MEDIACRITICISM
Fall 2008
Dr. Gerald Lucas
media@grlucas.net
http://litmuse.net
HUMN 3460.01
Tues 5:30-7:50p
H/SS-122
HUMN 3460
Media Criticism
Dr. Gerald Lucas
Introduction
This course is designed as the first
part of a sequence with HUMN
4460 Senior Seminar in New
Media and will provide a founda-
tion for further study by equip-
ping students with the skills re-
quired to interpret and analyze
various media forms, especially
photographic, cinematic, and
televisual texts.
Students will examine film
and television as visual media,
cultural forces, and economic
institutions. Primary attention will
be paid to how the fundamental
elements of media combine to
create meaning and tell stories,
1
the forms media texts take, and
Materials
the way these structures in turn
The following books are required
influence viewers/listeners. The
for the class; be sure to bring them
course will also explore what me-
to class everyday reading is as-
dia is and why various media
signed from them (no excuses):
forms have developed in certain
ways through history and across ‣ Gill Branston and Roy Stafford
nations. (eds.). The Media Student’s Book,
By the end of the term stu- Fourth Edition. 2006.
dents should be able to demon- ‣ Paul Marris and Sue Thorn-
ham (eds). Media Studies: A
strate a working knowledge of the
Reader, Second Edition. 1999.
terms and concepts underlying
And I recommend the following
contemporary media studies, the
to compliment your study of me-
economic, social, and political
dia:
impact of the media industries,
‣ Raymond Williams. Keywords,
and the implications of the ongo-
ing advances of computers and Revised Edition. 1983.
information technologies.
Continued on page 3
 REQUIREMENTS
MEDIACRITICISM Fall 2008
There are three major requirements for Media
Criticism, each of which must be successfully com-
pleted to pass the course. Assignments are weighed
on a point system, depending on their importance.
For example, a reading quiz might have 10 points
while the final exam might have 200.
Final Exam
A final cumulative exam will be given that will test
your knowledge of the subject matter (texts, lecture
material, and vocabulary), your ability to synthesize
this material, and your creativity in going beyond the
discussion and lecture materials. The final exam will
include vocabulary, identification, and interpreta-
tion. All exam grades will be based upon objective
knowledge of the material, thoroughness, depth of
insight, precision, and originality.
Writing
To get you thinking more critically about the major
issues covered, you are required to respond to class
readings in writing both formally and informally. All
writing should be thoughtful, refer to specific por-
tions of the text, use the critical vocabulary, and cite
correctly using MLA citation method.
FORUM
Informal forum responses will be written online on
LitMUSE, so the entire class can benefit from read-
ing your thoughts. The forum will also give you a
“All media exist to
invest our lives with
artificial perceptions
and arbitrary values”
Marshall McLuhan
2
chance to respond to others’ ideas. Your writing in
the forum should total at least 350 words per week
and directly address the weeks’ subject matter.
WEB SITE
Three times (see Schedule) during the semester, you
will have to contribute the class web site. For this,
you will pick your best forum and/or daily work,
revise it, and submit it in a more formal way (includ-
ing citations) to a class web site.
“The media's the most powerful entity
on earth. They have the power to make
the innocent guilty and to make the
guilty innocent, and that's power. Be-
cause they control the minds of the
masses.”
Malcolm X
Daily Work
Regular class attendance, question posing, and active
participation in classroom discussions are required.
Participation, effort, and attitude will count signifi-
cantly in this course. Quizzes, other class activities,
and homework assignments and ad hoc projects not
explicitly outlined above will be considered daily
work.
MEDIACRITICISM Fall 2008
Policies
You will be accountable for knowing and
practicing each of these policies. Consider
them like the law: the excuse “I didn’t
know” will carry no weight.
Assignments
Your work represents you. Therefore, I
expect everything you turn into me to
exemplify the very best of your profes-
sional self. Please proofread all writing
before submission.
Attendance
Attendance will be taken at every class
meeting. If you come in late, it is your
responsibility to inform me of your pres-
ence that day. If you fail to do so, you
are absent. Two tardies count as one
absence. There are no “excused ab-
sences” in my class, but you are allowed
to miss one class before your grade suf-
fers. Each additional class missed beyond
the allotted one will result in your final
semester’s grade being dropped one let-
ter.
Deadlines
Late work is not acceptable and will re-
ceive a zero. Technical, computer mal-
functions are not acceptable excuses for
late work. Quizzes and in-class activities
cannot be made up for any reason.
Email
The best and quickest way of contacting
me is via email. Only use the email ad-
dress that I provided on this document
for class business: <media@grlucas.net>.
Grades
“The problem with communication ... is the
illusion that it has been accomplished.”
George Bernard Shaw
3
Letter grades are based upon a tradi-
tional ten-point scale. If you would like to rism.
know your official grade, you should see
me during my office hours or make an
appointment.
Plagiarism
Any time you use ideas that are not your Technology
own — be they paraphrased or copied
verbatim — in anything that you write,
you must supply a citation in MLA for-
mat. Willful plagiarism will result in
automatic failure of this class and will be puter and should be willing to put forth
submitted to the Dean for further poten- the effort to learn what they need to in
tial consequences. See
<http://litmuse.net/plagiarism/> for
Materials
(cont. from page 1)
LitMUSE
You are required to have an account on
LitMUSE, the server that will support all
of your work in this class. As a part of
this requirement, you should have access
to a computer with Internet capability
and a current web browser, like Firefox.
Pen and Paper
You should also bring an ink interface of
some sort, as well as dead trees on which
to take notes. You should not sit in class
like you’re watching TV: take notes.
“Cinema, radio, television,
magazines are a school of
inattention: people look
without seeing, listen in
without hearing.”
Robert Bresson
more information on avoiding plagia-
Special Needs
Any student who has special needs the
Counseling and Career Center and fill
out the appropriate paperwork.
Computer competency is an integral
skill in any discipline. Students should be
familiar with the general uses of a com-
order to succeed in the course.
Electronics
Materials, like cell phones, food, maga-
zines, iPods, etc., should be left in your
car. If you answer a cell phone in my
class, I will expect you to leave. In addi-
tion, I do not allow class discussions to be
taped, so do not bring any voice record-
ing devices to class. You may use laptops
unless I ask you not to bring them.
Rated PG-13
Finally, since class lecture and discussion
will often touch on the controversial, this
college classroom is not an appropriate
place for children.
MEDIACRITICISM Fall 2008
SCHEDULE
This schedule reflects only an overview of readings and assignments, but does not always indicate other specific class session assign-
ments or activities. See LitMUSE. Last revised: August 14, 2008 6:15 AM.
Week 1 (8/19): Intro & Overview
Week 2 (8/26): Key Concepts
Chpt. 1 Interpreting Media (MSB 9-40); Fiske
“The Codes of Television” (MS 220-230)
Week 3 (9/2): Narrative as Structure
Chpt. 2 Narratives (MSB 41-73); Ellis “Broad-
cast TV Narration” (MS 238-244); Williams
“Programming as Sequence or Flow” (MS
231-237)
Week 4 (9/9): Genres & Other Conventions
Chpt. 3 Genres and Other Classifications
(MSB 74-102); Richard Dyer “The Roles of
Stereotypes” (MS 245-251)
Week 5 (9/16): Representation & Race
Chpt. 5 Questions of Representation (MSB
141-173); Hall “Race Ideologies and the Me-
dia” (MS 271-282); Color Adjustment [dir. Mar-
lon Riggs, 1991]
Week 6 (9/23): Representation Cont.
Squire “Empowering Women? The Oprah
Winfrey Show” (MS 354-367); WEB SITE SUB-
MISSION 1 DUE
Week 7 (9/30): Culture & Ideology
Chpt. 6 Ideologies and Power (MSB 174-206);
“The Media and Social Power Introduction”
(MS 5-17)
Week 8 (10/7): The Culture Industries
Chpt. 7 Industries (MSB 207-257);
Office: H/SS-117
Adorno “Culture Industry Reconsidered” (MS
31-37)
“In describing today's accelerating changes,
the media fire blips of unrelated information
at us. Experts bury us under mountains of
narrowly specialized monographs. Popular
forecasters present lists of unrelated trends,
without any model to show us their inter-
connections or the forces likely to reverse
them. As a result, change itself comes to be
seen as anarchic, even lunatic.”
Alvin Toffler
Week 9 (10/14): Music Industry Exam
Chpt. 7 Industries (MSB 257-267); Chpt. 13 Tuesday, 12/9, 6-8:50pm
Distribution (MSB 416-436); “Courtney Love
Does the Math”; Film: Money for Nothing Notes
Week 10 (10/21): Advertising
Advertising (MSB 296-328 & MS 699-
703); Nava and Nava “Discrimination or
Duped?” (MS 766-774); Malcolm Glad-
well, “The Coolhunt”: Film: Merchants of
Cool
Week 11 (10/28): TV News
Section 6 “News” (MS 627-696) Intro and all
essays in section; Chpt. 6 Ideologies and
Power: Case Study: News (MSB 194-206);
WEB SITE SUBMISSION 2 DUE
Week 12 (11/4): TV “Reality”
Chpt. 14 Documentary and ‘reality TV’
(MSB 455-478)
Week 13 (11/11): Audience & Reception
“Section 4:2 The Politics of Reading” (MS
467-515) Intro and all essays in section; Chpt.
8 Audiences (MSB 268-296)
Week 14 (11/18): Fan Culture & Recoding
Jenkins “’Strangers no More, We Sing,’ . . . ”
(MS 547-556); Hermes “Media, Meaning and
everyday Life” (MS 557-564) Dr. Gerald R. Lucas
http://litmuse.net/
Week 15 (11/25): Birth of New Media
TBA media@litmuse.net
Office Hours: MW 11-12; T 4-5
Week 16 (12/2): Review
WEB SITE SUBMISSION 3 DUE