MFJS 2290 Innovations in Media & Communication
first assignment due Jan 3 | week 1 & assignment 1 | week 2 (assns 2 & 3)| week 3 (assn 4 & South High project begins) | week 4 ( assns 5 & 6)|week 5 midterm | week 6 South project| week 7 (group project/assn 7 & 8 & service learn/field trip/extra credit) | week 8 (group project/assn 9 & 10/field trip/extra credit) | week 9 (final presentations)| week 10 (final presentations)
Grading
South High video project
midterm prep & midterm exam
service learning paper
final group video project
final essay and presentation
final reflection paper
Winter 2012 Tues/Thurs 2:00 – 3:50
Room 119 Media, Film, & Journalism Studies (Mass Communications) Building
Instructor: Associate Professor Lynn Schofield Clark
Course Description:
Today, it is difficult to imagine a life free of the media. There are more than 4 billion mobile phones in the world, and a billion people are now able to access the Internet. Television is available to close to 100% of people living in the media-saturated societies of North America, western and eastern Europe, and East Asia, with radio widely available almost everywhere else. Moreoever, with youtube, blogs, online gaming, citizen journalism, experimental film, and peer-to-peer file sharing, people are actively creating and sharing their own news and entertainment experiences like never before.
Communication technologies are changing the way money circulates, how and where business is conducted, the ways in which labor is deployed, and how people communicate between home and work, national and diasporic contexts. The media are facilitating both globalization and cultural hybridity, at times securing social cohesion and at other moments facilitating social movements for change.
Where do these technologies come from? Who controls them? Who profits from them? How are they used, and with what potential implications? What does the future hold? To analyze the role of new communication technologies in society, this course will engage students in reading, discussion, and media creation. We will consider how today’s revolutions in communication technologies relate to those of the past, and how past and present communication revolutions have, and are, unfolding in the Denver area and beyond.
Required text:
David Crowley & Paul Heyer (2011, 6th ed). Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, 6th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (NOTE: if you have an earlier version PLEASE locate the readings that are missing from your text ASAP so that I can ensure that you will have access to them!)
Other readings to be made available through this website.
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Week One:
NO CLASS TUESDAY, JANUARY 3 – BUT YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3 & 4!
1. Register yourself as a contributor to this class blog by following the instructions below. DUE Tuesday, January 3 by midnight.
2. Read the two articles below and write a 300 word reflection as a blog entry by Wednesday, January 4 at midnight.skip to readings
3. Write three comments: choose three of the blog entries by fellow members of your class and write a comment either noting that you agree or disagree with something they observed about the readings by Thursday, January 5 at 2 PM.
Instructions on getting yourself set up to blog on this website
Assignment:
Read the two articles below. Then write a 300 word reflection (approximately one page double spaced, 12 pt font) to be uploaded to this blog by Wednesday, January 4 at midnight. Answer this question: Which of these articles reflects your own perspective, and why? To answer this question, you will need to compare and contrast the arguments in these articles, distilling them to their main points and considering the support they rely upon to make their arguments. You’ll need to make your own point quickly and with reference to these other articles, because you’ve only got 300 words.
To organize your thinking, you will want to begin by crafting a sentence or two that outlines the main argument of the article you like best. Write down how you think the author uses evidence to effectively support his/her argument. Then, do the same for the other article, writing a sentence about the article’s main idea and how the author supports his/her argument. You now have a brief analysis of the articles. Not all of this material will be in your reflection, but it will be the basis for what you write, as you’ll need to use it to provide support for why you like one perspective better than the other one. You’ll also want to check out the websites where these articles live. Who are these writers? Who are they writing for, and why are they making the argument that they’re making?
There is no single “right” answer for this reflection. I think each article has a valid point to make – and each also has a flaw or two with which you might take issue. The point is to clarify what you think and to discuss why you find a particular argument and its evidence more compelling than another argument. We will discuss these reflections in class so please print out your blog entry and be ready to discuss your views.
Readings:
The Greatest Change in the History of Media. Article by Vin Crosbie, Digital Deliverance LLC.
Is google making us stupid? Article by Nicholas Carr, The Atlantic.
More on this (optional reading): Nicholas Carr on his book, The Shallows
Thursday, January 5: Communication Technology and social change
Discuss assignment.
Tues, Jan 10: The Media of Early Civilization
Readings: CH: “Introduction to Part I,” pp. 1 – 4 (EVERYONE reads); “The earliest precursor of writing,” pp. 5 – 13 & “Media in ancient empires,” pp. 14 – 21 (everyone reads; last names beginning A – M write reflection); Civilization without writing – The Incas and the Quipu,” pp. 21 – 26; “The origins of writing,” pp. 27-33 (everyone reads; last names beginning N – Z write reflection).
Assignment #2: 350 word blog on (1) the beginnings of information processing and the importance of a particular medium for the storage and transmission of information; or (2) how data was stored without writing and how writing and literacy related to learning and power. Use your reflection to highlight the main point of the articles and some specific details that support the arguments. Reflection due midnight Monday; comments on three posts that reviewed readings OTHER than those you read and commented upon due Tuesday by 2 PM.
Thursday, January 12: Guest Speaker, Juliana Rotich, Ushahidi CLASS AT DAVIS AUDITORIUM, 248 STURM HALL
Assignment #3: Write a 350-word reflection on what Ushahidi is and what it is that they do. What’s innovative about their approach? Are Ushahidi staff members journalists? Use wikipedia, the Ushahidi website, and other resources to find out who they are and what they do. If you have friends interested in journalism, writing, or creating new media platforms for information (e.g., computer science or digital media studies folks), feel free to invite them to attend the special lecture that our class will attend today. There will be free snacks afterwards!
Class meets today at 2 PM at Davis Auditorium in 248 Sturm to hear from Juliana Rotich of Ushahidi. Other classes, faculty members, and visitors will join us.
Tuesday, January 17: The Tradition of Western Literacy & Guest Speakers
Readings: CH: “Introduction to Part II,” pp. 35-37 (EVERYONE); “Writing and the Alphabet Effect,” pp. 44 – 49 (everyone reads; those majoring in math, sciences, and engineering write this reflection); “Orality, Literacy, & Modern Media,” pp. 49-55 (everyone reads; arts, humanities, & social science majors write this reflection); “Communication and Faith in the Middle Ages,” pp. 56-62 (everyone reads; business, finance majors, and all others write this reflection).
Assignment #4: 350 word blog on (group 1) how information processing relates to abstract thought and mathematics; (group 2) how primary and secondary orality are alike and different; (group 3) how information systems and exchange relate to organization and power in society. Also, reflect on how your experiences within your major courses relate to this reading.
Guests: Jim Conway & Joe Penella (both DU grads who are now in film). Followed by class discussion on the readings.
Thursday, January 19: Field trip to South High School & Service Learning Introduction
As part of our consideration of the importance of both medium and content, we will be participating in a service learning project that involves helping students at South High school develop a series of promotional videos that help to tell the story of their school for prospective students. They currently have two videos: one that some feel is too informational, and another that some feel doesn’t have enough information. Both are too long for web viewing, as most web-based videos are no more than 2 minutes in length. Our task will be to help them come up with scripts that break information into short, informative, and interesting segments that have some kind of consistent visual and aural theme.
Assignment: Read, view the videos, and familiarize yourself with the background materials to South High School so that we’re ready to participate in a brainstorming session about the web-based video segments they want to create. Also, note that we have a lot of reading for Tuesday, so you may wish to read ahead.
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Week 4:
Tuesday, Jan. 24: The Print Revolution
Readings: CH: “Introduction to Part III,” pp. 63-66 (EVERYONE reads this AND the lats reading); “Paper and Block Printing: From China to Europe,” Thomas Carter, pp. 67-73 (seniors write reflection on this); “The Invention of Printing,” Lewis Mumford, pp. 74-76 (juniors write reflection on this); “Aspects of the Printing Revolution,” Elizabeth Eisenstein, pp. 78-86 (sophomores write reflection on this); “Early Modern Literacies,” Harvey J. Graff, pp. 86-95; (freshmen write reflection on this);“The Trade in News,” John B. Thompson, pp. 95-100 (all include this in reflections).
Assignment #5: This time, read all of the readings and then write a reflection and be prepared to discuss as noted above.
South project: Photos due; scriptwork in class
Thurs, Jan 26: News & the new media revolution of today
Readings:
Confidence Game. Article by Dean Starkman, Columbia Journalism Review.
Shirky’s response to Starkman’s article
Midterm Prep Assignment #6: Write a 350-word response, following the guidelines from the very first assignment. With which position do you agree, and why? This reading will relate to what you’ll write in your midterm exam, so consider: how is this current debate related to the conversations we’ve had about information, control, medium, abstract thought, and more? Come to class prepared to discuss your reflection.
South project 2 – 3: interviewing, preparatory work (box.net) for editing at South High
Tuesday, January 31:
Preparation for midterm exam. Discuss the Shirky/Starkman readings, see videos, work in small groups to discuss what you think you’ll be pulling together to make your arguments. Be sure to email the midterm to me by Thursday at 1:59 PM. No exams can be accepted after this time. I am glad to comment on rough drafts or early outlines in class if you’d like to bring them.
Thursday, February 2: Editing session at South High
Midterm exam emailed to me: Lynn.Clark@du.edu.
Be ready for editing today! You are to upload all images and music to box.net so that your team members can retrieve them. Be sure that your team members have a copy of your script. If you are a P/E, bring the laptop you intend to edit with to class at South and you’ll be able to work directly on your project. If you are not a P/E (or a P/E who is using the MCOM school lab), you will be going through a tutorial on how to get everything ready for editing in iMovie and then how to get started. This will help you to work on your group’s segment. You must have your photos/video ready to go today. If you’re short on images, bring a camera and we’ll have a yearbook from which you can take photos of photos. Or come early and take photos in the school (call Ben Peters to arrange this as he offered to accompany you).
Assignment for next week: Begin work on your final paper/project.
Week 6:
Tuesday, February 7:
Rough cut due for feedback; Lynn & Miyeko meet with groups
Group work in class: Introduction to the final assignment. Locate and view video essays that are similar to your group’s final topic (note: your group will need the image & sound managers to take leadership as the P/E will be very engaged in editing over the course of this week)
Thurs Feb 9: showing at South for feedback
No homework for today, but you will want to work ahead if you’re a sound/image manager to get ideas together to present to the rest of the group on Tuesday.
BONUS Assignment: If you missed an earlier reflection paper and have one to make up, or if you’d like to work ahead and receive extra credit, write a 350-word reflection on one of the readings from your group for today. Be prepared to discuss in class on Tuesday.
Tues Feb 14: final version of South segment due; class meets at MCOM
Thursday, February 16: Field Trip to Denver’s Open Media Foundation
Assignment #7: Write a second (or third) reflection on a second reading from your group’s collection (e.g. if your group opted to select a reading other than yours, write on that other reading)
Service Learning Paper Due
Write a paper reflecting on your experiences working with South high students, faculty, and staff. What did you learn about the South High community that you didn’t know before this project? What was it about this project that met the expectation that this was “service learning,” in your view? How did you experience the diversity of students and backgrounds? What did you learn from being among a diverse group? Was this like or not like other experiences you’ve had with multicultural groups? What was it like working with students just a little younger than you? What was it like preparing an assignment for a group that would benefit them, rather than benefitting you only in terms of a grade or your classmates only in terms of your contribution?
Most importantly, what will you take with you from this project into other projects, particularly those that will involve you in community efforts?
Email this paper to me before class Thursday.
Tuesday February 21:
Assignment #7, #8: 350 word reflection on your group’s readings. Comment on all reflections by members of your group.
In-class presentation: Wikipedia and Twitter as collective intelligence
Group work: Those writing the essay can read through the class blogs and work on external research for your essay question. Those producing the video: finalize your proposal by the end of the class period and discuss with Miyeko and Lynn.
(Reminder: The Winter Career & Internship Fair takes place Wed Feb 22, 3 – 6 PM in the Gates Field House.
Thursday February 23: Field trip to Channel 9
Assignment #9: Complete the last 350 word reflection on your group’s readings in light of the essay questions/video choice you’ve decided upon.
Assignment #10: Research the history of your medium in the Denver market and write a brief reflection. This may be incorporated into your final video or essay.
Assignment #11 (optional): Tonight: See the film Miss Representation, 7 – 9 PM Lindsay Auditorium, and write a 350 word blog reflection within 24 hours. This can count toward your 10 blogs or toward extra credit.
Tuesday, February 28: New Media and Old in the Information Age, Part I
Readings:“Introduction to Part VIII,” pp. 273-277; “The Control Revolution,” James Beniger, pp. 278-288; “How Media Became New,” Lev Manovich, pp. 288-291
Assignment #11/Bonus: write a reflection on one of these readings.
In class: Facebook as panoption
Group work: Essayists: Outline and bibliography completed. Video: Script completed, images and music found.
Thursday, March 1: New Media and Old in the Information Age, Part II
Readings: “The World Wide Web,” Jay David Bolter & Richard Grusin, pp. 297-304 & “A Mobile Network Society,” Manuel Castells et al., pp. 304-307.
Assignment #12/Extra credit: write a reflection on one of these readings.
In class: Managing information overload in the Network society: Linked In & DU Professional Network
Group work: Essayists: Share research. Video: editing.
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Week 10:
Tuesday, March 6: Guest speaker, Steve Corman, Mass Comm. ’64 (Journalism)Producer /writer; won 8 Emmys for his work on NBC/PBS Final group presentations for groups #1 & 2 (telegraph). Videos and presentations from group 1: Telegraph
Thursday, March 8: Final Group Presentations (Mass consumption, Radio, TV) & Discussion of research projects
Take home final essay due
FINAL:
Tuesday, March 13: Finish presentations
Final reflection paper due
Final take-home essay and presentation
Essay: due Thursday March 10 (same day as the videos are due)
Presentation: you will be asked to tell us in five minutes what you investigated and found as a result of your research for #1, and how you answered #2. No power points; we’ll be seated in a circle and you can discuss informally from your notes. If your presentation is Tuesday, you will want to present from your outlines.
1. Consider your area of focus, and then choose one specific topic that you can investigate that may have changed because of your technology. For instance, how did the work of journalists change because of this technology? How did coverage of sports change because of this technology?
To answer this question, you will need to cite at least one book or two web-related resources outside of course readings in addition to at least one of the course readings. (suggestions: search media history sites, or look for a media history book). Your essay should be 2 – 3 pages in length. 20 points.
2. Reflect on your area of focus. Think back to how you compared the printing press and the Internet. In this essay, you will want to draw a similar comparison between your area of focus and one or more of the characteristics of the Internet discussed in class (Wikipedia and Twitter as collective intelligence; Facebook as panopticon; or network society and info overload). How are the changes of the past similar to or different from those of the present? Based on your review of the evidence, do you think new media are the cause of changes in society, or does society change first and then make it possible for technologies to find a foothold in society?
You need to include four citations from readings in this essay: one from each of the readings (if you only have three readings, choose one to cite twice; if you have more than four, choose four to cite). You also need to include two citations from class presentations on the Internet-related topics. Your essay should be 4 pages in length, double spaced. 70 points.
Your discussion of your research is worth 10 points.
Final group video project
The Final Video Essay Project
The goal of this project is to ensure that you are deeply familiar with the history that your group has been assigned. You will be asked to read four of the essays in your particular group’s area. If you prefer to not do a video essay, you can opt for the take home final will be comprehensive and similar in style to the midterm. Keep in mind that in terms of grades, taking on a challenge is rewarded in this class, so you’re encouraged to try to create a video essay and build on the collaborative work you’ve already done with your team.
The video essay is open-ended. Whereas a lot of the energy for the South videos went into working with others and getting the technical aspects together, the energy for this project needs to go into the creative organizing and scripting of a cohesive project; in other words, you will not want your particular contribution in the group to “stick out” but rather you’ll want to produce one presentation that could not have been done as well on your own.
Option #1:
You can do a comprehensive essay that provides a 2-minute introduction to things that you think novices would need to know about your area based on the readings. Think about your audience as 6th – 8th graders. Be sure to situate your essay historically so that it’s not only a history of the technology but gives insight into the era from which the technology developed.
Option #2:
You can do an in-depth 2-minute video essay about one day or one event that shaped either the medium itself, or how we now think about your medium. This will require you to go into detail perhaps about one thing you learn from all of the readings, and you will probably need to do some research beyond the readings to flesh out historical background and your point of view. Again, this is for 6th – 8th graders so keep it simple.
Option #3:
You can do a creative 2-minute video essay that brings together interviews with the people who wrote one or more of your readings and makes a statement about media history that articulates one of your author’s points of view. This might entail going to YouTube, finding Tom Standage giving a presentation on the Victorian Internet, for example, and using some sound bites from his presentation in your own (more interesting) presentation of the material. The audience for this might be high school students, meaning that you’ll go into greater detail and sacrifice breadth for depth.
Option #4:
You can do a creative 2-minute video essay that seeks to raise questions about how your medium relates to the Internet. Like the others, you will draw upon the readings in some way. But in this one your video will not inform so much as provoke thought and raise questions. The audience for this would also be high school students, and like the previous option, you’ll go into greater detail and sacrifice breadth for depth.
Format & Technique:
You can use any format you choose for presenting the materials. If you are low on the video skill index, consider creating a power point presentation and using camtasia to record it with audio (the Center for Teaching and Learning can help with this). Or create a Prezi and do the same thing. My advice is to choose your presentation style based on the expertise and creative energy of the group.
Grading:
Like the South project, you will need to be able to identify your unique contribution to this project, and that contribution may change over time, so you will want to be flexible. No group can have more than four people. You can also opt to work on your own if you prefer, or your group may opt to work without you if you are absent on a key day with no contact (and then you will need to work on your own) but you will still be expected to participate in in-class brainstorming to help out others. A key to a successful project is working together to produce a cohesive script and then delegating tasks within an agreed-upon time frame.
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Groups:
1: Andrew, Ariana, Matt, Anna
2: Ian, Will, Isabel
3: Alex, Viola, Auna, Connor
4: Keaton, Kelly, Taylor
5: Monica, Carly Ann, Dian
6: Morgan, Danielle, Mario
7: Taylor, Ally, Jeffrey
8: Peter, Gigi, Rhianna
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Groups #1 &2:
The Telegraph: Precursor to the Internet?
Readings: CH: “Introduction to Part IV,” pp. 101-104; “Telegraphy – The Victorian Internet,” Tom Standage, pp. 105-111; ‘The Telephone Takes Command,” Claude S. Fischer, pp. 119-125; “Time, Space, and the Telegraph,” James W. Carey, pp. 125-131.
Groups #3 & 4:
Image Technologies and the Emergence of Mass Society
Readings: CH: “Introduction to Part V,” pp. 134-136; “Dream Worlds of Consumption,” Rosalind Williams, pp. 137-143; “Early photojournalism,” Ulrich Keller, pp. 144-152; “Inscribing Sound,” Lisa Gitelman, pp. 152-156; “The Making of the Phonograph,” Jonathan Sterne, pp. 157-160; “Early Motion Pictures,” Daniel Czitrom, pp. 161-169; “Movies Talk,” Scott Eyman, pp. 169-175; “Mass media and the star system,” Jib Fowles, pp. 175-182.
Groups #5 & 6:
Radio Days
Readings: CH: “Introduction to Part VI,” pp. 183-186; “Wireless World,” Stephen Kern, pp. 187-190; “The Public Voice of Radio,” John Durham Peters, pp. 190-194; “Early Radio,” Susan Douglas, pp. 194-200; “The Golden Age of Programming,” Christopher Sterling & John M. Kittross, pp. 201-207; “Radio Voices,” Michele Hilmes, pp. 207-213; “Radio in the Television Age,” Peter Fornatale and Joshua E. Mills, pp. 214-218.
Groups # 7 & 8:
TV Times
Readings: CH: “Introduction to Part VII,” pp. 219-221; “Television Begins,” William Boddy, pp. 222-231; “The New Languages,” Edmund Carpenter, pp. 231-237; “Making Room for TV,” Lynn Spigel, pp. 237-245; “Television Transforms the News,” Mitchell Stephens, pp. 245-251; “Two Cultures – TV vs. Print,” Neil Postman and Camille Paglia, pp. 252-263; “TV in the Net Age,” Henry Jenkins, pp. 263-271.
Final reflection paper
For the final reflection paper, you are asked to write 850 words (approx. 3 typed pages). In this class, we participated in creating a media innovation (working in a partnership between DU and South to produce short stories that serve as promotional videos about their school) and we also reviewed the relationship between various media innovations in history (ancient systems of communication, printing press, telegraph, early mass society, radio, tv, Internet).
We considered whether or not technology drives change, enables change, or is developed because of social change, and we considered several specific issues related to change: systems of power/governance, standardization, mass distribution, democracy, commercialization, privacy, identity, employment, multiculturalism and globalization.
This paper gives you an opportunity to review the course once it’s completed. Reflecting on the readings and projects from this course, answer the following questions in the form of a narrative:
1. In your view, what is the most significant technological development that influences your day-to-day life today? Explain your choice.
2. Considering your own work in this class, what is the single most interesting phenomenon or historical moment you learned about that you hadn’t known about before? How did you learn more about this? If you can’t choose just one, name a few.
3. Give an example of how some of the things you learned in this course can be helpful for you in your life as a college student, citizen, or future professional.
4. What was the best aspect of this course?
5. What part of the course should be changed?
CITE AND COMMENT UPON 4 READINGS (CHAPTERS) from the class: two pre-midterm, two post-midterm. Use this format for citations: “According to Dan Gillmour (2004), bloggers have changed journalism because xxxx. As he writes, “xxxxx”. (p. 21). I agree/disagree with this because….”
End the paper with a reference list that includes the two required books you’ve read. This should be in APA format. Check online for APA guidelines if you’re not sure what this looks like.
Rubric:
100 points:
10 Good intro
10 Good conclusion
10 well organized overall
50 Discussion includes each book/reading and demonstrates understanding
20 Paper answers each question
Innovations in Media 