American Media 4219-SD0090
The course presents a panorama of American media: from print to electronic and the Internet. It looks at their historical development discussing such phenomena as penny press, yellow journalism, networks, syndication, interactivity, etc. which allows students to grasp the processes behind media creation and functioning and position them in a broader socio-cultural context. Presenting noteworthy, iconic TV and radio programs in the history of the media, it acquaints students with American media culture. Moreover, the course attempts to look at the media as an institution of socio-cultural, economic and political life considering their relations to government agencies, market, interest groups, etc. The historic and institutional approach will be complemented with a discussion of the present media scene. We will try to trace the most popular media formats and titles and infer their role and influence on the audiences. The following bibliography will be supplemented by DVDs and movies on the media.
Type of course
Mode
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to identify main stages in the development of the American media. They will be acquainted with main concepts, structures and working of the media industry. Students will be able to identify, describe and define main media formats, place them within the framework of the media history and trace their development or demise. The course will also serve the purpose of media literacy equipping students with tools to grasp and understand modern media environment, concerning issues of ethics, objectivity, representation (stereotyping, omission), etc. Moreover, students will develop a critical approach to discuss the media and grasp their further evolution.
Assessment criteria
Students will be graded on account of their active participation in the class discussions based on assigned readings. They will contribute three written responses to actual media material discussed in class (working on primary media sources). Two tests: midterm and final will take place during the semester. Additionally, there will be a possibility for an oral presentation of some over-the-syllabus material.
Bibliography
Altschull, J. Herbert. Agents of Power: The Role of the News Media in Human Affairs. New York: Longman, 1984.
Bliss, Edward. Now the News: The Story of Broadcast Journalism. NY: Columbia University Press, 1991.
Curran, James, and Michael Gurevitch, eds. Mass Media and Society. 2nd ed. New York: Arnold, 1997.
Emery, Edwin, and Michael Emery. The Press and America: An Interpretive History of the Mass Media. 9th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000.
Fairclough Norman. Media Discourse. New York: Edward Arnold, 1995.
Gittlin, Todd. Watching Television: A Pantheon Guide to Popular Culture. New York, Pantheon Books, 1986.
Goldberg, Robert, and Gerald Jay. Anchors: Brokaw, Jennings, Rather and the Evening News. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing Group, 1990.
Goodwin, Andrew, and Garry Whannel. Understanding Television. NY: Routledge, 1990.
Gross, Lynne S. See/Hear: An Introduction to Broadcasting. Dubuque, Io: Wm. C. Brown, 1979.
Horowitz, David, and Laurence Jarvik. Public Broadcasting and the Public Trust. LA: Center for the Study of Popular Culture. 1995.
Patten, David. Newspapers and New Media. White Plains, NY: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1986.
Schudson, Michael, Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers. Basic Books, 1978.
Sloan, David Wm., and James D. Startt, eds. The Media in America: A History. Northport, Al: Vision Press, 1996.
Sobchack, Vivian, ed. The persistence of History: Cinema, Television and the Modern Event. NY: Routledge, 1996.
Tichi, Cecelia. Electronic Hearth: Creating an American Television Culture. NY: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Additionally articles from journals and other media sources on current media affairs.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: