Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "COM 220-3"
COURSE NAME: "Media, Culture and Society"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2026

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Silvia Giagnoni
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 3:00 PM 4:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: COM 111
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course examines the mass media as complex social institutions that exercise multiple roles in society—none more crucial than the circulation and validation of social discourses. Introducing students to a variety of theoretical approaches, the course focuses on media operations and textual analysis.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The course covers the evolution of mass communication models and theories and the emergence of the different media; it also delves into the analysis of the media technologies, industries, content, and users while addressing questions of power, manipulation, and commercialization in the construction of news (and media content in general), the role of public service broadcasting and censorship, and introducing key concepts/issues in media and cultural studies—ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexuality, subcultures, and fandom.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. Learn to critically assess the relationship among media, culture, and society.

2. Grasp the main theories of mass communications in their socio-historical contexts.

3. Understand the differences among media, and how each medium evolves

4. Analyze current trends in media, culture, and society and strive to connect them to other historical developments.

5. Understand the constructed nature of media and cultural representations.

6. Develop an understanding on the role played by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and religion in media, society, and culture.

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
Media, Culture and Society: An Introduction	Hodkinson, Paul	Sage	1529796539		3rd edition	Hard Copy

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Midterm exam	Students will be tested both on the acquisition of content knowledge and the critical understanding of course material via multiple choice & true/false items as well as discussion questions.	30
Critical Reflections	Students will be asked routinely to reflect upon the assigned material and/or do an exercise and email their critical reflections to the Instructor. These assignments (for a total of three) are worth 5 points each.	15
Oral Presentation	Each student will be required to present assigned reading material to the class. Presentation will consist of a critical summary of the reading and a question. Students should not read their oral presentation. Reading off notes will result in a poor performance. Additional details will be provided on Moodle.	10
Final Exam	Students will be tested both on the acquisition of content knowledge and the critical understanding of course material via multiple choice & true/false items as well as discussion questions.	30
Participation/Attendance	Students are allowed three unexcused absences in this course. After that, students will automatically lose a letter grade for every three absences. Lateness: Students more than 10 minutes late are marked as absent. Late arrival (less than 10 minutes) is marked as such, and 3 late arrivals are counted as one absence. Leaving the class for more than 10 minutes will be counted as one absence. Leaving in the middle of class and coming back after more than 10 minutes will also be regarded as an absence. Students are expected to do the required readings for the day before coming to class and to be prepared to comment, discuss them or ask questions.	15

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

lease refer to Moodle for updates on the schedule

R: Reading

S: Screening

L: Lecture

W: watch on your own

Week One

Introductions & Syllabus + Intro to the course

L: The Communication Process

R: (H) Read Ch. 1 Introduction + Communication Process & History of Communication Studies (slides)

Week One

Introductions & Syllabus + Intro to the course

L: The Communication Process

R: (H) Read Ch. 1 Introduction

Communication Process & History of Communication Studies (slides)

Week Two

L: Media Technologies

R (H): Media Culture and Society: Ch. 2 + McLuhan, M. (1964). “The Medium is the Message,” in Media and Cultural Studies. KeyWorks (2012) (pp. 100-107)

We will assign readings for oral presentations

L: A Social History of the Media

R: Raymond Williams’s “The Technology and The Society"

Week Three

Oral Presentations begin

L: cont. Media Technologies (The social constructionist approach)

R: Raymond Williams’s “The Technology and The Society “(photocopies) (due 09/16) + Nick Couldry’s “Mediated self-disclosure” (Chapter 7) in Media Rituals

D: Reality TV & Mediated self-disclosure

Week Four

Critical Reflections I + Review

L: Media Industries

R: Chapter 3

R: "A Secretive Hedge Fund is Gutting Newsrooms. Inside Alden Global Capital" (>The Atlantic)

W: Representation and the Media by Stuart Hall (please watch up to 24:55)

Week Five

L: Media Content: Basics of Linguistics & Semiotics + Audience Studies

R: Chapter 4 + Stuart Hall's Encoding/Decoding

S: Representation and the Media by Stuart Hall (clips)

Week Six

L: Media Users

R : Chapter 5

Critical Reflections II

Week Seven

Review & Midterm Exam

Week Eight

L: The Construction of News & Role of Public Service (social responsibility, deregulation, etc.)

R: (H) Ch. 7 & 8

Week Nine

L: Media as Manipulation: Marxism, Ideology & Hegemony

R: (H) Ch.6 + Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism (excerpt)

Week Ten

Critical Reflections III

L: Advertising, Public Relations, and the Crafted Image

R: (H) Chapter 9

S: Representation and the Media by Stuart Hall (excerpts)

Week Eleven

L: Audiences & Audience Analysis II & Taste culture; gender; class; hierarchy; social status

R: Pierre Bourdieu’s “(i) Introduction; (ii) The aristocracy of culture” in

Media and Cultural Studies. Keyworks (pp.249-253) & Janice Radway’s “The Readers and their Romances” in Media and Cultural Studies. Keyworks (pp. 283-308)

Week Twelve

L: Media Community and Difference

R: Ch. 11

L: Media, Race, and Ethnicity

R: Ch.12

Week Thirteen

L: Media, Gender, & Sexuality

R: (H) Ch. 13

Critical Reflections IV

Week Fourteen

L: Stereotyping, Media, Power & Knowledge

R: TBD

S: Edward Said on Orientalism

April 30 - Last Day of Classes

May 4-8 Final Examinations