updated 2/2/2011

The Anthropology of Mass Media

Anthropology 3438 (CRN# 083861)/5438 (CRN# 083999) Monday 5:30-8:00 Gladfelter 247 Dr. Naomi Schiller naomi.schiller@temple.edu Office Hours: Wednesdays 1-3pm, Fridays 10:30-11:30am, or by appointment Office: 217 Gladfelter Hall Office phone: (215) 204-1517 Course Description In the past fifteen years, the study of media has become a vibrant area of inquiry in anthropology. Rather than placing media technology or content at the center of analysis, anthropologists consider, ethnographically, the complex social worlds of production, reception, circulation, and distribution of various forms of media around the world. Moving beyond a focus of medias effects, some of the questions anthropologists ask include: What meanings do people construct with media? How is culture circulated and contested in making and consuming media? After exploring the theoretical approaches to public spheres and national communities and historical debates about media technologies, well consider case studies that include debates over cultural imperialism vs. the autonomy of local producers/consumers, the instability and stratification of reception, the shift from national to transnational circuits of production and consumption, and the increasing complicity of researchers with their subjects over representations of culture. This course examines the theoretical and methodological tools used by anthropologists in studying media as a social practice. Course Objectives 1. Gain familiarity with the field of anthropology of media and its theoretical foundations. 2. Analyze taken for granted media ideologies. 3. Advance skills in explication and critique in written work and oral presentation. Course Materials Books are available in bookstore and on reserve in Paley: 1) Abu, Lughod, Faye Ginsburg & Brian Larkin, eds. (2002) Media Worlds. UC Press 2) Askew, Kelly & Richard R. Wilk, eds. (2002) The Anthropology of Media. Blackwell 3) Abu Lughod, Lila (2005) Dramas of Nationhood Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Articles: Available on Blackboard.

Requirements for Undergraduate Students:

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1. 2.

Participation, attendance and one page memorandum due every class (25%) Midterm Essay (5-7 pp.) (35%) that integrates one reading from the theoretical foundations section of the syllabus with two readings from February 21st and two readings from February 28ths readings. Times New Roman 12pt Font, Double-Spaced, 1inch margins. Due February 28th Final Paper (15 pp.) (40%) Times New Roman 12pt Font, Double-Spaced, 1-inch margins. You have two choices: A) Write a paper that integrates and critiques two weeks of assigned readings (postSpring Break). Place these readings in conversation with at least one of the films we have screened and one of the readings from the theoretical foundations section. This is not a research paper. I expect you to draw on assigned readings. B) Propose a topic of your own relevant to the course, building on one or more weeks of reading, but expanding to explore a specific question. You must draw on at least one of the readings from the theoretical foundations section of the syllabus. Prior to designing your own topic, please email a proposed plan with bibliography. One page description and bibliography due by March 21st.

3.

Requirements for Graduate Students:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Weekly one page memorandum on readings and participation (25%) Class facilitation on assigned readings (5%) One page description of final paper. Due: March 21st Two Essays (5-7 pp.) (30%) Each essay should engage with one unit of readings, integrating and analyzing the central questions they raise. Your class facilitation should correspond with one of the essays.

5. Final Presentation (5%)

6.

Final Paper (15-20 pp.) (30%) Write an original paper that integrates, expands on, and critiques assigned readings, focused around a topic you plan to focus on in your own research. In addition to course readings, you should also draw on at least one monograph not assigned. The final paper can also be in the form of a research proposal.

Memoranda Submit a 1-page memorandum (about 300 words) at the start of each class by way of developing, criticizing, praising, or otherwise engaging an analytical issue, question or problem raised by the reading. This commentary should not be a summary of our readings but rather a response to the issues they raise along with questions that you think should be addressed during our meetings.
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updated 2/2/2011 They should try to make connections across some or all of the week's readings. And, as the seminar unfolds week by week, it is especially productive to see what points can be made, and questions raised, that join readings and discussions one week with prior weeks' readings and discussions. The memorandum will not be individually graded, but their submission each week is a firm requirement of the course and central to the participation grade. Undergraduates are strongly encouraged to informally present a summary of their memorandum at the start of each class if time allows. Each graduate student will informally present a summary of their memorandum at the start of each class. If space limits this, I will call on a number of students at the outset of class. I will not accept late memoranda. On Participation for Graduate and Undergraduate Students I expect you to read all required texts each week, and to bring the texts to class with you. Take notes when you readunderline, highlight, write in the margins, use sticky tabs (real and electronic). Note the key concepts, unfamiliar vocabulary, points of confusion/frustration. Strive to see the details and the big picture. In addition to these active reading strategies, you must also prepare in advance to discuss the texts in class. Your weekly one-page memorandum will help you focus your questions and concerns about the reading. Please keep in mind that your participation and attendance represents 25% of your final course grade. Even if you are shy, or do not feel comfortable speaking in front of the class, I expect you to challenge yourself to speak at least once each class period.

Score 25-24 23-22 21-20 19-18 17-16 -2 -3 -4

Participation, Memorandum, and Absences Always talks and listens well, hands in clear and thoughtful weekly memorandum Always talks and listens well, hands in weekly memorandum Always talks in class, hands in weekly memorandum that exhibit minimal effort Rarely talks in class, hands in weekly memorandum Never talks in class, hands in weekly memorandum More than 1 absence More than 2 absences More than 3 absences

Disability Statement: This course is open to all students who met the academic requirements for participation. Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Statement on Academic Freedom: Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable
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updated 2/2/2011 facets of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02) which can be accessed through the following link: http://policies.temple.edu/getdoc.asp?policy_no=03.70.02

PART I: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS January 24: Introducing Anthropology of Media Williams, Raymond. 1983 Media, Mediation. In Keywords. Pp. 203-207. January 31 : Foundations: Imagined Communities, Public Sphere Habermas, Jurgen (1974 [1964]) The Public Sphere, an Encyclopedia Article in New German Critique Pp 49-55. BB OPTIONAL FOR UNDERGRADS: Warner, Michael (2002) Publics and Counterpublics. New York: Zone Books. Pp. 21-63 BB Anderson, Benedict (1991) Imagined Communities. New York: Verso. Pp. 1-46. BB Lomnitz, Claudio (2001) Nationalism as a Practical System in Deep Mexico, Silent Mexico Pp. 1-14. BB Recommended: * Mah, Harold (2000) Phantasies of the Public Sphere: Rethinking the Habermas of Historians. The Journal of Modern History 72:153-182 *Montag, Warren (2000) The Pressure of the Street: Habermas's Fear of the Masses. In Masses, Classes, and the Public Sphere. M. Hill and W. Montag, eds. Pp. 132-145. NY: Verso. *Fraser, Nancy (2007) Transnationalizing the Public Sphere: On the Legitimacy and Efficacy of Public Opinion in a Post-Westphalian World. In Identities, Affiliations, and Allegiances. S. Benhabib, I. Shapira, and Petranovic, eds. Pp. 45-66. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. February 7: Debates over the Nature of Media Technologies The Anthropology of Media Introduction (pp. 1-10), Chapters 1-5 (pp.18-55)

updated 2/2/2011 Askew, Kelly Introduction McLuhan, Marshall. The Medium is the Message. Williams, Raymond. The Technology and the Society. Mead, Margaret and Gregory Bateson. On the Use of the Camera in Anthropology. Berger, John. The Ambiguity of the Photograph. February 14: Anthropologys Relationship to Media Appadurai, Arjun (2003) Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy in Planet TV eds. Lisa Parks and Shanti Kumar. New York: NYU Press. BB Sreberny-Mohammadi, Annabelle, The Global and the Local in International Communications The Anthropology of Media Himpele, Jeff. Arrival Scenes: Complicity & Media Ethnography in the Bolivian Public Sphere. Media Worlds Recommended: *Ginsburg, Faye (1994) Culture/Media: A (Mild) Polemic. Anthropology Today. 10(2):5-15. *Faye Ginsburg, L. Abu-Lughod, & B. Larkin (2002) Introduction, in Media Worlds. Pp. 1-25. *Mazzarella, William (2004) Culture, Globalization, Mediation. Annual Review of Anthropology 33(1):345-367. PART II: MEDIA PRACTICES February 21: Active Audiences and Media Reception Mankekar, Purnima National Texts and Gendered Lives: An Ethnography of Television Vierwers in a North Indian City The Anthropology of Media Spitulnik, Debra. Mobile Machines and Fluid Audiences: Rethinking Reception through Zambian Radio Culture. Media Worlds Murphy, Patrick (1999) Doing audience ethnography: A narrative account of establishing ethnographic identity and locating interpretive communities in fieldwork. Qualitative inquiry 5(4):479. BB Recommended: *Hahn, Elizabeth. The Tongan Tradition of Going to the Movies. Anthropology of Media *Tacchi, Jo Radio Texture: Between Self and Others, in Anthropology of Media
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updated 2/2/2011 * Kulick, Don and Margaret Wilson. Rambos Wife Saves the Day: Subjugating the Gaze and Subverting the Narrative in a Papua New Guinean Swamp. Anthropology of Media Reader

February 28 : The Social Sites of Media Production: UGS: Midterm Essay Due Screen: Nollywood Babylon 74 minutes Paley Media Services PN1993.5.N55 N6545 2010 Dornfeld, Barry Putting American Public Television Documentary in Its Place Media Worlds Ganti, Tejaswini And Yet My Heart is Still Indian: The Bombay Film Industry and the (H)Indianization of Hollywood, Media Worlds Davila, Arlene. Culture in the Ad World: Producing the Latin Look Media Worlds Recommended: The Supermen of Malegaon (Khan, Faiza, dir., 2008, 52 min.) March 7: SPRING BREAK Highly recommended: Begin reading Dramas of Nationhood March 14: Cultural Politics of Nation States Abu-Lughod, Lila (2004). Dramas of Nationhood: The Politics of Television in Egypt, Chapters 1,2, 4, 5 and Conclusion Recommended: Media Worlds 5-8 Mankekar, Purnima Epic Contests: Television and Religious Identity in India. Hamilton, Annette. The National Picture: Thai Media and Cultural Identity. Wilk, Richard R. Television, Time, and the National Imaginary in Belize. March 21: Media Activism: Witnessing GS: One page description and bibliography for final paper due UGS: One page description and bibliography of final paper (if choosing option B) Screen: Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country, dir. Anders Ostergaard, 86 min., 2009

updated 2/2/2011 Meg McLagan, Introduction: Making Human Rights Claims Public, American Anthropologist 108(1): 191-195. BB Leshu Torchin, Ravished Armenia: Visual Media, Humanitarian Advocacy, and the Formation of Witnessing Publics, American Anthropologist 108(1): 214-220 BB Sam Gregory, Transnational Storytelling: Human Rights, Witness, and Video Advocacy, American Anthropologist 108(1): 195-204. BB Recommended: *Aufderheide, Patricia (2000) Grassroots Video in Latin America. In Visible Nations: Latin American Cinema and Video. C.A. Noriega, ed. Pp. 219-238. Minneapolis: U Minnesota Press. *Goldstein, DM, and FW Castro (2006) Creative Violence: How Marginal People Make News in Bolivia. The Journal of Latin American Anthropology 11(2):380-407. *McLagan, M. Spectacles of Difference: Cultural Activism and the Mass Mediation of Tibet. *Juris, Jeffrey S. (2008). The New Digital Media and Activist Networking within AntiCorporate Globalization Movements. In The Anthropology of Globalization, Jonathan Xavier Inda and Renato Rosaldo eds. Blackwell: 352-370

March 28 : Cuban Media and Chiapas Media Project SPECIAL EVENT WITH ALEX HALKIN AND CARLOS RODRIGUEZ: YOUR ATTENDENCE REQUIRED Alexandra Halkins Outside the Indigenous Lens: Zapatistas and Autonomous Videomaking Global Indigenous Media Durham: Duke University Press pp. 160-178 BB April 4: Indigenous Media Screen: Satellite Dreaming, 1991, Ivo Burum for CAAMA, 54 min. Paley Media Services DU124.E74 S284x 2004 and BabaKiueria (dir. Don Featherstone, 1986, 29 min.) Paley Media Services Reserves PN1997 .B163x 1986 Wilson, Pamela and Michelle Steward Indigeneity and Indigenous Media on the Global Stage in Global Indigenous Media Durham: Duke University Press pp. 1-22 BB Ginsburg, Faye D. Screen Memories: Resignifying the Traditional in Indigenous Media. Media Worlds Turner, Terence. Representation, Politics, and Cultural Imagination in Indigenous Video: General Points and Kayapo Examples. Media Worlds Prins, Harald E.L. Visual Media and the Primitivist Perplex: Colonial Fantasies, Indigenous Imagination, and Advocacy in North America. Media Worlds
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Recommended: *Ginsburg, Faye. Rethinking the Digital Age in Pam Wilson, Michelle Stewart, eds. Global Indigenous Media Durham: Duke University Press BB

April 11: Journalism Pedelty, Mark. From War Stories: The Culture of Foreign Correspondents in Violence in War and Peace BB Hasty, Jennifer Performing power, composing culture: The state press in Ghana Ethnography 2006; 7; 69 BB Spitulnik, Debra Millennial Encounters with Mainstream Television News: Excess, Void, and Points of Engagement Journal of Linguistic Anthropology BB Recommended: *Bird, Elizabeth (2010) The Anthropology of News and Journalism *Bishara, Amahl Local Hands, International News BB April 18: Newer Media Screen: TBA Miller, Daniel & Don Slater. Relationships. The Anthropology of Media. Ilana Gershon (2010) Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Media Switching and Media Ideologies: Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 20:2 (Pages 389 - 405) BB Kelty, Chris 2005 Geeks, Social Imaginaries, and Recursive Publics Cultural Anthropology Vol. 20 (2): 185-214 BB Recommended: *Wilson, Sam and Leighton C. Peterson 2002 The Anthropology Of Online Communities Annual Review of Anthropology. Vol. 31: 449-467. *Boyd, Goder, and Lotan Tweet, Tweet, Retweet: Conversational Aspects of Retweeting on Twitter BB *Daniel Miller An Extreme Reading of Facebook http://blogs.nyu.edu/projects/materialworld/2010/02/fas_book_facebook_in_trinidad.html Discussion of Millers An Extreme Reading of Facebook:
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updated 2/2/2011 http://openanthcoop.ning.com/forum/topics/online-seminar-112-november April 25 : Wrap up and Presentations Graduate Student Presentations

FINAL PAPERS DUE: Wednesday, May 11, by 5pm in my mailbox More Recommended Books on Anthro of Media: Juhasz, Alexandra 1995 AIDS TV: Identity, Community and Alternative Video Duke Boyer, Dominic C. 2000 Spirit and System: Mass Media, Journalism, and the Dialectics of Modern German Intellectual Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Kosnick, Kira 2007 Migrant Media: Turkish Broadcasting and Multicultural Politics in Berlin Indiana Lydon, Jane (2005) Eye Contact: Photographing Indigenous Australians Duke Mankekar, Purnima 1999 Screening Culture, Viewing Politics: An Ethnography of Television Womanhood, and Nation in Postcolonial India. Duke University Press Dornfeld, Barry 1998 Producing Public Television: Producing Public Culture. Princeton James & Myung-Jin Park, eds 2000 Dewesternizing Media Studies Routledge Griffiths, Alison , 2001 Wondrous Difference: Cinema, Anthropology, and Turn of the Century Visual Culture, Columbia Kelty, Chris 2008 Two Bits: The Cultural Significance of Free Software Pinney, Chris and Nicholas Peterson, eds. 2003 Photographies Other Histories Duke Poole, Deborah 1997 Vision, Race and Modernity Princeton Roth, Lorna 2005 Something New in the Air: The Story of First Peoples Television Broadcasting in Canada Queens/McGill Press Mazzarella, William 2003Shoveling smoke: Advertising and globalization in contemporary India. Durham: Duke Univ Press. McCaughey, Martha and Micahel D. Ayers, eds. 2003, Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice Routledge
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Larkin, Brian 2010 Signal and Noise: Media, Infrastructure, and Urban Culture in Nigeria Duke Hendershot, Heather 2004 Shaking the World for Jesus: Media and Conservative Evangelical Culture (Chicago)

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