ZUR393f Culture and Media

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2014
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Charles Michael Elavsky, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Jakub Macek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Pavel Sedláček (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Pavelka, CSc.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Wed 9:45–11:15 AVC
Prerequisites
The course is taught in English and it is expected that the enrolled students are able to communicate, write and read in the language efficiently.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 14 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course will introduce you to a variety of approaches for studying the mass media and the way they operate culturally. Engaging the readings and assignments and participating in the discussions is critical for you to leave this course with a greater understanding of how and why the media operate as they do, as well as how they are both shaped by and contribute to the social and cultural formation in which you live. Part of this process will involve enhancing our interpretive abilities and critical thinking skills so as to consider alternatives to our ‘common’ sense in an effort to think through the larger ethics and implications of media practices and beliefs and our individual relationships to them. It is important to ask yourself about your ‘location’ in this social and cultural configuration (your cultural ‘box’ so to speak), how you fit within it, and in turn, how it affects you and you affect it. Integral to understanding society and culture is gaining a better understanding of ourselves and the intersections of identity, experience, and representation that connect us beyond our personal ‘borders’ of definition. The purpose of this course is to provide a space in which we can analyze and discuss the role of the mass media in and between societies. Our goal is to develop critical thinking (meaning to question that which is most obvious), so as to discern how ideas and experiences are produced and disseminated through the mass media within and across cultures, and how specific cultural, social, political, and economic forces influence and inform these processes.
Syllabus
  • Week 1: (9/17: Introduction – overview of course, syllabus and requirements
  • Week 2 (9/24): Mass Communication: A Critical Approach (Chapter 1)
  • Week 3 (10/1): The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence (Chapter 2) Digital Gaming and the Media Playground (Chapter 3)
  • Week 4 (10/8): Sound Recording and Popular Music (Chapter 4), Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting (Chapter 5)
  • Week 5 (10/15): Television and Cable: The Power of Visual Culture (Chapter 6), Movies and the Impact of Images (Chapter 7)
  • Week 6 (10/22): Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism
  • (Chapter 8), The Culture of Journalism: Values, Ethics, and Democracy (Chapter 14) Week 7 (10/29): Magazines in the Age of Specialization (Chapter 9), Books and the Power of Print (Chapter 10)
  • Week 8 (11/5): Advertising and Commercial Culture (Chapter 11), Public Relations and Framing the Message (Chapter 12)
  • Week 9 & 10: 11/12 and 11/19 CRITICAL ESSAY
  • Week 11 (11/26): Media Economics and the Global Marketplace (Chapter 13)
  • Week 12 (12/3): Media Effects and Cultural Approaches to Research (Chapter 15), Legal Controls and Freedom of Expression (Chapter 16)
  • Week 13 (12/10): Conclusion/wrap-up
Literature
  • Campbell, R., Martin, C, & Fabos, B. (2014). Media & Culture: Mass Communication in a Digital Age
Teaching methods
Lectures, reading.
Assessment methods
Semester Grading Breakdown:
Attendance and Class Participation = 25%
Quizzes = 25%
Critical Essay = 25%
Final Exam = 25%
TOTAL = 100% of final grade
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught only once.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2014/ZUR393f