ASSIGNMENTS

You will write six papers, all on topics somehow related to mass media. Each of these assignments is worth 100 points out of a total of 1000 points for the semester.

Essays should be printed using standard fonts, font sizes, and margins, using double-spacing. No title page or separate bibliography page are necessary. A bibliography should be included using either APA or MLA citation style. See "Some Helpful Links" for proper citation formats; the bibliography does not count as a page in your essay. A minimum of 3 sources should be included in the bibliography. (This is just a minimum; you may use as many sources as are appropriate for your topic.)

Your papers should be well-written and clearly organized, developing your ideas fully with appropriate details and examples. You should use as many terms and concepts from the textbook and lectures as are appropriate for your topic.  You'll be graded based on the quality of your ideas, the fullness of their development, and the depth of your research. Spelling, grammar and the like won't be officially graded, but poor use of English may hamper my ability to accurately judge these more important aspects.

Page requirements will be strictly graded! "3-5 pages" means 3 to 5 full pages of text; extra spacing between paragraphs, overly large margins, and page headings do not count towards a full page of text. Title pages and bibliographies do not count towards the minimum page requirement.

The first two papers will be research papers describing and/or analyzing forms of communication.

The second two will be critical essays interpreting the meaning of a media artifact, artist, or genre.

And the third two will be position papers giving your opinion on, your evaluation of, a media issue.

I. RESEARCH PAPERS (2)

A. Research Essay #1---DUE Jan. 23---Communication in the Ancient World

Research and write a 3-5 page research paper on communication in the ancient world (which ends with the fall of the Roman Empire around 500 AD.) You may choose from the following two  topic areas, or you may contact me with your own topic ideas. If you choose to develop your own topic, be sure that I've okayed it first!

    Option 1: Mass communication in ancient cultures in the form of coins, statuary, and/or architecture. You should focus on something specific within this topic area. For example, you could look into coins featuring the likeness of Chinese or Persian monarchs, or Alexander the Great, or any Roman emperor. Or, you could look into Greek statues of the gods and goddesses, or Roman busts of great emperors or generals. Or, you could look into a famous building like the Great Pyramid, the Parthenon in Athens, or the Coliseum or the Pantheon in Rome. Or, you could look at imperial palaces in China or Persia. Or, you could look at pyramids in Egypt or the Americas.

    A good way to start is to do a keyword search beginning with a general topic (Greek statuary, Roman coins, Mesoamerican pyramids and the like). As you learn about this general topic, you can focus on something more specific. Whatever form of mass communication you choose, explain why you believe it's mass communication. Try to ask and answer specific questions, such as: How was it created, and by whom? Out of what materials? Whom did it reach? For what purpose? With what kind(s) of address and feedback? With what effects? With what meanings?

    Option 2: Oral and/or written communication in the ancient world. You should focus on something specific within this topic area. For example, you could look into the Greek poet Homer, whose epic stories were passed down by word of mouth over many centuries before being written down in the form in which we now know them. The Iliad and The Odyssey are Homer's major works. Other Greeks working in the oral tradition include Hesiod and Sappho. Or, you could look into Roman oratory, the tradition of public speaking that made men such as Cicero, Quintillian, and Gaius Gracchus powerful and famous. Or, you could look into the philosophy of Socrates and how it was transmitted down through history, or the teachings of Jesus and how they were transmitted down through history, first by the spoken word, and later by being written down. Or, you could look at the development of alphabets and written language in Sumer (look up "Sumerian cuneiform") or in other cultures like ancient Egypt, Greece and Israel.

    Start by doing a keyword search beginning with a general topic (like oral storytelling or Egyptian hieroglyphics.) Were any of these oral and written forms of communication also mass communication? Why or why not? How did they get passed down during the oral stage of the culture in which they were created? How have they been passed down in later literate and (perhaps) electronic stages? What was the content of the oral and/or written forms? What kinds of narratives, or stories, were created and spread? Who created that content, and why? In what social settings did these people speak or write? With what effects, and on whom?

B. Research Essay #2---DUE Feb. 6---Mass Communication of Sound

Research and write a 3-5 page essay on any aspect of sound recording and/or broadcasting. You may choose from the following three options, including combinations of the three, or you may contact me with your own topic ideas. If you choose to develop your own topic, be sure that I've okayed it first!

    Option 1---Technological Issues You could focus on the early scientific and technological advances that allowed for sound recording, or on any part of the history of recording technology, up to and including digital recording and Internet distribution. You could focus on the development of AM radio, and/or FM radio, and/or satellite radio. Or, you could focus on the use of sound recording in other media, especially the cinema, television, and the Internet. The invention of vacuum tubes, and later the transistor, fostered the growth of wireless narrowcasting and broadcasting, respectively; how? How did FM help to give birth to talk radio? How has digitization transformed audio recording?

    Option 2---Socio-cultural Issues In addition to the technology of sound recording, we've discussed the social and cultural effects of sound recording, especially popular music. How did various genres evolve along with the technology? How did these genres foster the creation of subcultures, of individual identities and group identities? What effects have rock music, or soul music, or punk music, or rap music, or any genre, had on specific social groups (youth, women, minorities, etc...) How did genres of music and genres of radio programs develop? How did transistor radios effect the leisure time activities of Americans? What are the effects of talk radio on political discourse?

    Option 3---Economic Issues Lastly, along with technological and socio-cultural issues, we've touched on economic aspects of sound recording. How was sound recording originally envisioned economically? How did the recording industry evolve out of sheet music publishing? How did radio converge with sound recording to create a powerful segment of the entertainment industry? How do ownership patterns effect the kinds of music that become popular? How do major music labels and smaller independent labels compete with each other, and complement each other?

II. CRITICAL ESSAYS (2)

A. Critical Essay #1---DUE Feb. 20---Interpreting a Media Product or Media Persona, Part 1

Write a critical analysis of a specific media product or persona. In an essay of 3-5 pages, describe and interpret your chosen product or persona, with a focus on meaning. You may choose from the following two options, or you may contact me with your own topic ideas. If you choose to develop your own topic, be sure that I've okayed it first! (HINT: pick something you know well and love---your favorite album or sitcom episode, or your favorite band or actor, for example.)

    Option 1---Media Product Each mass medium creates its own unique media products/artifacts, and each product/artifact has its own unique meanings. The printing press led to the publication and distribution of thousands upon thousands of books, for example, each with its own unique set of meanings. Sound recording led to huge numbers of record albums, singles, 8-track tapes, CDs, audio files, and the like, which also contain their own unique meanings. A particular television series, movie, web site, or podcast would also be considered a media product or artifact. You can write about a less common medium as well; for instance, we've discussed how in certain contexts architecture is a mass medium---you can write about a famous building, modern or ancient, or anywhere in between. Any video game, TV show, play, poem, novel, movie, painting and the like would make a good topic. You can choose one episode of a TV show, or a whole series; one song, or a whole CD; one movie, or a series of movies including sequels.

    What does the chosen product/artifact mean? Who intended that meaning, in what historical context, and with what effects? Who received that meaning?  Your focus should be on interpreting meaning, but interpretation requires some description and analysis, and usually (but not always) involves some degree of evaluation. Try to use as many terms and concepts from the course as you can. For example, what materials were used in the production and distribution of the product? In what social contexts was or is the product consumed/received? By what groups/subcultures/taste cultures/countercultures? What uses and gratifications are available for the consumer?

    Option 2---Media Persona Media products are conceived and created by individuals and, sometimes, by groups of individuals. Each mass medium opens up opportunities for creativity and therefore creates specific social roles---think of the author, singer, disc jockey, emcee, actor, director, producer, architect, and the like. Some media are dominated by individuals (novels, for example, typically have one and only one author.) Others are dominated by teams/groups/organizations (most rock music is created by a band.) Choose a specific media persona and describe, analyze, interpret, and evaluate his/her/their cultural significance.

    How do they position themselves in relation to the established social order? In opposition to that order, or in support of it? What groups within a culture or society do they appeal to? Can you describe their audience demographically? What about psychologically? How do they express their persona to the public? Using what materials (fashion, photography, printed words, recorded sounds, movies, press releases, interviews, etc...)? With what social and/or cultural effects? Some obvious examples include movie stars like John Wayne or Angelina Jolie; rock stars like The Beatles or Nirvana; authors like Ayn Rand or Mark Twain; directors like Frank Capra or Quentin Tarantino. Within a particular historical context, what does this person's public image, their persona, mean?

B. Critical Essay #2---DUE April 17---Interpreting a Media Product or Media Persona, Part 2

Write a 3-5 page critical analysis of a media artifact or media persona from a different medium than your last essay. But this time, approach the product or persona slightly differently by shifting your focus more towards the audience and audience reception. So, you can apply concepts like "uses and gratifications," "limited effects model," "cultivation theory," "cultural studies" and the like, while you address the social contexts of reception, audience characteristics, oppositional meanings, and the like. The basic assignment is the same; you'll just give it a different "spin" by focusing more (though not completely!) on reception.

    Who consumes the product or persona? In what social settings? Do they receive the meaning as intended, or make their own oppositional meaning(s)? How does the product or persona help these consumers develop their social identity? What cultural tastes characterize the product or persona?

III. Position Papers (2)

Position Paper #1---DUE March 20

Position Paper #2---DUE April 3

   Write a 3-5 page position paper in which you defend your opinion on an issue involving mass media. You should first isolate an issue; then research that issue, including what research has been done and what other opinions have been published; then write your essay defending your position on the issue. Your essay may include any relevant research you found, as well as the main positions taken by others on the issue. Most of the work, however, will be your own analysis and opinion.

A good way to start is by choosing an issue that you find important or interesting, making sure that you focus sharply on a single, well-described issue. (Most issues can be phrased as a question, such as: "Do violent video games desensitize children to the suffering of others?" or, "Should the federal government subsidize radio and television broadcasting?") Then do some research on that issue, including what others have said and written about it. Formulate your own opinion, then develop your opinion into an essay intended to persuade others to agree with you.

For example, a longstanding issue in media studies asks whether or not violence on the media causes violence in society, and if so, for what kinds of people, and in what social situations. The school shootings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech brought this issue back into the forefront. Should government regulate violence in the media? Which media should be regulated---television? Broadcast television, cable and satellite television, or all of these? Should the government regulate video games? Do ratings systems for television, movies, and video games do any good? Who should be in charge of ratings? The government? The industries? Or should it be completely up to parents? Should the market be the only deciding factor (if it sells, produce it)? These are the kinds of questions your essay should answer.

A broader issue involves regulation in general. Should electronic media be regulated? By whom? How? The content of print media is barely regulated (for example, there are obscenity laws that apply to books and magazines, but little else is regulated); why are broadcast media treated differently? Does the First Amendment apply to all media equally? What about the Internet---does the prevalence of pornography, terrorist sites, bomb-making directions, drug manufacturing directions, and the like online make it necessary to restrict Internet content?

A similar issue involves public broadcasting. Should the government be involved in providing broadcast content? Why? If there are public television and radio stations, should there also be publicly-funded books, magazines, and newspapers? Do we need federal funding for the arts and humanities? Should the federal government shut down The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities? PBS and NPR?

The role of journalism in a democracy opens up a variety of issues, especially as the Internet seems to be eroding traditional journalistic institutions and standards. Should Internet sites be allowed to link to news stories online without paying? How can newspapers and broadcasters compete with web sites that don't actually produce news, but profit from it? Do we need governments, colleges, special interest groups and the like to subsidize journalism? In what ways?

Localism is a hot topic in media studies. Massification has taken influence away from local entities---small town newspapers and radio stations, for example---and given it to larger and larger entities, like national newspapers, satellite radio, broadcast networks, and the like. How can local media compete with multinational corporations and media conglomerates? Should the government create policies that help local media?

Numerous issues arise concerning media portrayals/depictions of various groups, including women, minorities, the disabled, and the like. How do media foster stereotypes and prejudice? How do they do the opposite, bringing us into contact with kinds of people we might not meet in our daily lives? Do media portrayals of women's bodies lead to unrealistic expectations, or even cause eating disorders? Are such portrayals realistic? Do media portrayals of minorities cause discrimination? Should there be more representation of some groups, like Asians and Hispanics? If so, how could that be brought about? Are the rich stereotyped, and if so, how? What about the poor, or people from developing countries? Are Southerners accurately portrayed?

Of course, there's a virtually endless set of issues dealing with various aspects of mass media; your job is to choose one well-focused issue that you care about, and persuade others to accept your position.