This course provides an opportunity to investigate the intersection of media, culture and society. The complexity and intricacies of this nexus are explored with particular attention to seminal texts in the fields of Media Studies, Cultural Studies, and Sociology. ** This syllabus is subject to change  **

This course examines the close links between media, culture and society in reference to six broad topic areas: Culture, Ideology and Hegemony; Social Life and Cultural Studies; Political Economy; the Politics of Representation; the Postmodern Turn and New Media; and Globalization.

Primary Objectives

• To familiarize oneself with and develop a firm understanding of key texts and authors in the fields of Media Studies, Cultural Studies, and Sociology.

• To be exposed to and analyze issues stemming from the nexus of media, culture, and society.
  

Secondary Objectives 

• To develop and sharpen one’s critical thinking skills both in oral and written communication.

• To advance one’s ability to produce written texts of varying complexity and length according to formal academic citation styles.
  

• To develop the ability to proficiently work in teams respectful of differences (background, experience, opinion…).

• To foster a passion for learning and scholarship beyond the confines of the course content itself.

As per the John Cabot University site  (http://www.johncabot.edu/Academics/Academics_Policies.aspx) Assessment Guidelines for assigning main letter grades (A, B, C, D, and F) are as follows:

A:  Work 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.

B:  This is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised. There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluate theory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture and reference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.

C:  This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.

D:  This 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.

F: This work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

Week 1
Introduction(s). Media, Culture and Society.

Week 2

Culture, Ideology and Hegemony Part I

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (Walter Benjamin).

Week 3

Culture, Ideology and Hegemony Part II

The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception (Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno).

Week 4

Culture, Ideology and Hegemony Part III

The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article (Jürgen Habermas).

Week 5

Social Life and Cultural Studies Part I

The Medium is the Message (Marshall McLuhan).

Week 6

Social Life and Cultural Studies Part II

The Commodity as Spectacle (Guy Debord).

Week 7

Social Life and Cultural Studies Part III

Introduction: Instructions on How to Become a General in the Disneyland Club (Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart).

Week 7

Social Life and Cultural Studies Part IV

Encoding / Decoding (Stuart Hall).

Week 8

Social Life and Cultural Studies Part V

On the Politics of Empirical Audience Research (Ien Ang).

Week 9

Political Economy.

Contribution to a Political Economy of Mass-Communication (Nicholas Garnham).

Week 10

The Politics of Representation Part I

Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (Laura Mulvey).

Week 11

The Politics of Representation Part II

Stereotyping (Richard Dyer).

Week 12

The Postmodern Turn and New Media.

Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (Fredric Jameson).

Week 13

Globalization and Social Movements.

The Global and the Local in International Communications (Annabelle Sreberny).

Globalization as Hybridization (Jen Nederveen Pieterse).

Week 14

Review