Syllabus: Com11 Introduction to Communication

COM 11: Introduction to Communication
Lecturer: Jonathan C. Ong
1 Semester 2007-2008
Department of Communication
Ateneo de Manila University

I. Course Description
This course is an introduction to the study of media forms, texts, systems, and audiences and their contribution to social life. By highlighting the centrality of media and communication technologies in the practices of everyday life, this course challenges students to think critically about their own experiences as users/producers of media products in light of theoretical debates within the field. Adopting a critical approach, this course expands on the key question of Roger Silverstone (2006): “The media may have extended our reach but have they extended understanding?” By reviewing key concepts such as the public sphere, representation, identity, mass culture, and political economy, this course encourages critical attention as to how the media enable or disable dialogue and understanding in a world of complex connectivity. The course is divided into three main blocks: Institutions, Images, and Individuals.

II. General Objectives
This course aims to:
• introduce theories and concepts from the field of media and communication studies
• chart the development of media and communications as a social science discipline, highlighting its intersections with related fields
• underscore the political, social, cultural, and moral relevance in understanding the media’s role in today’s world

III. Methodology
Media and communications is an academic discipline that requires much reading—reading from textbooks and academic journals as well as “reading” from media such as film, television, and music. The quintessential Ateneo Communication student is someone who is able to link “theoretical knowledge” gathered from books and “practical knowledge” acquired from exposure to media artifacts. It is the student’s responsibility to keep up with the varied reading materials.

The course consists of lectures, lecturettes, guest lectures from industry professionals, seminar discussions, online discussions, film viewings, research work, and creative work.

IV. Topic Outline
1. Week 1 (June 14): Film-viewing
• As the lecturer is in London at this time, there is film-viewing of Ugly Betty (ABC)

2. Week 2 (June 21): Introduction
• Introduces course aims, methods, and requirements
• Provides an overview of the field of media and communications research
• Distinguishes between transmission and ritual models of communication and critical and administrative research
• Key readings:
a. Silverstone, R. (1999). Why Study the Media? London: Sage. (Chapter 1)
b. McQuail, D. (ed.) (2004). McQuail’s Reader in Mass Communication Theory. London: Sage. (Part 1 General Introduction, pp. 1-20)

3. Week 3 (June 26): The Philippine Media Landscape
• June 26 Guest Lecturer: Kristina Perez, Starcom
• In the opening lecture of the block on Institutions, Perez introduces the key features of contemporary mass media in the Philippines: the market structure, major players, and consumption characteristics
• Key readings:
a. Hallin, D. & P. Mancini (2003). Comparing Media Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
b. Ang, I. (1991). Desperately Seeking the Audience. London: Routledge. (pp 60-67)

4. Week 4 (July 3&5): Media Power and Critique
* Explores the contribution of the Frankfurt School in the analysis of how power is exercised through the processes of media production and consumption
• Situates the Frankfurt School’s critiques of mass society side-by-side populist arguments
• Introduces the concept of ideology
• Key readings:
a. Strinati, D. (2004). An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. London: Routledge. (Chapter 2)
b. Fiske, J. (2003). “Understanding Popular Culture.” In Brooker, W. & D. Jermyn. (eds). The Audience Studies Reader. London: Routledge.

5. Week 5 (July 10&12): The Public Sphere
• Uses the concept of the public sphere to evaluate how the media functions as a discursive space in democratic society
• Case studies: Jerry Springer, Debate (GMA 7), breast cancer patients’ message board
• Key readings:
a. Cammaerts, B. (2006). “The Public Sphere, Deliberation and Critiques.” Lecture: London School of Economics.
b. Lunt, P. & P. Stenner. (2005). “The Jerry Springer Show as an Emotional Public Sphere.” In Media, Culture & Society, 27 (1).

6. Week 6 (July 17&19): Political Economy of the (New) Media
• Explores how the paradigm of the political economy of communications contributes to a critical understanding of inequalities in ownership, access, and literacy in today’s (new) media environment
• Key readings:
a. Mansell, R. (2004). “Political Economy, Power and New Media.” In New Media & Society, 6 (1).
b. Rogers, R. (2004). Information Politics on the Web. Massachusetts: MIT Press. (Chapter 1)

7. Week 7 (July 24&26): Orals Week
• Orals questions cover topics from the first block.

8. Week 8 (July 31&Aug 2): Introduction to Textual Analysis
• The Images block of the course begins with a presentation of quantitative and qualitative approaches to textual analysis, including news framing, semiotics, and discourse analysis
• Case study: lifestyle magazines, Little Children (2006), old print ads
• Key readings:
a. Hall, S. (ed.) (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Open UP. (Chapter 1)
b. Macdonald, M. (2003). Exploring Media Discourse. London: Arnold. (Chapter 5)

9. Week 9 (Aug7&9): Representations of the Other
• Develops a critique of the processes of Other-ing present in popular media representations
• Introduces the concepts of Orientalism, compassion fatigue, media fatigue, and proper distance
• Key readings:
a. Silverstone, R. (2006). Media and Morality: On the Rise of the Mediapolis. London: Polity. (Chapter 3)
b. Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. London: Routledge. Pp. 1-28, 49-73.

10. Week 10 (Aug14&16): Race, Gender and Sexuality
• Examines further contributions of post-colonial theories to the critique of media representations, specifically with the construction of race, gender, and sexuality
• Introduces the concepts of anti-essentialism, hybridity and diaspora
• Key readings:
a. Dyer, R. (1997). White. London: Routledge (Chapter 4).
b. Grewal, I. (2005). Transnational America: Feminisms, Diasporas, Neoliberalisms. Durham: Duke University Press. (Chapter 3)

11. Week 11 (Aug 21&23): Introduction to Media Audiences – American Mass Communication Research
• The Individuals block of the course begins by presenting the “dominant paradigm” of mass communication research
• Examines the relevance of the “effects” framework for policy-, commercial-, and development-oriented projects
• Key readings:
a. Infante, D. et al (1993). Building Communication Theory, 2nd ed. Illinois: Waveland Press. (Chapter 12)
b. Gauntlett, D. (2003). “Ten Things Wrong with the Effects Model.” In Rayner, P. et al. Media Studies: The Essential Resource. London: Routledge.

12. Week 12 (Aug 28&30): Introduction to Media Audiences – British Cultural Studies
* Introduces the tradition of reception studies in audience research
• Presents Hall’s encoding/decoding model and Morley’s Nationwide study, alongside other case studies
• Key readings:
a. Alasuutari, P. (1999). “Introduction” In Alasuutari, P. (ed.) Rethinking the Media Audience. London: Sage.
b. Radway, J. (2003). “Reading the Romance.” In Brooker, W. & D. Jermyn. (eds). The Audience Studies Reader. London: Routledge.

13. Week 13 (Sept 4&6): New Media and Active Audiences
• Guest Lecturer: Jason Cabanes, ASEAN Research Fellow, National University of Singapore
• Presents the Domestication and Social Shaping of Technology (SST) frameworks in studying users and consumers of new media technologies
• Presents a critique of McLuhan’s technological deterministic arguments
• Key readings:
a. Lievrouw, L.A. and S. Livingstone (eds.) (2006). The Handbook of New Media, updated student edition. London: Sage. (pp15-32)
b. Silverstone, R. & L. Haddon (1996). “Design and the Domestication of Information & Communication Technologies.” In Mansell, R. & R. Silverstone (eds.) Communication by Design: The Politics of Information and Communication Technologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

14. Week 14 (Sept 11&13): Presentation of Creative Projects

15. Week 15 (Sept 18&20): Cosmopolitanism, Media and Morality
• The last series of concluding lectures underscores the moral role of all participants in the global media: owners, producers, actors, and audiences
• Introduces the concepts of mediapolis, responsibility, cosmopolitanism, and risk society
• Key readings:
a. Silverstone, R. (2006). Media and Morality: On the Rise of the Mediapolis. London: Polity. (Chapters 1-2)
b. Beck, U. (2007). “Global Generations in World Risk Society.” Public Lecture at the London School of Economics.

16. Week 16 (Sept 25&27): Cosmopolitanism, Media and Morality Part 2
• Opens up the debate on cosmopolitanism and its possibilities (or impossibilities)
• Links cosmopolitanism to concepts of hybridity and the “third space”
• Case studies: local and international audiences of distant suffering; empirical studies and reflections on September 11
• Key readings:
a. Ang, I. (2001) On Not Speaking Chinese. London: Routledge. (Chapter 1)
b. Ong, J.C. (2007). “Children Watching Children: How Filipino Kids Perceive Suffering in International News Media”. MIT Media in Transition Conference Paper. Cambridge, Massachusetts.

17. Week 17 (Oct 2&4): Conclusion
• Presents a summary of the course and provides suggestions as to its application in everyday life
• Key readings:
a. Silverstone, R. (1999). Why Study the Media? London: Sage. (Chapters 15-16)
b. Orgad, S. (2007). “The Internet as a Moral Space: The Legacy of Roger Silverstone.” In New Media & Society, 9 (1).

V. Course Requirements
1) Oral exam - 20%
2) Creative project – 20%
3) Quizzes – 20%
4) Final paper – 25%
5) Participation – 15%

1 - The oral exam is done in pairs. For 15 minutes, students are expected to expound on thesis statements provided beforehand and field follow-up questions from the examiner. It is crucial for students to display understanding of authors’ main arguments, know their strengths and weaknesses/limitations, and provide specific “everyday life” examples to contextualize each theory/concept. Students should also be prepared to answer questions about the readings from Week 2 to Week 6.

2 – The creative project (documentary, fiction film, ad campaign, webisodes, website, “media event”, debate, etc) is an attempt to challenge students to become effective and responsible media producers. The objective of the creative project is to provoke further debate in a specific issue (or issues) discussed in class. This is to be accomplished by groups of not more than five (5) students. Examples of creative projects may be: 1) a live talk show that attempts to approximate a public sphere, 2) a mini-soap opera about Radway’s romance novel readers, 3) a satire of effects tradition research methodology , 4) a reality TV program that tries to find the “ultimate cosmopolitan,” etc.

3 – There will be at least four quizzes throughout the term. Quizzes can be essay-based or can take the form of class presentations.

4 – The final paper is a take-home essay. Essay questions will be revealed in class on September 18. Submission of essays is on October 7 via email to Jonathan Ong and Jason Cabanes. Essays are marked independently and averaged.

5 – Participation takes into account classroom discussions and online discussions. Students are expected to display critical thinking, wide reading, and the ability to link concepts from the various lectures and even from their other classes.

VI. Biographical Notes
Jonathan C. Ong graduated AB Communication from Ateneo de Manila University (summa cum laude) in 2003. Since then, he has worked at McCann-Erickson, GMA Network, and the British Broadcasting Company. He is currently completing his MSc dissertation at the London School of Economics on how Filipinos in London construct their identity in the rituals of news reception and use of videoke. His research interests are on media and migration, media and morality, and mediated public participation.

VII. Contact Information
Contact the lecturer at bertiebott@hotmail.com with COM11 on the subject line. He holds office at the Department of Communication every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Students (individually or in groups) should sign up for consultation in this online sign-up sheet. Office hours can be used to clarify theories discussed in class, get feedback from class assignments, discuss the readings, etc. Students are encouraged to meet with the lecturer at least once during the term.