« The Politics of Classical Hollywood, Summer 2005 | Main | Media History, Fall 2005 »

Classes

Media and Popular Culture, Fall 2005

Film 4810, Fall 2005
Wednesday 1:00-3:30, 230 Aderhold

Professor Ted Friedman
Office: 738 One Park Place South
Email: tedf@gsu.edu; Phone: (404) 463-9522
Home Page: www.tedfriedman.com

Shane Toepfer, Writing Consultant
jousmt@langate.gsu.edu

Course Description
Popular culture is often described as “escapist” entertainment. But this dismissal evades some very serious questions. What are we escaping? Where are we escaping to? Does everybody go to the same place? How might the trip affect us, once we get back? This class looks at the social consequences and political implications of mass mediated entertainment. Its goal is to develop the theoretical tools and critical perspective to interrogate the TV shows, commercials, films, books, songs, videos, and web sites that saturate our lives.

Readings
The following books are available at the GSU bookstores:

The Media Student’s Book, edited by Gill Branston and Roy Stafford
No Logo by Naomi Klein

The coursepack is sold by Bestway Copy Center, 18 Decatur Street SE (on the first floor of One Park Place South).

Email Group
All students will be automatically signed up to the class email list. I will regularly forward media news and cultural criticism to the list. You’re encouraged to forward other interesting information, post your reactions to recent movies, respond to other postings, or continue any other ongoing discussions from class.

Syllabus

Part I: What Is Culture?

8/24 Culture as Struggle and Negotiation

8/31 Culture as Sentimental Education
Clifford Geertz, “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight”
John Berger, excerpt from Ways of Seeing

9/7 Subcultures and Mass Culture
Dick Hebdige, excerpt from Subculture: The Meaning of Style
Malcolm Gladwell, “The Coolhunt” and “The Science of Shopping”

Part II: The Circuit of Culture

9/14 Regulation and Production: Political Economy
Branston and Stafford, Chapter 8
Robert McChesney, excerpt from The Problem of the Media
Lynn Hirschberg, “Who’s That Girl?”

9/21 Representation I: Semiotics
Branston and Stafford, Chapter 1
Roland Barthes, “Myth Today”
Research Paper Proposal due

9/28 Representation II: Narrative and Genre
Branston and Stafford, Chapters 2-3

10/5 Identity I: Race
Branston and Stafford, Chapter 4
Take-home Midterm Due

10/12 Identity II: Gender
Readings to be distributed in class

10/19 Audience
Branston and Stafford, Chapter 6
Henry Jenkins, “Quentin Tarantino’s Star Wars?” http://web.mit.edu/21fms/www/faculty/henry3/starwars.html
Research Paper Part I due

Part III: Culture and Politics

10/26 Culture and Status
Janice Radway, excerpts from Reading the Romance

11/2 Ideology
Branston and Stafford, Chapter 5
James Kavanaugh, “Ideology”
Research paper Part II due

11/9 Hegemony and Resistance
John Fiske, “British Cultural Studies and Television”
Stuart Hall, “Encoding and Decoding”

11/16 Branding
Klein, Introduction, Chapters 1-5
Branston and Stafford, Chapter 13
Research Paper Part III due

11/23 Thanksgiving Break - no class

11/30 Globalization
Klen, Chapters 9-11
Branston and Stafford, Chapter 15

12/7 Activism
Klein Chapters 12-18, Conclusion

The Take-Home Final Exam is due in the mailbox on the door of my office, 738 One Park Place South, by 6 PM on 12/14

Assignments

The class assignments add up to total of 100 possible points. Your final grade for the class is determined by adding up your grades for each assignment, adjusting for attendance, then applying the final number to the following scale:

90-100=A, 80-89=B, 70-79=C, 60-69=D, 0-59=F

1. TV Show Presentation – 10% of final grade
You will sign up with a partner to research the production and audience contexts of a television program, choose a sample episode, present your research to the class, screen the episode for the class, then participate in the class discussion of the episode

Here’s how it will work:

Sign up. You can pick any current or recently cancelled TV program. It could be a sitcom, drama, reality show, soap opera, news show, cartoon, talk show, sports event, or any other genre. If possible, pick something you already watch regularly, so that you can speak knowledgably about episodes beyond the one screened in class. When you’ve decided on your show, send an email to the class listserv. The first half of the class gets dibs on their choices. The other half of the class then chooses among those shows to become partners with the first half.

Research the production and audience contexts of the show. One presenter will be responsible for researching the production context of the show: budget, profits, the backgrrounds of the creators, international distribution, and so on. The other presenter will research the audience context: ratings, reviews, fan culture, online commentary.

Pick a sample episode. Here are your options:

For 30-minute programs, present the show in full as recorded off television, including commercials. Class discussion will address the commercials as well as the show itself.
For 60-minute programs, present the show on DVD or by fast-forwarding through commercials. Otherwise, it will take too much of class time to get through all the ads.
For special events (the Oscars, the Super Bowl, Election Night, etc.), play a 30-minute sample clip, ads included.

D. Prepare a handout summarizing your research. The handout should include the following information:

Production Information:
Credits for the show as a whole, including the creators, producers, and dates of production.
Credits for the specific episode, including title, writer, director, and date of production.
Available economic data, including budget, ad prices, DVD sales, etc.
Audience information:
A brief summary of the response of professional critics, including some very short quotes (a line or two).
Neilsen ratings
Descriptions of major fan websites

All research sources (including websites) should be cited parenthetically in the text, then listed at the end of the handout in a bibliography.

E. Introduce the series and episode to the class. First, discuss the production context of the show, then the reception context. Then, screen the episode. After that, be prepared to participate in the class discussion of the episode.

2. Research Paper Assignments
You will pick a second media text to be the subject of a series of essays which will become a 9-12 page research paper. This text can come from any medium other than television. It could be a film, CD, website, videogame, graphic novel, or any other kind of popular form.

Here’s the assignment schedule:

A one-page proposal is due 9/21.
Part I: A 3-4 page paper on the regulation and/or production of your media text is due 10/19. (10% of final grade.)
Part II: A 6-8 page paper which combines Part I with a 3-4 page section on issues of representation and/or identity in your media text is due 11/2. (10% of final grade.)
Part III: A 9-12 page paper which combines Parts I and II with a 3-4 page section on audience responses to your media text is due 11/16. (20% of final grade. Revisions of the complete paper will be accepted for full credit up through 12/7.)

More details on the research paper will follow in a separate handout.

3. Take-Home Midterm – 25% of final grade
The take-home midterm will require you to pick a cultural product not already discussed in class, then relate it to specific concepts from the course. It will be due on 10/5

4. Take-Home Final – 25% of final grade
The take-home final assignment will be similar to the take-home midterm, covering ideas from the second half of the syllabus. It will be due in the mailbox on my office door by 6 PM on 12/14.

5. Attendance Adjustment
As Woody Allen put it, “80 percent of success is showing up.” It’s less than that in this formula, but the bottom line is that you can’t contribute to the class if you’re not there. You’re allowed one unexcused absence for the semester. After that, each unexcused absence subtracts one point from your grade total. Excused absences include medical and family emergencies. You will be expected to schedule any employment responsibilities around this class, or accept the consequences of missed classes for your grade. If you do need to miss a class, please contact me ahead of time, and make arrangements to catch up on missed material.

Policies

Re-Writes and Makeup Tests
Opportunities for revision and improvement will be available for the midterm, the presentation, and the research paper prospectus. In addition, I will look at optional drafts of the research paper submitted on or before the deadline listed above. One rule: a 24-hour cool-down period after the return of any assignment. Wait a day before coming to talk to me, and I’ll be happy to listen to your concerns and help you improve your work.

Late and Unsubmitted Papers
Late papers will be marked off by ½ point for every day overdue unless an extension is agreed upon before the due date. No work can be accepted after the deadline for the take-home final. Any unsubmitted papers will receive a 0. Likewise, any unanswered exam questions will receive a 0. So, if you answer only 2 out of 3 required exam questions, you will get a 0 on the third question.

Academic Honesty
The university’s policy on academic honesty is published in On Campus: The Undergraduate Co-Curricular Affairs Handbook, available online at http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwcam. The policy prohibits plagiarism, cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration, falsification, and multiple submissions. Violation of the policy will result in failing the class, in addition to disciplinary sanctions.

The Internet makes it easy to plagiarize, but also easy to track down plagiarism. Bottom line: Don’t plagiarize. It’s wrong, and it’s not worth it. There’s always a better way. Cite all your sources, put all direct quotations in quotation marks, and clearly note when you are paraphrasing other authors’ work.

Withdrawals
Students withdrawing on or before the midsemester point will receive a W provided they are passing the course. Students who withdraw after the midsemester point will not be eligible for a W except in cases of hardship. If you withdraw after the midsemester point, you will be assigned a WF, except in those cases in which (1) hardship status is determined by the office of the dean of students because of emergency, employment, or health reasons, and (2) you are passing the course.

Incompletes
Incompletes may be given only in special hardship cases. Incompletes will not be used merely for extending the time for completion of course requirements.

Changes to the Syllabus
This syllabus provides a general plan for the course. Deviations may be necessary.

Posted by tedf at September 3, 2005 02:04 AM

Comments

Post a comment