AUSTIN PEAY STATE UNIVERSITY

AUSTIN PEAY STATE UNIVERSITY

Department of Communication & Theatre

COMM 1200 Introduction to Mass Communication

Spring 2003 Syllabus (3 credits)

Instructor: Dr. Weiwu Zhang

Office: MMC 169 and/or MMC 187 (CRC)

Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 1:00-3:00pm, and by appointment

Office Phone: (931) 221-7973

Fax: (931) 221-7265

Email: zhangw@apsu.edu

Homepage: http://www.apsu.edu/zhangw

Course Description/Objectives

Catalog description: “Introduction to Mass Communication is designed to introduce the students to the mass media. Course explores media as institutions in American society.” As such, this course provides a general overview of the mass media - what they are, how they operate, what they communicate, and how they influence our lives and society. The course is broken into two major parts. First, we will examine various mass media organizations, their history, structures, functions, problems and potentials. Second, we will examine effects of media on individuals and society.

Hopefully by the end of this course you will:

appreciate the importance of communication and find communication interesting;
know, at least in general terms about some key things about the past, present, and possible future of each mass media.

Be able to

a. use the library to find information about mass media and communication;

b. distinguish arguments from empirical evidence;

c. critically evaluate claims about the roles and functions of the media you hear and read about;

d. critically evaluate what you see and hear in the mass media--that is, be a critical media consumer;

e. think with systematic logic, thoughtfulness, creativity, and an open mind when evaluating the ideas and opinions of other people;

f. sort out your ideas about how you might want to use mass media in developing your career.

Required Readings

Joseph R. Dominick. (2002). The dynamics of mass communication: Media in the digital age. (7^th edition). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

General Course Structure and Approach

In the course, we will be using a variety of learning methods. In the threaded discussion area, we discuss course concepts and invite students to offer their own experiences, personal and professional backgrounds, and view points. An active discussion and your enthusiastic participation are important to your learning experience, to your grade, and to the success of your fellow students.

Course Assignments & Grading

Exams - There will be three exams during the semester. The major format of the exams will be true or false and multiple choice. The final exam might have a couple of essay questions. Exams will cover materials from both lecture postings and textbooks. Note that the exams are not cumulative, so each exam focuses on the material from that particular unit.

Telephone survey project or media industry review - Each student is required to devote 1 night to a public opinion telephone survey project. Alternatively, students can do a thorough overview of a particular media industry. Each student will be assigned to a particular topic on the course outline and expected to review systematically the literature in this area and produce a review essay on the basis of this research. The review should go beyond the assigned readings.

Weekly response papers – Every week, you’re required to prepare a

“response paper” (100-200 words) that raise issues and questions about the respective week’s reading and post your response no later than Friday each week.

Discussion questions – The instructor will regularly present lecture materials, useful web links, and post online discussion questions, and assignments on Monday. Plan for responses of 100-200 words for each question and at least one response to someone else’s comment on each question.

You should refer regularly to the Course Schedule which provides a framework for the course, so we can progress through the same units and discussions together.

Please respond to assignments in a timely way. It's very easy to miss important information if you don't stay fairly close to the Course Schedule. You may post directly into the threaded or attach documents. MSWord is the preferred format for attached documents. If something prevents your participation, please make sure to let your instructor know. Students may post questions or requests for clarification, which may be answered by the instructor as well as by other students.

Communication with the Instructor

You may be new to online learning or you may be a little uncomfortable with some of the technology. Regardless of your experience, it's very important that you ask questions whenever you have any confusion about an assignment or course expectations. You can also communicate with me via e-mail or send a fax. All e-mails must include COMM 1200 in the subject line. In addition to electronic communication, I am available for telephone conversations. Contact information is listed on my profile. I suggest you send an email first so we can arrange a time. If you're encountering technical problems, you may call the APSU help desk at 931-221-help.

Use the Media!!!

Outside of class, you should pay close attention to the public affairs mass media content on a daily basis. You should read at least one newspaper (e.g., The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, or The Washington Post), one news magazine (e.g., Newsweek, Time, or US News & World Report), and watch a television news program regularly (e.g., ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, or ABC News Nightline) or watch BBC World Service on Nashville Public Television (NPT) at 10pm every weekday or listen to WPLN, Nashville Public Radio’s “Morning Edition, “ from 5 - 9am, Monday through Friday, “Weekend Edition” 7 - 9pm Saturday and Sunday; and “All Things Considered,” 3 - 6pm, Monday through Friday, and 4 - 5pm Sunday, Nashville Public Radio is found at 90.3FM or 1430AM.

These sources of information will keep you informed of the current events – something each of us should do as a responsible democratic citizen. In addition, class examples will frequently be taken from recent media content, thus you will be in a better position understanding the concepts/theories discussed in class if you have already picked them up from the mass media.

Websites for Some Media Organizations:

The Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com

Newsweek http://www.newsweek.com

The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com

Time http://www.time.com

US News & World Report http://www.usnews.com

The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com

In summary, course grades will be based on the following:

Discussion responses/participation 5%

Telephone survey project or media overview report 10%

Weekly response papers 10%

Exam 1 20%

Exam 2 25%

Final exam 30%

Your Discussion responses will be evaluated according to the following scale:

Excellent	4 Points
Very Good	3 Points
Good	2 Points
Fair	1 Points
Poor/No response	0 Points

Final grades will be based on a scale with various cut-off points determined on a curve. To get a passing grade, you must take part in each exam on the scheduled date. You must notify me 24 hours prior to, or 24 after a scheduled exam and show me a written documentation to qualify for a make-up exam. If the exam schedules conflict with a religious holiday or existing travel plans, bring this to my attention by the end of the first week of class so we can make some mutually convenient arrangements. Having more than one exam on the same day is not a legitimate reason to miss an exam in this course. After the first week of class, only those with a formal, written excuse from a doctor will have exams rescheduled. Any others who miss an exam will receive a zero for that exam and, most likely, fail the course.

Course Assessment

Other course assessment activities include the following:

Course Evaluation: You will receive a course evaluation form to complete. It will be returned to the department evaluation coordinator, not to your instructor. Evaluations are anonymous and will not be reviewed until grades have been assigned.

Important Course Rules and Policies

Disability note

Any student who has a disability that may affect his/her academic performance is encouraged to make an appointment with me t o discuss this matter, or you may contact Disability Services in the Clement Building, Suite 140 at 221-6230 (Voice) or 221-6278 V/TDD.

Attendance

Since this is an online class, regular attendance is not taken. However, you’re expected to check my lecture postings on a daily basis. My lectures may not necessarily be redundant with textbook materials and lecture notes will not be posted permanently on the course sites. If you miss classes, it’s your loss as exams will cover both textbooks and lecture materials. The bottomline is that if you miss many classes, you won’t learn the material and your grades will DEFINITELY suffer.

Academic integrity

Cheating on exams or plagiarism or any form of violation of the University honor code is serious offense and will be dealt with appropriately ranging from a failing grade for an assignment, for the entire course to even expulsion from the University. The work you turn in must be entirely your own.

Late assignments

Late assignments will be accepted only under extreme circumstances on a case-by-case basis.

Extra credits

There might be opportunities for you to participate in some research projects during the semester to earn some extra credits through the Communication Research Center (CRC) at the Department of Communication and Theatre as a telephone interviewer. It can bolster your final course grade if your grades are on the borderline, but the extra credit session is NOT a replacement for any major assignment. If you sign up for the extra credit sessions, you must show up or your grades will be lower.

Make-up exams

Not likely. No make-up exams will be given, except in the cases of family emergency, incarceration, official University business, or other life-threatening situations. Notify me as soon as possible and provide written documentation. If you fail to inform me of the situation, you will receive zero for the exam.

Incompletes

I don’t give them. The only way to qualify for consideration of an incomplete is for extreme cause to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Instructor’s Educational Philosophy

I believe that the major purpose of teaching is the nurturing of students’ curiosity, the logical and creative ways of thinking, and essential skills of observation and task execution that lead to life-long, self-initiated learning. In keeping with this philosophy, I will give you what you want to know and what I think you NEED to know, and provide as much intellectual stimulation as my abilities permit, but I also expect you to challenge me and to question my and other scholars’ assumptions. I expect you to take an active part in this learning process. I am “notoriously” good at getting you to worry more (to a certain extent), so don’t sit back and expect me to entertain you. In addition, learning involves more than memorizing facts and figures. The most useful learning, I think, is about how to think, both creatively and critically; how to find, use, and evaluate information; and how to express ideas effectively in writing and speech.

Final Note

While I do not regularly lose things, I expect that you will make a copy of everything you give me. Should there be any dispute about what you turned in, I will expect to be able to ask for a xerox copy of the paper within a reasonably SHORT time period (same day as requested). If you are unable to produce one, I will consider this as evidence that the paper is not turned in at the assigned time. At any rate, the dollar it costs you to make a photostat is a small price to pay to insure the document on which you have spent a chunk of your life.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Note: The instructor reserves the right to make necessary changes about the schedule or assignments. You’re expected to read the latest announcements on a daily basis.

Week 1: 01/06 - 01/12 Course Overview

READ the syllabus carefully; revise and correct profile

Week 2: 01/13 - 01/19 Introduction to Mass Communication

Dynamics, Chapter 1 Communication: Mass and Other Forms

Week 3: 01/20 - 01/26 Functional and critical perspectives on & history and context of

mass communication

Dynamics, Chapters 2, perspectives On Mass Communication and 3, Historical

and Cultural Context

Week 4: 01/27 - 02/02 Newspapers

Dynamics, Chapter 4, Newspapers

Week 5: 02/03 - 02/09 Magazines and books

Dynamics, Chapter 5, Magazines Chapter 6, Book Publishing

Week 6: 02/10 - 02/16 Radio and Sound recording

Dynamics, Chapter 7, Radio; Chapter 8, Sound Recording

EXAM ONE 02/10 - 02/12

Week 7: 02/17 - 02/23 Motion pictures and television

Dynamics, Chapter 9, Motion Pictures Chapter 10, Television

Week 8: 02/24 - 03/02 New media & news gathering and reporting

Dynamics, Chapter 11, The internet and the WWW; Chapter 12, News gathering and reporting

Week 9: 03/03 - 03/09 Public relations & advertising

Dynamics, Chapters 13 Public Relations; Chapter 14 Advertising

Week 10: 03/10 – 03/16 SPRING BREAK – NO CLASSES!

Week 11: 03/17 - 03/23 Media law & Ethics

Dynamics, Chapter 15, Formal Controls: Laws, Rules, Regulations; Chapter 16, Ethics and Other Informal Controls

EXAM TWO 03/17-03/19

Week 12: 03/24 - 03/30 International communication & Media effects

Dynamics, Chapter 17, The global village; Chapter 18, Social effects of mass communication

Week 13: 03/31 – 04/06 Review and Catch-up & Course Evaluations

Due: Submit Course Evaluation (April 6)

Final exam 04/21 – 04/23