Announcements + HW

Hi.

Our class on Tuesday, 1 July, will be held in Escaler Hall. Jason Cabanes will lecture on the Effects Tradition of Mass Communication. The required reading for the Tuesday lecture and Thursday seminar is Todd Gitlin's 'Media Sociology: The Dominant Paradigm.' This will be made available by Monday, 30 June c/o Ivan, your beadle.

On Thursday, we will have our first written quiz. This will cover the Gitlin reading and Jason's lecture on the Effects Tradition. There will also be questions pertaining to the previous three lectures. As I have mentioned, quizzes in this class are essay-based, and you can choose to answer ONE of FIVE questions. In this way, you can choose to study the topics that you are most interested in.

See you on Tuesday!

Lecture 3: Nature and Process of Theorizing

Hi. I hope you enjoyed today's guest lecture by Leloy Claudio. Thank you to the students who recited in today's class! We teachers do get competitive ourselves in such occasions and wish for our students to be more dialogic than the rest! :)

Here are some points for discussion to prepare you for Thursday's seminar:
1) How do we differentiate positivism and critical theory? What are their different tenets? How do they understand reality? Or specifically: cultures, identities, individuals?
2) Try to apply both frameworks in studying the same media phenomenon. For example, what are the differences in questions and methods that the two perspectives have when studying children's use of home computers? (You may use other cases)
3) What is reflexivity? And what is its contribution to media and communications research?

See you all on Thursday! Prepare for (what I hope to be a lively) discussion of ideas covered in Lectures 1, 2, and 3!

Announcements + HW

Hi! I'm hoping that we make up for our lack of dialogue and recitation this afternoon through a good and critical mediated conversation here in our blog. As homework, I require you to post in either the Lecture 1 or Lecture 2 posts (or in both, if you wish). You're free to answer the discussion questions or bring in your own insights and examples and experiences to discuss some of the issues that we have raised.

We have a guest speaker on Tuesday, Leloy Claudio, who will be taking his master's in the University of Melbourne. Let's be in our best and most dialogic behavior, okay? :)

See you in Escaler Hall on Tuesday. Happy weekend.

Lecture 2: Introduction to Communication

Hi. HERE are the lecture slides for download.

And here are our discussion questions. But of course, you can comment on anything about the lecture and the many, many ideas raised today. Feel free to ask questions (not to me, specifically, but to your classmates) as well.
1) Discuss one specific media phenomenon of your choice using the different models of communication.
2) Why or how do you privilege dialogue over dissemination? Transmission over ritual?
3) What is YOUR dream for perfect communication?

Lecture 1: Introduction to Media

The slides are available for download HERE.

I'd like to know your comments, questions, reactions from today's lecture. Here are some possible discussion questions for you to ponder:
1) What are the grand claims being made about the media today, in adverts, by marketers, by politicians, by teens, etc.? How can we be more critical about them?
2) What happens when love and affection are mediated? What is your take on the mediation of emotions?
3) What kinds of stories in the media made you think twice about a common assumption that you have about the world, others, yourself? How did that particular story succeed in making you put yourself in another person's shoes?

See you all on Thursday.

Announcements

The venue for Tuesday and Thursday is Ching Tan Room at JGSOM.

Getting to Know You

It seems most fitting for a class about media and communications to first have the predictable yet indispensable exercise of self-presentation in a mediated environment. Obviously the manner of communication in cyberspace is starkly different from face-to-face interaction, with the loss of many symbolic cues--from body language to the rise and fall of voice pitch. But much are added as well--from the adoption of avatars to the narrative closure afforded by one's writing of a beginning, middle, and end. And in both types of communication, the challenge is to make a good first impression. What is frustrating--and exciting--of course is that we simply don't know just how our audience will react, respond, remember, reply. And, with the affordances of technology, also: comment, forward, poke, reject, block, digg, flame, spam.

However this site, and this class, is a site of hospitality. It is a site of learning and exchange. It aims to be a space premised not simply on reason and/or emotion, but on responsibility, Roger Silverstone's (2006) lofty requirement for a mediaspace. This homepage is home.

I am happy to welcome you to the website of Com101 Communication Theory Section E. I wish that you treat this online space not simply as a supplement to our offline lectures but as a meaningful resource for learning, an active and vibrant space for discussion, and a shared experience with your fellow classmates and lecturer.

Kindly reply to this post and introduce yourself below so that we can get our discussions going. Aside from your name, of course, I'd especially like to know why you picked your course. Additionally, you have the option of answering any, or all, of the following questions:
1) name a favorite tv show or movie or book and state why it makes your list.
2) how much time do you spend on the media in a typical day? do you consider yourself a heavy, medium, light user? a fan/addict/junkie of a particular technology or program or artist? why? how?
3) how do you plan to make use of your course for your future career?

Switching to a different medium, please bring a 5x7" index card with 2x2" ID photo on June 17, Tuesday. Please include: name, birth date, and contact information (cell phone and email address).

June 17, Tuesday is the first classroom lecture. Please be prepared with the Silverstone readings.

Syllabus: Com101 Communication Theory

COM 101 Syllabus: Communication Theory
Lecturer: Jonathan C. Ong
1 Semester 2008-2009
Department of Communication
Ateneo de Manila University

I. Course Description
This course is an introduction to the study of media forms, texts, systems, and audiences and their contribution to social life. By highlighting the centrality of media and communication technologies in the practices of everyday life, this course challenges students to think critically about their own experiences as users/producers of media products in light of theoretical debates within the field. Adopting a critical approach, this course expands on the key question of Roger Silverstone (2006): “The media may have extended our reach but have they extended understanding?” By reviewing key concepts such as communication, representation, identity, mass culture, and political economy, this course encourages critical attention as to how the media enable or disable dialogue and understanding in a world of complex connectivity. The course is divided into three main blocks: Audiences, Texts, and Institutions.

II. General Objectives
This course aims to:
• introduce theories and concepts from the field of media and communication studies
• chart the development of media and communications as a social science discipline, highlighting its intersections with related fields
• underscore the political, social, cultural, and moral relevance in understanding the media’s role in today’s world
• train students in critical, dialectical thinking

III. Methodology
Media and communications is an academic discipline that requires much reading—reading from textbooks and academic journals as well as “reading” from media such as film, television, and music. The quintessential Ateneo Communication student is someone who is able to link “theoretical knowledge” gathered from books and “practical knowledge” acquired from exposure to media artifacts. It is the student’s responsibility to keep up with the varied reading materials. The lecturer requires students to read only one of the listed readings per week.
The course consists of lectures, lecturettes, guest lectures from industry professionals, seminar discussions, online discussions, film viewings, research work, and creative work.

IV. Topic Outline
1. Week 1 (June 10, 12): Course Overview
• Introduces course aims, methods, and requirements

2. Week 2 (June 17): Introduction to Media
• Provides an overview of the field of media and communications research
• Key readings:
a. Silverstone, R. (1999). Why Study the Media? London: Sage. (Chapter 1)
b. Silverstone, R. (1999). Why Study the Media? London: Sage. (Chapter 3)

3. Week 2 (June 19): Introduction to Communication
• Presents different paradigms in how communication has been historically viewed in philosophy, psychology, engineering, etc.
• Contrasts dissemination and dialogic models of communication as well as ritual and transmission models
• Key readings:
a. Thompson, J. (1995). Media and Modernity. Cambridge: CUP.
b. Peters, J.D. (1999). Speaking into the Air. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

4. Week 3 (June 24, 26): Nature and Process of Theorizing
• June 24 Guest Lecturer: Lisandro Claudio
• Exposes students to epistemology and invites them to reflect on the assumptions behind media scholars’—and their own—arguments
• Key reading:
a. Jansen, S.C. (2002). ‘Scholarly writing is an unnatural act’. In Critical Communication Theory: Power, Media, Gender, and Technology. USA: Rowman and Littlefield.

5. Week 4 (July 1, 3): The Effects Tradition
• The Audiences block of the course begins by presenting the “dominant paradigm” of mass communication research
• Examines the relevance of the “effects” framework for policy-, commercial-, and development-oriented projects
• Key readings:
a. Gitlin, T. (1978). ‘Media sociology: The dominant paradigm.” Theory, Culture & Society, 6: 205-253).

6. Week 5 (July 8, 10): Encoding/Decoding
• Introduces the tradition of reception studies in audience research
• Presents Hall’s encoding/decoding model and Morley’s Nationwide study, alongside other case studies
• Key readings:
a. Hall, S. (2003). ‘Encoding/decoding.’ In Nightingale, V. & K. Ross. Critical Readings: Media Audiences. Berkshire: Open University Press.

7. Week 6 (July 15, 17): Everyday Life
* Introduces the tradition of everyday life in audience research
• Case studies to be discussed include Young and the Restless in Trinidad, soap opera viewers in Korea, Indian news viewers in London
• Key readings:
a. Gillespie, M. (2005). Media Audiences. Berkshire: Open University England. (Chapter 5)

8. Week 7 (July 22): Student Presentations
• Students present on new media audiences

9. Week 7 (July 24) & Week 8 (July 29): Representations
• The Texts block of the course begins with a presentation of quantitative and qualitative approaches to textual analysis, including news framing, semiotics, and discourse analysis
• Key readings:
a. Hall, S. (ed.) (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Open UP. (Chapter 1)
b. Macdonald, M. (2003). Exploring Media Discourse. London: Arnold. (Chapter 5)

10. Week 8 (July 31) & Week 9 (Aug 5): Representations of the Other
• Develops a critique of the processes of Other-ing present in popular media representations
• Introduces the concepts of Orientalism, compassion fatigue, media fatigue, and proper distance
• Key readings:
a. Silverstone, R. (2006). Media and Morality: On the Rise of the Mediapolis. London: Polity. (Chapter 3)
b. Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. London: Routledge. Pp. 1-28, 49-73.

11. Week 9 (Aug 7): Student Presentations
• Students analyze print media texts

12. Week 10 (Aug 12, 14): Political Economy
• The opening lecture of the Institutions block explores how the paradigm of the political economy of communications contributes to a critical understanding of inequalities in ownership, access, and literacy in today’s media environment
• Key readings:
a. Williams, K. (2003). “The Censorship of Money: Theories of Media Ownership and Control.” Understanding Media Theory. London: Arnold.

12. Week 11 (Aug 19, 21): Culture Industry
• Explores the contribution of the Frankfurt School in the analysis of how power is exercised through the processes of media production and consumption
• Introduces the concept of ideology
• Key readings:
a. Adorno, T. (1975). ‘Culture Industry Reconsidered’. New German Critique, 6.
b. Strinati, D. (2004). An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. London: Routledge. (Chapter 2)

13. Week 12 (Aug 26, 28): Media Rituals
• Discusses the concept of media rituals and the “myth of the mediated center”
• Key readings:
a. Couldry, N. (2003). Media Rituals: A Critical Approach. London: Routledge.

14. Week 13 (Sept 2, 4): Oral Exams

15. Week 14 (Sept 9): Student Presentations
• Students examine broadcast media organizations

16. Week 14 (Sept 11), Week 15 (Sept 16, 18): Media and Morality
• The last series of concluding lectures underscores the moral role of all participants in the global media: owners, producers, actors, and audiences
• Introduces the concepts of mediapolis, responsibility, cosmopolitanism, and risk society
• Key readings:
a. Cabanes, J. (2007). ‘Agency & Responsibility: On the Question of Being Human in a Mediated World. A paper presented at MediaTalk@admu: News and the Other. ADMU.
b. Corpus Ong, J. (in press). ‘Where is the Cosmopolitan? Locating Cosmopolitanism in Media and Cultural Studies’. Media, Culture & Society.

17. Week 16 (Sept 23, 25), Week 17 (Sept 30): TBA
• The Lecturer is in London at this time. Activity to be announced.

18. Week 17 (Oct 2): Creative Projects Presentation

19. Week 18 (Oct 7): Conclusion
• Presents a summary of the course and provides suggestions as to its application in everyday life
• Key readings:
a. Silverstone, R. (1999). Why Study the Media? London: Sage. (Chapters 15-16)
b. Orgad, S. (2007). “The Internet as a Moral Space: The Legacy of Roger Silverstone.” In New Media & Society, 9 (1).

V. Course Requirements
1) Oral exam - 20%
2) Creative project – 20%
3) Quizzes – 20%
4) Final paper – 25%
5) Participation – 15%

1 - The oral exam is done in pairs. For 15 minutes, students are expected to expound on thesis statements provided beforehand and field follow-up questions from the examiner. It is crucial for students to display understanding of authors’ main arguments, know their strengths and weaknesses/limitations, and provide specific “everyday life” examples to contextualize each theory/concept. Students should also be prepared to answer questions about the readings.

2 – The creative project (documentary, fiction film, ad campaign, webisodes, website, “media event”, debate, etc) is an attempt to challenge students to become effective and responsible media producers. The objective of the creative project is to provoke further debate in a specific issue (or issues) discussed in class. This is to be accomplished by groups of not more than five (5) students. Examples of creative projects may be: 1) a documentary about poverty using the concept of “proper distance”, 2) a mini-soap opera about soap opera viewers and encoding-decoding research, 3) a satire of effects tradition research methodology, 4) a reality TV program that tries to find the “ultimate cosmopolitan,” etc.

3 – There will be at least four quizzes throughout the term. Quizzes can be essay-based or can take the form of class presentations.

4 – The final paper is a take-home essay. Essay questions will be revealed in class in early September.

5 – Participation takes into account classroom discussions and online discussions. Students are expected to display critical thinking, wide reading, and the ability to link concepts from the various lectures and even from their other classes.

VI. Biographical Notes
Jonathan Corpus Ong is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at the University of Cambridge. He is one of only 100 students in his batch with the prestigious Bill Gates Scholarship. He has an MSc in Politics and Communication (with Distinction) from the London School of Economics and a BA in Communication (summa cum laude) from the Ateneo de Manila University. His industry experience includes becoming the youngest manager at GMA Network, media planning at McCann-Erickson Phils., and working as a research assistant at the BBC. His research interests are on media and morality, media and migration, and mediated public participation.