SP 212-001 CRN 13291- Mass Communication and Society
Fall 2005
Syllabus
Cramer Hall 150; T, Th 10-11:50

Instructor: J. David Kennamer, Ph.D.

Office Hours: MW, 11:30-12:30; T, 4-5 p.m.; Th 12-1; and by appointment

Contact: jdkenna@pdx.edu; phone, 725-3534; office, NH 37

TA: Matt Sanders, petes_nato@hotmail.com

Text: R. Campbell, C. Martin & B. Fabos, Media and Culture 5, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006. (Available at PSU Bookstore)

WebCT site: www.psuonline.pdx.edu (Contains lecture notes, grades, announcements, etc.)

Course Description and Purpose
Try to imagine a day without being exposed to or involved with some sort of mass media. Even on a camping trip in the wilderness, you may have access to radio and the Internet via your cell phone, and you may take a book, magazine or your iPod along. We live today in mediated environments, meaning that many, perhaps most, of our experiences of the world come to us via newspapers, television, advertisements, magazines and so forth. Much of what we think we know we have had no direct experience with, yet we often accept definitions and descriptions provided by the media without question or thought. Even our actual experiences may be interpreted in terms of the definitions and understandings provided by the media.

The purpose of this course is to help you understand this media environment, by introducing you to the origins, development, current status, and role in society of the various mass media institutions, formats, traditions and technologies. The course will cover all aspects of the media - newspapers, magazines, books, sound recording, radio, television, Internet, film, advertising, public relations - as well as media economics and regulation. At the end of the course, you should understand how the modern media environment of the United States has come to exist. This involves technology, law and regulation, the U.S. Constitution, economics, and politics, as well as creative, inventive, entrepreneurial and powerful individuals. All of these influences have created the American media environment, which in turn creates the way we interact with and understand the world.

Requirements: You will be required to take a midterm exam and a final exam (not cumulative), several unannounced quizzes, and write a 5-7 page research paper. Attendance will also count toward your grade. You will not be able to make up missed quizzes, although I will drop the one with the lowest grade.

Grading Scale: 94-100 = A, 90-93 = A-, 87-89 = B+, 84-86 = B, 80-83 = B-, 77-79 = C+,
74-76 = C, 70-73 = C-, 67-69 = D+, 64-66 = D, 60-63 = D-, 59 and below = F.

Below are the various components of your grade with dates.

Incomplete Grades. Incompletes will only be given when students are affected by difficult circumstances that prevent them from completing the course, such as serious illness, accident, or family crisis. To be eligible for an incomplete, the student must show satisfactory progress. Satisfactory progress includes, but is not limited to, a grade of C or better, completion of most coursework (approx. 75%) and a displayed commitment to the policies set forth in the course syllabus. The student and the instructor are required to complete a contract in which both parties agree to the essential work to be done. The student is required to also complete a justification statement. The contract and justification statement must be filed with the department. According to the 2003-2004 Portland State University Bulletin, "The deadline for completion of an Incomplete can be no longer than one year. The instructor may set a shorter deadline which shall be binding" (p. 49).

Course Policies

Course Policies

Class attendance is very important and will be taken during every class period. Formally, it accounts for 10 percent of your grade, but in reality much more, since it is only by attending class that you will hear the instructor's explanations of the readings, his introduction of material not in the textbook, discussions among students, and instructions concerning course logistics and assignments. You may also miss a pop quiz. Be on time, and if you must leave early, do so in a way that does not disrupt the class. You will be allowed a 10-minute break at the midpoint of each class meeting. Don't assume that attendance will be taken only at the start of the class.

Deadlines are also critically important and must be met. Therefore, extensions on assignments and make up exams will be given only under dire and documented circumstances (i.e. serious illness or accident, family crisis, etc.). Late papers may be accepted, but students should expect a grade penalty. No make ups will be allowed on unannounced quizzes. Don't assume they will be given at the start of the class. Please note that the final exam is part of the quarter, so don't expect special accommodation for an absence during the posted exam period, except for a dire emergency.

Please feel free to meet with the instructor during posted office hours or at other times by appointment. Also feel free to communicate via phone and e-mail. On e-mails, please identify yourself as a student in the class on the subject line. Otherwise, the instructor may delete your e-mail unread if he does not recognize either you or the subject. Do not expect to submit assignments via e-mail.

Students with documented disabilities who need accommodation must inform the instructor during the first week of class to receive such consideration.

I will do my best to keep you informed about course developments through announcements in class and on WebCT. If you miss class, come in late or leave early frequently, and don't check the WebCT site, then you may miss important information, and this is entirely your responsibility. (If you don't have access to WebCT or are having trouble accessing the course content on it, please see me.)

I also expect you to conduct yourself in a respectful and civil manner. The PSU document describing Student Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities says the following: "A student who enrolls in a course has responsibility to observe the standards of academic performance defined by the instructor and the standards of conduct established by the instructor so as to assure the freedom of the instructor to teach and the freedom of other students to learn."

This means that you must respect your instructor, your fellow students and the learning process by avoiding disruptive behavior. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• carrying on side conversations


• giggling, laughing, passing notes and other middle-school behavior


• eating meals in class


• leaving the room except during breaks


• arriving late and leaving early


• ringing cell phones


• unkind and disrespectful comments aimed at your colleagues or your instructor.

If you are unable to follow these simple rules of civil and considerate behavior, you will be asked to leave the classroom. If your behavior is persistently disruptive, despite warnings, you will be asked to leave - permanently.

A commitment to high ethical standards in your conduct in this course is expected. Cheating, plagiarism and other lapses of honesty and integrity will not be tolerated. The 2003-2004 Portland State University Bulletin states, "The Student Conduct Code, which applies to all students, prohibits all forms of academic cheating, fraud, and dishonesty. These acts include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, buying and selling of course assignments and research papers, performing academic assignments (including tests and examinations) for other persons, unauthorized disclosure and receipt of academic information, and other practices commonly understood to be academically dishonest" (p. 29). Acts of academic dishonesty in this course may result in failure for the assignment and/or possible suspension from the university for up to two years.

Weekly Schedule (All readings from Campbell, Martin and Fabos)

• Week 1 (9/27): Introduction to course

(9/29): Chap. 1, Mass Communication: A Critical Approach


• Week 2 (10/4): Chap. 2, The Internet and New Technologies: Media at the Crossroads

(10/6): Chap. 3, Sound Recording and Popular Music


• Week 3 (10/11): Chap. 4, Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting

(10/13): Chap. 5, Television and the Power of Visual Culture


• Week 4 (10/18): Chap. 6, Cable and the Specialization of Television

(10/20): Chap. 7, Movies and the Impact of Images

Review for First Exam


• Week 5 (10/25): First Exam

(10/27): Chap. 8, Newspapers and the Rise of Modern Journalism


• Week 6 (11/1): Chap. 9, Magazines in the Age of Specialization

(11/3): Chap. 10, Books and the Power of Print


• Week 7 (11/8): Chap. 11, Advertising and Commercial Culture

(11/10): Chap. 12, Public Relations and Framing the Message


• Week 8 (11/15): Chap. 13, Media Economics and the Global Marketplace

(11/17): Chap. 14, The Culture of Journalism: Values, Ethics, and Democracy


• Week 9 (11/22): Chap. 15, Media Effects and Cultural Approaches to Research

Research paper due


• Week 10 (11/29): Chap. 16, Legal controls and Freedom of Expression

(12/1): Review for second exam


• Second Exam: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 10:15-12:05

Research Paper

You are required to write a 5-7 page research paper on a topic of your choice related to the course. In this paper, you should investigate in depth a topic that is mentioned in the text or lecture. A multitude of possible topics exists, but you might, for example, write about:

• a famous person involved in some development in the media (muckraking journalist Nellie Bly, printing press inventor Johannes Gutenberg, creator of NBC David Sarnoff, public relations pioneer Ivy Lee),


• an organization (Public Broadcasting, CNN, the Federal Communications Commission),


• an invention (the 'wireless', sound recordings, the nickelodeon, the printing press),


• an event (the John Peter Zenger libel trial, the sinking of the Titanic as it illustrated the importance of the "wireless", the "War of the Worlds" broadcast in 1938),


• a political or regulatory event (the writing of the First Amendment to the Constitution,. the communist black lists of the 1950s, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, etc.), or.


• a controversy (media violence, tobacco advertising, stereotyping, ownership)