JCOM 1500 Syllabus (F2010)

Syllabus
JCOM 1500—Introduction to Mass Communication
(The Online Edition)

Professor Ted Pease
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Fall 2010

Office: 310B Animal Science (JCOM main office) (435-797-3293)
Email: Ted.Pease@usu.edu
Website: Intro to Mass Comm
Today’s WORD on Journalism: An added FREE bonus to joining this class—
daily email snippets of wisdom on the press, writing, and whatnot.
Click here for the WORDblog to see what you get.

Required Text:
• Folkerts, Jean, Stephen Lacy & Ann Larabee. The Media in Your Life: An Introduction to Mass Communication (4th edition) Purchase the online interactive version by going to this URL and following the directions. $62.45.
• Additional assigned readings and resources on the blog

Preamble: Wise Guys

No Schools, Sir!

“I thank God we have no free schools or printing,
and I hope that we shall not have these for a hundred years.
For learning has brought disobediences and heresy and sects into the
world; and printing has divulged them and libels against the
government. God keep us from both.”

—Sir William Berkeley, Governor, Virginia Colony, 1671

The Power of Words

“Words are sacred. They deserve respect.
If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the
world a little.”

—Tom Stoppard, playwright, 1967

Who’s in Charge Here?

“Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.”

—Allen Ginsberg, poet, 1973

Radiance, or Disturbance?

“I believe television is going to be the test of the modern world,
and that in this new opportunity to see beyond the range of our
vision we shall discover either a new and unbearable disturbance of
the general peace, or a saving radiance in the sky.
We shall stand or fall by television—of that I am quite sure.”

—E.B. White, author, 1938

• • • • •

Course Objectives

JCOM 1500 is designed to provide a historical, social, technological, economic, philosophical and political context of the development of American mass media and their changing role in society. Ever since Ooog the Caveman first grunted at his cavemate about the weather or the mastodon herd, human communication has been one (at least) of the skills that has distinguished humans from other creatures.

That’s significant in itself, but even more significant was Ooog’s effort not only to tell his stories, but to record them somehow so that others could remember them when he wasn’t around. So he drew pictographs on the walls of his cave recording Tuesday’s great antelope hunt, or poor old Furd getting stamped by that mammoth last week.

It’s not really that big a leap from scratching Furd’s unfortunate demise on the cave wall, to staring into the flicking light of a computer screen and typing emoticons on your Facebook page, is it?

In this class we will consider that question, as drawings of woolly mammoths were translated into letters that could be combined to tell the story of Furd’s death. And then the letters were molded into clay or metal blocks that could moved around to make different words that symbolize different things or ideas. And then instead of telling stories and remembering them as oral history, human stories could be
recorded in print and saved. That meant that humans had to learn to read the print so they could understand the stories. And then besides books there were newspapers and radio and telegraph and television and computers and—who knows?—little nano-chips in our breakfast cereal to give us the weather and Glenn Beck and LA Laker highlights internally….?

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

The intersection of ideas and human desire to express and record and tell them may be the single most important trait we possess. And the ways we have devised to do that—and the economic, political, cultural, philosophical trouble that has often caused—well, that’s a great story.

So . . .

• We’ll tell some of the stories and think about the forces that have shaped mass media content and their impacts on societies.
• We’ll think about how mass media messages work, both on us individually as mass communication consumers, and on important social institutions.
• We’ll examine the rights and responsibilities of mass communication in a free, engaged and participatory democratic system.
• And we’ll think a little about our own rights and responsibilities in a mass-mediated culture. Who’s to blame for a bad “story”? Ooog and his cave drawings? Furd, who stepped under an elephant? Or the rest of the clan who came later and reinterpreted (or perhaps misinterpreted) Ooog’s stories for themselves?

How We’ll Do It

This is an Internet course (which is actually a pretty cool way to talk and think about media), so we will be doing all of this stuff from Ooog to the nano-chip online. There will be assigned readings from both the text and other sources. You will be expected to keep up with the week-by-week entries on the blog, which are subject to change! Besides readings, we’ll draw from other material—movies about the mass media, YouTube, Today’s WORD on Journalism and other stuff that will emailed to you or posted on the blog.

The first task, if you haven’t already done it, is to go directly to the class blog and read the first four entries, which I think are pretty self-explanatory (yes, it DOES say that there will be a quiz on the syllabus and other opening material…). Make sure you get into Blackboard if you don’t know it already and review its features. We will be using Blackboard for quizzes and exams, and you will want to know what the Gradebook looks like.

Assignments and Grading
(Subject to change)

Because this is basically a reading course, and because we’ll never actually see each other (although you are gonna LOVE “Teddy TV” on Blackboard!—more on that later), evaluation is based on testing plus one writing project, with final grades computed from what percentage of the total 550 possible points you earn.

1. Quizzes: Weekly quizzes on readings/news events (100 pts)
2. BlogTalk: Blog comments on readings (30 pts)
3. Movie Project: Critical essay on a film about the mass media. (90 pts)
4. Exam 1 covering weeks 1-5 (90 pts)
5. Exam 2 covering weeks 6-10 (90 pts)
6. Final Exam (Comprehensive) (150 pts)
Total possible points = 550 pts

Point Spread
A = 511.5-550 pts (93-100%)
A- = 495-511.5 pts (90-93%)
B+ = 478.5-495 pts (87-90%)
B = 456.5-478.5 pts (83-87%)
B- = 440-456.5 (80-83%)
C+ = 423.5-440 pts (77-80%)
C = 401.5-423.5 pts (73-77%)
C- = 385-401.5 pts (70-73%)
D+ = 368.5-385 pts (67-70%)

Graded Assignments Explained:
• Quizzes: Weekly quizzes (more or less) on the readings (may also incorporate previous material for context). Multiple-choice and True-False questions. Quizzes will be available on a specific day/time and must be completed by a specific day/time or no credit. More on how this works to come.
• BlogTalk: You will be encouraged to comment on readings and other course material on the blog, after particular articles or news events, for example. I will expect everyone to make substantive comments at least 10 times during the semester. More details to follow.
• Movie Project: I will offer you a short list of movies that deal with mass media. You will select one, view at your convenience, and write a 750- to 1,000-word essay that critically evaluates the mass media institution(s) in the film in the context of social, individual, philosophical and other criteria we will discuss. Details to follow.
• Exams: All three exams will be Blackboard-based multiple-choice, true-false/short-answer tests. Exam 1 will be available on Blackboard the week of Oct. 4, and will cover the first third of the semester; Exam 2 (Nov. 8) will cover the second third; and the Final Exam will be comprehensive and available on Blackboard Dec. 10, the last day of classes, and due sometime the next week.
• Other grading issues: The instructor takes no prisoners when it comes to writing, grammar, spelling, mechanics, etc., in email messages, blog posts or papers. Fair warning. Also obvious in a journalism class: DEADLINES ARE ABSOLUTE. That’s why they’re called deadlines. In the real world, missing deadlines means you get fired; in this class, missing deadline means zero for the assignment.
Blackboard quizzes and exams are set up so that if you don’t complete them by the posted deadline, they won’t be accepted.

Housekeeping Details

Some cautions, instructions and threats. Ask anyone; Pease is an irascible old poop and can be testy at times.


Academic Honesty: The University expects students and faculty alike to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty (for a complete definition, see University Catalogue or the Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University, Article V, Section 3). The policy states:

“[C]heating, falsification or plagiarism can result in warning, grade reduction, probation, suspension, expulsion, payment of damages, withholding of transcripts, withholding of degrees, removal a class, performance of community service, referral to appropriate counseling” or other penalties as the university judiciary may deem appropriate.

Because public trust and personal credibility are essential to journalists and other professional communicators, I adhere to the JCOM department’s zero-tolerance policy regarding academic dishonesty: Failure for the class and removal from the JCOM major. As per the USU Student Code, any documented form of academic dishonesty—including plagiarism or other cheating on quizzes and exams—will result in an automatic F in the course and a report to the dean of the college and the USU vice president for student services. If you have questions about what’s acceptable work under strict codes of academic honesty, see the USU Code of Policies and Procedures for Students, or consult your professor. Any suspicious work may be submitted to a web database. For guidance on plagiarism and how to avoid it, see this website.

Decorum: It’s a funny thing about email and other online communication—people often type things that they would NEVER say in a face-to-face setting. So please read your emails out loud to yourselves (this also will help with typos and stoopid language) and count to 10 before sending or posting. We’re all in this together. That means that we will need each other in order to succeed. And that means that everyone is expected to treat everyone else with fairness, courtesy and honesty. Central to the subject matter in this course is the willingness to examine our own beliefs and how we arrived at them, and to acknowledge that others may see the world differently. So I hope we all will be able to express and consider opinions collegially, in the spirit of open inquiry. Let us agree to disagree, if necessary, and to accommodate contrarian viewpoints and differing perspectives. Disruptive or abusive behavior will not be tolerated.

Disclaimer: The instructor has no desire to offend anyone’s personal or cultural beliefs, and he apologizes in advance if he does so inadvertently. But students should be aware that journalism (and advanced education) often deals with issues and content that some may find disagreeable—from profanity and offensive attitudes, to perspectives that may make you uncomfortable. But that’s the business of examining society and engaging in a free society. It’s critically important. Please do tell me if you have problems with any of the material, and we will try to accommodate if possible.

Finally, any rumors that you may have heard that Professor Pease is a heartless, obdurate, irritable, demanding, tough, pugnacious, unpleasant SOB probably falls short (and wide) of the truth. The fact is that I will press you hard this semester to develop the critical thinking and knowledge required for success in the information age. But if you're having a problem—with this class or anything else—please feel free to call or email me, or for those of you on-campus, come find me in my office, for a talk, a coke, career advice, a crying towel or whatever.

SCHEDULE

The advantage to online courses is that you can do the work as your schedule permits, and in your pajamas if you want. In fact, Professor Pease may be in his jammies even now (an unhappy image!). But you do have to complete the assignments when they are due.

The weekly assignments will be posted on the blog—both readings in the text and links to other assigned materials.

JCOM 1500 (online edition)—Intro to Mass Comm
Schedule Spring 2010 (subject to change)

NOTE: Here’s a start on our assignment schedule, which will change as we go along. I’ll notify you of additions and changes via email and on the weekly schedule on the blog, so check the blog carefully each week.

WEEK 1 Aug. 30
• Email Professor Pease at ted.pease@usu.edu, using your preferred email address (the one you check more regularly) to say that you’re in the class and THRILLED! to be here. Any questions, let me know.
• Read Syllabus and related Welcome to JCOM 1500 files on the blog closely. Get acquainted with Blackboard.
• Read Professor Pease’s column, “The Dumbing of America,” and view
Stephen Colbert’s video on the role of a college education in your
life.
• Order the text (Folkerts, Lacy & Larabee: The Media in Your Life) online at this URL. Start looking through the online text. It’s pretty cool.
• Expect a quiz on syllabus and opening materials via on Thursday. Due Saturday midnight.
• Go to Week 1 on the blog and introduce yourself in the “comments” box: WHo are you? where are from? What do you want to be when you grow up (I want to be a firetruck)? Something interesting/peculiar/crazy/fascinating about yourself (when I was 19, I dropped out of college and rode a bicycle from Seattle to Atlanta. Really.)

WEEK 2 Oct. 4
• Read Folkerts Ch. 1 “We the People.”
• More to come
• Quiz

WEEK 3 Oct. 11
• Read Folkerts Ch. 10 “Journalism: Information & Society”
• Blog: View Billy Joel’s video on history through iconic images.
• More to come
• Quiz

WEEK 4 Oct. 18
• Read Folkerts Review pp. 18-21 “Use & Functions of Media in the
Marketplace,” and p. 393 through “Ideology” on p. 414
• Blog: Read “Mass Communication Theories”
• More to come
• Quiz

WEEK 5 Oct. 25
• Read Folkerts Ch. 2 “Books” and Ch. 3 “Newspapers”
• Blog: Readings to come
• Exam #1 will be available Saturday (Oct. 30). Due Monday (Nov. 1)

WEEK 6 Nov. 1

MORE TO COME!!!
Future assignments to be announced and posted on the weekly links on the class blog. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to check the blog early & often.