Mediated Constructions of Health Comm 661 Tuesday (Sykes 220) 6-8:45 p.m. Thursday (Dana 110) 6-8:45 p.m.

Instructor: Zachary White, Ph.D. Office Location: Dana 102-D Office Phone: 704-688-2731 Email: whitez@queens.edu Twitter: @Zmwhite (#Comm661) Office Hours: By appointment

Required Materials: Brummett, B. (2010). Techniques of close reading. Los Angeles: Sage. Supplemental Readings: Additional readings and application examples will be posted on the Queens Learning Management System (Moodle). http://moodle.queens.edu/. You must have and actively use your Moodle account to access readings, assignment sheets, and other essential items.

COURSE DESCRIPTION/OBJECTIVES The goal of this course is to help students become better critical consumers and creators of mediated health messages by employing a variety of techniques of critical invention and analysis. Since much of what we know and understand about health is symbolically re-presented in mediated texts, this course is devoted to enhancing media literacy. In particular, this class analyzes mediated constructions of health in a variety of mediums to highlight how these constructions shape cultural conceptions of what is good, bad, desirable, and undesirable. The specific goals of this course are to: Examine how concepts of health are created, interpreted, and reified through everyday forms of mediated communication. Apply a variety of critical and cultural techniques of analysis and invention. Critically analyze mediated health texts in a variety of mediums (television, film, online support groups, advertisements, nonprofit campaigns, websites, social media, etc.). Create a compelling digital presentation addressed to an audience of healthrelated practitioners. Improve digital and media literacy as it pertains to the creation and interpretation of health related messages.

Course Policies: 1. Expectations: At the graduate-level, I expect students to come to class ready to discuss, analyze, critique, and apply course-related material. Given we meet twice a week, each class period is vitally important to your ability to do well in the course. Moreover, your active and ongoing participation throughout the course is essential to enhancing both your own success and that of the overall class experience. I highly value participation and a willingness to discuss, debate, and apply course concepts and ideas. 2. Written Work: Any assignments submitted to me after class time will be considered late. Assignments not turned in on the assigned day during the assigned class period (not after) will receive a full grade deduction. For each calendar day beyond the assigned due date, a full grade will be deducted. If you know you will miss class for any reason when an assignment is due, you must submit the completed assignment BEFORE you leave to receive credit. Written work must be TYPED and PROOFREAD for errors. Handwritten assignments will not be accepted (unless otherwise specified). Written assignments are required to follow the APA format. For example, typed assignments should be 11- to 12-point font size, Times New Roman, doublespaced, and one inch margins--a few of the basic guidelines for APA format. Be sure to keep a copy of all major assignments for your records. Also, make sure to save all assignments as you will need to collect and digitize this material for your eventual capstone course. 3. Class Attendance: A great deal of learning in this course comes from in-class discussions, so it is essential that you attend class consistently. More than 2 unexcused absence will result in a deduction of participation points. This course meets 13 times over the semester. Therefore, a student who misses class more than 3 times (and thus misses almost 1/3 of the class meetings) will receive a failing grade in the course. 4. University Closings/Cancelled Classes: In the rare occasion when it is necessary to close the university, announcements will be made on TV and radio, and will be posted on the Queens web site (www.queens.edu). Students who live on campus will be notified of a decision to cancel classes through their voice mail. Commuter students should call the Queens Information Hotline (704-3372567). NOTE: If classes are meeting but you find that you cannot find a safe way to get to class, you should notify me as soon as possible. 5. Academic Integrity: Papers/assignments found to contain plagiarized material will result in an automatic failure for the assignment, and possible future action by the university. The Honor Code, which permeates all phases of university life, is based on three fundamental principles. It assumes that Queens students: a) are truthful at all times, b) respect the property of others, and c) are honest in tests,

3 examinations, term papers, and all other academic assignments. Please contact me if you believe a violation of the Honor Code has occurred. It is a violation of the Honor Code for a student to be untruthful concerning the reasons for a class absence. 6. Intellectual Property Policy: Queens University of Charlotte faculty and students adhere to the Queens Intellectual Property Policy. See Faculty Handbook, http: moodle.queens.edu and the Queens University of Charlotte Website at: http://www.queens.edu. 7. Human Participant Research: All student-directed research that involves human participants must have a faculty sponsor. Additionally, all research that involves human participants must be reviewed and approved by the university institutional review board (IRB) PRIOR to the initiation of any research activities. IRB Information and approval forms are available on the myQueens portal (http://myqueens.queens.edu). First, sign into myQueens and then click the Shared Documents link on the left side of the screen. This will take you to the Institutional Review Board Documents folder. 8. Class decorum: Students are not to talk over the professor or others during class. Students are to come to class on time. Students are expected to turn off cell phones and other electronic devices while in class. Violation of any of these simple rules of decorum will negatively affect a students participation grade. Continued violation will result in the student being expelled from the class. 9. Disability Accommodations: Queens University of Charlotte is committed to providing all students equal access to learning opportunities. Student Disability Services is the campus office that works with students who have disabilities to provide and/or arrange reasonable accommodations. Students registered with Student Disability Services who have a LETTER OF ACCOMMODATION are encouraged to contact the instructor early in the semester. Students who have, or think they have a disability (e.g. psychiatric, attentional, learning, vision, hearing, physical, or systemic), are invited to contact Student Disability Services for a confidential discussion. The Office of Student Disability Services is located in Dana 014C (in the Center for Academic Success) or contact at 704-337-2508 or at davimm@queens.edu . Additional information is available at the SDS website http://www.queens.edu/Life-on-Campus/Student-Disability-Services.html

4 10. Grading: You will receive feedback and a grade on each assignment completed. Final grades will be calculated by summing your numerical grades and assigning the appropriate letter grade. The grading scale is as follows: A B C D F 100-90 89-80 79-70 69-60 59 and below

11. Graded Assignments: Field Analysis (10%) This assignment is designed to assess your understanding and explanation of how health is socially constructed. You will observe in-person an everyday cultural space/event/experience for a specified amount of time. Next, you will critically analyze (using concepts, ideas, and techniques discussed in readings and in class) this space/event/experience by examining the relevant artifacts of health. This 3-4 page analysis will be evaluated based on the quality of arguments and the extent to which evidence is used to illuminate your arguments. Textual Analyses30% (3 papers @ 10% each) Throughout the course, we will learn and apply a variety of critical techniques of analysis. For each textual analysis application, you will be asked to analyze a mediated artifact pertaining to health/illness. Specific instructions/prompts for each textual analysis will be provided. Textual analysis papers should be no shorter than 2 pages and no longer than 4 pages. Each textual analysis paper will be evaluated on the quality of demonstrated critical application per the chosen artifact. In addition to the written analysis, you will be asked to orally discuss your analysis with your peers. Critical Analysis Paper (30%) After exploring a variety of critical techniques of analysis, you will choose a specific technique of analysis to examine a mediated artifact of health. In this 810 page paper, you will: (1) Justify the significance of the health topic and research question (2) Adeptly describe the artifact under analysis (3) Briefly explain the critical technique to be used in the analysis (4) Analyze the artifact using evidence to support your arguments (4) Address implications of the casestudy and (5) Provide pragmatic suggestions per your analysis. You will be required to turn in a rough draft for peer review in advance of the final draft. Digital Presentation (20%) Critical analysis is an act of creation, not simply critique. Thus, you will translate the critical analysis paper into a creative, PowerPoint presentation format called Pecha Kucha. For this style of presentation, you will be tasked with creating 20 slides and presenting each slide in approximately 20 seconds. The entire

5 presentation should last approximately 7 minutes (6 minutes 40 seconds to be exactfor a sample, please see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NZOt6BkhUg). The goal of this assignment is to transform your critical analysis paper into a compelling digital presentation for an upcoming health care symposium. A digital workshop tailored to this style of digital presentation will be provided in advance of the due date. Participation (10%) Active, engaged, and thoughtful discussion is expected for each class meeting. Since much of class time will be devoted to the application of critical techniques of analysis, class participation is essential. Participation is also assessed based on out-of-class Twitter contributions (#Comm661). For Twitter participation, I expect you to discuss and apply relevant textual forms of analysis on an ongoing basis (at least 2 tweets per week).

Tentative Date Syllabus (*subject to change) June 26 Health communication in a Mediated World Social constructionism Read for June 28: Loustaunau, M. & Sobo, E., Biomedicine: History, culture, and change Mishler, The social construction of illness Morris, D., What is postmodern illness? Culture and Illness Read for July 3: Morris, D., Utopian bodies Morris, D., Illness in the time of Disney Brummett, Ch. 1, On noticing what you see and hear A Yale Program for Doctors ... Culture, Health, and Criticism Assign: Field Analysis (Due on July 10) Read for July 5: Gerbner, G, Gross, Morgan, and Signorielli, N. Growing up with television: The cultivation perspective Rubin, Media uses and effects: A uses-and-gratifications perspective Sharf & Freimuth, The construction of illness on entertainment television: Coping with cancer on thirtysomething Field Analysis

June 28

July 3

July 5

6 Read for July 10: Brummett, Ch. 3, Using form for close reading July 10 Culture, Health, Media Theory and Criticism Textual Forms of Analysis: Form, Narrative, Genre, and Persona Field Analysis Due Textual Analysis #1 Assigned Read for July 12: McLellan, A whole other story: The electronic narrative of illness Sharf, Illness narratives and the social construction of health In-class application workshop Textual Analysis #1 Due Read for July 17: Brummett, Ch. 4, Transformations in texts: Seeing beneath the surface Sontag, Illness as metaphor, (pp. 43-72) Textual Forms of Analysis: Metaphor, Metonymy, Synecdoche, and Irony Textual Analysis #2 Assigned (Due July 19) Read for July 19: Clarke, Cancer, heart disease and AIDS: What do the media tell us about these diseases?

July 12

July 17

July 19

In-class application workshop Textual Analysis #2 Due Read for July 24: Brummett, Ch. 5, Ideology and Argument Work/Life Balance: Why women still cant have it all Textual Forms of Analysis: Ideology and Argument Textual Analysis #3 Assigned (Due July 26) Discussion of Critical Analysis Paper

July 24

July 26

In-class application workshop

7 Textual Analysis #3 Due Read for July 31: Brummett, Ch. 6 Vande Berg, Wenner, Gronbeck, Media literacy and television criticism: Enabling an informed and engaged citizenry Seale, New directions for critical internet health studies: Representing cancer experiences on the web July 31 Digital and Media Health Literacy Drafts of Critical Analysis Paper Due Digital Presentation Workshop Final Critical Analysis Paper Due Digital Presentations

August 2

August 7