold to us.
Historically, this is new, because in less technologically advanced societies people must
know how to make or produce much of what they consume - including their own leisure
entertainment. What is also new to our society is the rise of powerful, influential
private corporations driven by the primary goal of making a profit through the
encouragement of (mass) consumption of their (mass-made) products.
The study of leisure in a mass society requires the study of the mass media - perhaps the
primary agent of 'massification.' We live in a society saturated by mass media. Virtually
all forms of leisure have been affected by this increasingly powerful agent of
socialization. Of all forms of mass media, television has emerged to become the most
powerful media. This course examines popular culture in context of mass society, mass
media and the television in particular, and the issues raised by mass society leisure
patterns: In a mass society, who influences the forms of entertainment that are made
available to the 'mass' public? What messages and ideologies are promoted by mainstream
television and radio - and how are they helpful or harmful to certain groups? How are some
subcultures seeking their own voices in defiance of the dominant culture? These and other
questions are the subject of this class.
This course is partly designed to introduce the student to a sociological approach to the
study of how the production of desire brought by industrialism, capitalism, and the mass
media have influenced our lives. These influences are pervasive, influencing ideas about
'success', 'beauty', 'romance', 'happiness', and even what it means to be an 'American.'
The study of popular culture requires an examination of the larger social and economic
forces that influence our lives, particularly the rise of industrial capitalism and a mass
media which is driven by capitalism. At the center of this study is a debate over the
extent of this influence and its effects on our social and value systems, and particularly
over how to understand our modern leisure activities.
This course fulfills the university general education goals of (V) Values, and ( C )
Individual, Culture, and Society.
SCHEDULE:
The course will be divided three sections. The first section of the course will review
important sociological issues and cover a basic introductory perspective of popular
culture. The theme of these introductory lectures relates to the emergence by the 1920's
in the U.S. of a mass consumer society in which entertainment and leisure activities are
heavily influenced by private corporations, their advertisements, and the specific values
they promote. The first test will cover these introductory lectures and videos. The
'Media/Society' text is important throughout the term but is especially useful for the
first test.The second section of the course directly addresses the theme of popular
culture as driven by the force of mass consumption and the interests of industrial
capitalists. According to 'mass culture' theorists, cultural institutions - be they
aesthetic, political, or whatever - have been transformed by the force of industrial
capitalism and its commodification mechanisms. Artists, athletes, entertainers, and other
cultural actors (such as politicians) serve potentially contradictory interests in our
modern society: the desire to remain authentic to themselves and their indigenous culture
versus their increased dependency upon profit-interested
corporations for survival in a culture dominated by the powerful interests of industrial
capitalists. This raises the concern that our cultural institutions are being co-opted by
the the force of commodification. In the mass culture model, people are viewed largely as
'massified', opiated spectators who consume that which corporations choose to offer us.
Corporate elites are 'all-powerful' in determining the shape of popular (mainstream)
culture. To these theorists, popular culture is really a 'mass culture' brought to us by
the 'mass media' which reinforces the dominant values of consumer capitalism, materialism,
patriarchy, racism, etc.
The second section of the course will utilize Himmelstein's book on this theme,
along with the Media/Society text.
The last section will examine John Fiske's model of popular culture. Fiske disagrees with
the mass cultural view which tends to be promoted by Himmelstein, preferring to view
popular culture as something distinct from 'mass culture.' Fiske argues that, while the
force of commodification is great, many people still choose to make their own
entertainment - and to make their own
expressions of cultural identity - rather than merely consume an instant, prefabricated or
ready-made culture manufactured on some 'assembly line' by corporations interested mainly
in making money and reinforcing the dominant ideologies that support their system. Fiske
is interested in those who are 'marginalized' by various cultural pecking orders (such as
by race, ethnicity, wealth, sex, age, etc) and how they use their own cultural expressions
to assert themselves against the dominant culture that holds them down in some way. He
explores peoples' everyday efforts as creative participants (as opposed to 'opiated
spectators') in what he considers the truly 'popular' culture. The last test will be based
on Fiske's two books, along with the
Media/Society text and any material presented in class (of course).
Test Dates
Section 1: Introductory sociology issues and the rise of popular culture in context of
mass commercial society. This section will utilize downloadable website notes/lectures. I
will provide the cite locations during class. In addition we will use parts of the
Media/Society text. These may include Chapter 1,2,3, plus part of 5 on ads and
globalization and some additional isolated
sections. Chapter three in Himmelstein on advertising may also be utilized for this
section. The first test is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Feb 13.
Section 2: This section utilizes the Himmelstein text mainly for its insights on American
myths as found on commercial television and films. Read the whole book, but rely on your
lecture notes for specific issues to study. Specifically, you are expected to be familiar
with the numerous myths discussed in the book and their ideological implications. In the
Media/Society text, chapters 5
and 6 are especially relevant. You will find chapter 7 on media and politics interesting
in context of the nature of modern political campaigns. The section on cultural
imperialism in Chapter 7 is an important one to grasp, and this issue reappears throughout
the rest of the semester. The test for this section is tentatively scheduled for Friday,
April 2.
Section 3: This section utilizes Chapter 8 in the Media/Society text, and presumes a good
grasp of the cultural imperialism issue found in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 focuses on the role
of the audience as active negotiators of culture and this leads to John Fiske's arguments
regarding popular culture. Fiske's two books are short and complementary. One presents his
theory/model and the
other applies it to various aspects of popular culture. Students are expected to have a
strong grasp of Fiske's model, as this is the main topic of this section and the last
test. As in the Himmelstein text, you're expected to read both books and to rely on
lecture notes for specific material likely to be tested on. Test 3 will cover only the
material since the last test. Test 3 is during Finals Exam period and will be held on
Monday, May 5, from 9am (not 8am) to 11am in this classroom. NOTE: I have found that
students who do poorly on this test are often the ones who missed too many classes. Please
avoid unnecessary absences.
Note: It is possible that some of the lectures and videos we will watch may be disturbing.
For example, I may show a brief movie scene containing graphic violence. Or we may discuss
controversial issues that may be upsetting to some students. If any student does not wish
to watch a controversial scene or participate in a controversial discussion they may leave
and will be
excused without penalty, but I would appreciate your getting in touch with me via email or
in person to get caught up on what was missed.
Some possible journals to consult for your project:
Journal of Popular Culture;Journal of American Culture; Journal of Film and Television;
American Film; Journal of Advertising Research; Advertising Age; Marketing News; Journal
of Communication;Journal of Leisure Research;Journalism Quarterly;
Quarterly Review of Film & Video;Sex Roles; Women and Language;Childhood Education;
Adolescence; Journal of Social Issues; Social Problems; Social Forces; Demography;
American Journal of Sociology; American Sociological Review; American
Demographics; Modern Maturity; Aging;Black Scholar; Journal of Psychology; Ewen, Stuart:
Captains of Consciousness. McGraw Hill, 1976.
INTRO TO COMMUNICATION THEORY
- COMM 1302 SYLLABUS
Distance Education: On-line section and Hybrid Section
Dr. Martha J. Haun E-mail: mhaun@uh.edu
Course Objectives: By developing an understanding of a variety of theories of human
communication, students will achieve an understanding that permits a more flexible,
useful, and discriminating interpretation of human communication events.
Texts:
[recommended] Communication: Theory and Concepts, by Martha J. Haun,
McGraw-Hill, 2004, 6th
edition. An advance apology: This book is currently
under revision especially to correct typos that were the result of a crisis/rush to
deadline. It does, however, outline the lectures and thus reduce note-taking.
[recommended] Turner & West. Introducing Communication Theory Analysis &
Application. ISBN: 10-0-07-31561-5 or ISBN 13: 978-0-07-313561-8 McGraw-
Hill, 2007.
EXAM # 1 MATERIAL
Lecture #1: The Role of Theory in the Study of Communication: Dr. Haun
[Haun1.ppt, systemK.ppt, inform.ppt, cyber.ppt] These PowerPoint
references are correlated to the video lectures and are available online for
additional review. A few are in the back of the Haun textbook.
Communication: Toward a Definition
• Transactional
• Feedback, Channels and Noise
• Messages and Contexts
• Three domains: social, public and media
The Nature of Theory
• Scientific Attitude
• Laws, Systems and Rules Perspectives
• Functions of Theories
• Evaluating Theories Page 6 of 9
• Examples of General Theories
• Systems Theory: Ludwig von Bertalanffy
• Information Theory: Shannon and Weaver
Lecture #2: Guest Dr. Robin Williamson [Robin1.ppt; Robin1B.ppt]
Theories of Verbal Coding and Thinking
• Signs, signals and symbols
• Semantics, Pragmatics and Syntactics
• Classical, Structural Linguistics
• Psychological Approaches
• Behavioristic: B.F. Skinner
• Generative Grammar: Noam Chomsky
• Language Acquisition: Behaviorist vs. Nativist
Theories of Thinking
• Behavioristic vs. Cognitive approaches
• Definition of a Concept: Bourne
• Cybernetic Approach/TOTE Model: Miller, Galant & Pribram
• Developmental School: Jean Piaget
• Reflective Thinking Approach: John Dewey
Lecture #3: Dr. Haun [Haun2.ppt; MeadSI.ppt; semantic.ppt]
Theories of Meaning
• The “Image:” Kenneth Boulding
• Interactionist Approach: John Dewey
• Representational Theory/Triangle of Meaning: Ogden/Richards
• Semantic Space: Charles Osgood
• Experiential Theories of Meaning
• Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: Linguistic Relativity Principle
• Elaborated & Restricted Codes: Basil Berstein
Theories of Interactionism and Dramatism
Representational Theories
• Symbolic Interaction: G. H. Mead
• H. Blumer and T. Kuhn
• Narrative Theories: Bormann and Fisher
• General Semantics: Korzybski and Johnson
Lecture #4: Dr. Haun
[drama.ppt, nonverb.ppt; NVconcpt.ppt]
• Dramaturgical: K. Burke and E. Goffman
Theories of Nonverbal Coding
• Definition and overview
• Structural Theories
• Theory of Kinesics: Birdwhistell
• Theory of Proxemics: Edward Hall
• Theory of Paralanguage: Trager
• Functional Theories
• Origin/Coding/Usage: Ekman & Friesen
• Theory of Behavioral Deviation: Dittman
Page 7 of 9
Lecture #5: Dr. Haun [persuas1.ppt]
Theories of Persuasion: Part I
• Overview
• Classical roots
• The Nature of Attitude: McGuire
• Functional Theory of Attitudes: Katz
• The Nature of Beliefs and Values: Rokeach
• The Role of Learning Theory
• Consistency Theories: Heider & Newcombe
• Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Leon Festinger
Lecture #6: Dr. Williamson [Robin2.ppt]
Theories of Persuasion: Part II
• Incentive Theory
• Self-perception Theory
• Impression Management
• Theory of Influenceability: Wm. McGuire
• Yale Theories of Persuasion: Janis & Hovland
• Information Processing Theories of Persuasion
• Social Judgment Theory: Sherif, Sherif & Nebergall
Lecture #7: Dr. Haun [persuas1.ppt] and REVIEW
Theories of Persuasion: Part III
• Elaboration Likelihood Model: Petty & Caccioppo
• Motivated Sequence: Alan Monroe
• Propaganda: Leonard Doob and Jacques Ellul
Folk
Material Culture And Mass Society In America
Media and Society in Twentieth Century
Mass Society Pluralism and Bureaucracy
Media Influence, Media
Organizations and Mass
Communication.