Syllabus

Week One
Jan 7 Intro to Mass Media
READING: 'The Polarization of Extremes' by Sunstein

Jan 9 Media Literacy
READING: Chapter 1 Vivian

Week Two Books
Jan 14 READING: Chapter 2 Vivian
Jan 16 Publishing in an age of conglomeration and global ownership

Week Three Newspapers
Jan 21 READING: Chapter 3 Vivian
Jan 23

Week Four Magazines and Photography
Jan 28 READING: Chapter 4 Vivian; Good magazine online
Jan 30

Week Five Sound Recording
Feb 4 READING: Chapter 5 Vivian
Feb 6 Spinning, censorship and the legacy of iTunes
DUE: Media Critical Analysis Paper #1

Week Six Movies
Feb 11 READING: Chapter 6 Vivian
Feb 13 GUEST SPEAKER: Indie film maker

Week Seven Radio
Feb 18 READING: Chapter 7 Vivian
Feb 20 DUE: Mini interactive project (group)

Week 8 Television
March 3 READING: Chapter 8 Vivian
March 5 MIDTERM EXAM

Week Nine Internet
March 10 READING: Chapter 9 Vivian; CNN, Slate, New Yorker online
March 12 Political campaigning; Facebook and YouTube debates

Week Ten News
March 17 READING: Chapter 10 Vivian
March 19 Telling a story; redefining news for 24 hour coverage


Week Eleven Public Relations
March 24 READING: Chapter 11 Vivian; PR Week online
March 26 DUE: Media Critical Analysis Paper #2


Week Twelve Advertising
March 31 READING: Chapter 12 Vivian; Advertising Age online
April 2 Seth Godin on why ‘small is the new big.’

Week Thirteen Mass Media Effects
April 7 READING: Chapter 16 Vivian
April 9 Socialization and Isolation

Week Fourteen Global Media
April 14 READING: Chapter 18 Vivian
April 16 Western Influence, Media in the Near and Far East

Week Fifteen FINAL EXAM