Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "COM 311"
COURSE NAME: "Digital Media Culture"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Summer Session II 2014

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Tracy Mitrano
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MTWTH 9:00 AM 10:45 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: COM 220
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Welcome to Digital Media Culture, COM 311.

My name is Tracy Mitrano and I look forward to a vibrant, exciting intensive this summer for the month of July 2014, Summer Session II at John Cabot University!

If you are looking for a flavor of the course material as well as the obligations, you have come to the right place.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

Introduction:

What is the thesis?

What is the books methodology? (What evidence do they use and what kind of perspective do they use to analyze the evidence, for example: legal theory, social science techniques, historical comparisons, cultural studies, etc.?)

How well does their methodology map to the evidence and what is the analysis?

What is the conclusion? Here you can state your opinion about the persuasiveness of the argument, flaws or compliments of the author’s approach and analysis.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Finally each student should choose a topic within the scope of those covered in the course and will be responsible for providing a presentation, either as an individual or in a group, to the class on the subject. These presentations should not be restricted to an interpretation of the required book but involve additional reading and other resources to learn more, and teach all of us, what your research has uncovered. Presentation style and format are open: Power point, video, class theater … up to you! Anything that is in a tangible format should be made available for posting onto the LMS and be open for on-line as well as in class comment.

Once we get together in the first few days we will firm up the schedule to accommodate your interests, projects and presentations!

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
Refer to the course Schedule	.	.	.

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Assignments	The readings are full books. The Amazon link is not to promote Amazon but for your ability to choose digital format if you like. We will read these books in common in order to have material to discuss as a group. In addition to reading and discussion of the books, I will ask that you each write up a short book review ( 1.5 pages) of each of our common books using this outline below. We will use the Learning Management System to post and comment on these reviews.

-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:
TBA

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

For a full syllabus I will need to meet with you to determine your interests more particularly, to identify additional readings and to set up times for presentations and reports.

In the meantime, here are the books we are going to read as a group, augmented by some videos and individual reading assignments.

Week 1: Introduction

Who Controls the Internet?

http://www.amazon.com/Who-Controls-Internet-Illusions-Borderless-ebook/dp/B004S0D2NU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396288300&sr=8-1&keywords=who+controls+the+internet

Video:

http://youtu.be/LSs1Y8sq_9o

Week 2: Communications Law

Captive Audience

http://www.amazon.com/Captive-Audience-Susan-P-Crawford-ebook/dp/B00AMYGFXK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396288517&sr=8-1&keywords=captive+audience

Week 3: Intellectual Property: Focus on Copyright

Copyright: http://www.amazon.com/Copyrights-Copywrongs-Fast-Track-Books-ebook/dp/B004H0N01K/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1396288639&sr=8-4&keywords=copyright+rights+wrongs

Video: http://cit.webcast.video.cornell.edu/Mediasite/Play/8d62bf2afb164929b8bd8dc9005f30461d