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Spring 2008

Communication 245:  Mass Communication and Culture


This course explores the relationship between media and culture.  Specifically, we will examine the history, functions, and industries of mass communication.  Students will acquire a broad understanding of how the mass media affect and interact with individuals and society.    

 

Communication 418/618:  Special Topics: Entertainment and Politics

For years politics and entertainment have had a flirtatious and tumultuous relationship.  Nixon's appearance on Laugh-in, to the political comedy of the Smothers Brothers, to the realistic presidential drama of The West Wing, to presidential candidate appearances on late-night comedy programs.  In this course, we will look at some examples of this relationship throughout history, with a specific focus on the latest trends in "politico-tainment" from 1992 to the present.   We will also examine the other side of this equation - that is, while politics is integrated into entertainment programs, so to are public affairs programs becoming more entertainment-oriented in both content and style. In an increasingly fragmented media environment with dwindling audience shares, news programs have been getting creative with their content and production choices - often incorporating more celebrity "news,"  more dramatic stories, more of the bizarre and unusual, and more coverage of entertainment. We will discuss both sides of this phenomenon, examine causes and effects of these trends, and critically examine the normative implications for citizenship and the healthy functioning of a democracy.

 

Fall 2007

Communication 452/652:  Communication and Persuasion

 

This course explores the fundamental processes of persuasion – including psychological, sociological, and communicative processes.  In doing so, we will consider various aspects of messages, both verbal and visual, and how these elements can influence attitudes, intentions, and behaviors.  We will explore each of these categories of persuasion techniques in detail and apply them to persuasion in the context of advertising and marketing, politics, and health campaigns.  In addition to acquiring skills as communication practitioners, we will also be exploring these processes as critical consumers of mass media – better understanding the tactics used by message senders to influence our attitudes, opinions, and behaviors.    

 

Communication 310:  Honors Seminar: Consuming the Romantic Utopia

 

This seminar offers students an opportunity to engage in an in-depth examination of Eva Illouz's, "Consuming the Romantic Utopia:  Love and the Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism."  Illouz explores the commodification of romance - how mass mediated messages have affected how we thinking about, envision, and engage in romance.  The book details years of field interviews, and analyzes the content of music, films, advertisements and advice columns that speak to and construct our culture's relationship with love.  Drawing upon the teachings and philosophies of Durkheim, Bell, and Weber, Illouz reveals the negotiations and tensions of meaning that exist in people's conceptualizations romance and the symbolic world of romance found in mass media.  Throughout the semester, students will critically examine the text, dissecting one chapter each week and relating its content to issues and events in the world around us.

 

Spring 2007

Communication 245:  Mass Communication and Culture

   MWF 11:15AM - 12:05PM PRN115

 

      This course explores the relationship between media and culture.  Specifically, we will examine the history, functions, and industries of mass communication.  Students will acquire a broad understanding of how the mass media affect and interact with individuals and society.    

 

Communication 450:  Mass Communication Effects

   MWF 1:25PM - 2:15PM GOR114

       In this course, we will explore the effects that mass mediated messages might have on individuals and society.  We will examine the processes through which the mass media might influence behaviors, opinions, and cultural trends.  Discussions will focus on the processes underlying these effects in the context of various kinds of content, including politics, advertising, entertainment and news.  Throughout the course, students will become critical readers of media effects literature, critical users of mass mediated messages, and will grow familiar with the current controversies surrounding media effects (Are they real? How strong are they?  For whom are they strongest?).