Popular Culture and Communications

York University

Communication Studies AP/COMN 4700 6.0 SU 2014

 

Popular Culture and Communications

 

Monday and Wednesday 5-8pm VH 1022

 

Course Director: Dr. Alex Levant, [email protected]

 

Description: Employing a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives, this course examines the role of communications media and information technology in the production and circulation of popular cultural artifacts and practices. It begins with an introduction to the main schools of thought in communication and cultural theory, including Semiotics, Frankfurt School, Birmingham School, Autonomia, Activity Theory, as well as foundational concepts like, propaganda, ideology, culture industry, post/modernity, capitalism, social factory, alienation, postpolitics, among others. Using this ‘conceptual toolkit’ as a basis for analysis, the course proceeds to examine current issues, including ‘race’ and the global division of labour, the contested terrain of the Internet, intellectual property, piracy, and privacy. Students will: (1) acquire an understanding of the history and main ideas of some of the principal schools of thought in communication and cultural theory; (2) be equipped with a historical and analytical grounding to interpret current issues in the field; (3) develop analytical and communicative skills through a number of individual and collective exercises.

 

Office Hours: I will be available to talk on an individual basis by appointment. Feel free to email me, but please give me at least 48 hours to respond and make sure to identify the course (COMN 4700) in the subject heading of your message.

 

Required Texts: All readings are available online or through the York University Library.

 

Course Evaluation:

Participation 15%

Presentation 20%

Group Discussion Report 15% Due: One week after group discussion

Journal 15% Due: Beginning of class

Research Essay (12-15 pages) 35% Due: July 30 in class

 

Research Essay - 35%

 

Each student is required to write a major research essay that will examine any issue, controversy, theoretical problem, or cultural object, relevant to the themes and topics covered by the course. It is to be 12-15 pages in length, plus bibliography. Your paper must have a title, clear introduction with thesis statement, and arguments supported with examples. It must be double-spaced, in Times Roman 12 pt font with reasonable margins. Your sources should be properly cited using endnotes, footnotes or in parentheses in the body of the essay, as well as a bibliography. Please number your pages. Due date: July 30 in class.

 

Group Discussion Report – 15%

The class will be divided into groups of 4 students. Please exchange contact information, as this will be your group for the rest of the course. Group discussions will take place on 4 occasions during class time and will be based on the material covered (readings, films, lectures). Your group will receive a question sheet that will guide your discussion. You will have to choose a facilitator to lead the discussion. Everyone must take on the facilitator role once. In addition to leading the group discussion, the facilitator must submit a report that includes your answers based on the group discussion and your subsequent reflections. The report should be no more than 5 double-spaced typed pages in length. You do not have to use essay form, but please express your thoughts in a coherent manner. Please include: a) your name, b) your group #, and c) the names of all members of your group who were present during discussion. Your report will be graded based on your comprehension of the course material, the depth of your engagement with the material, and your capacity to convey your ideas to your reader. The facilitator must hand in the report in class one week after the group discussion.

Journal – 15%

 

Students are required to keep a journal where you will record your reflections on the content of the course. Each entry will be based on all of the readings assigned for that day, and should be no more than 2-3 double-spaced typewritten pages in length. Each journal entry should contain a brief summary of the main points of the reading(s) assigned for that day. In addition, identify aspects that you find most interesting. Consider how these points relate to your life and to the other material on the course. Try to make connections to the other material on the course, including other readings, lectures, films, etc. Feel free to bring your own thoughts into it, and be creative! You are required to make a total of five (5) journal entries over the span of the course (choose the readings you find most interesting). Each journal entry must be handed in at the beginning of the class for which the readings are assigned. The journal as a whole (consisting of 5 entries) will be graded out of 15 at the end of the course. You will be graded on how seriously you engage with the course material and how well you are able to express your ideas.

 

Presentation - 20%

 

You will be required to lead a seminar of 15 minutes in length (plus 5 minutes discussion) in which you will analyze an object of popular culture using one or more perspectives covered in the class. The object can be anything relevant to popular culture and media: a music video, an advertisement, a film clip, a magazine or newspaper article, or even a series of tweets or facebook posts. The analysis must demonstrate knowledge of the object in question and show a rigorous engagement and thought about the various aspects in play in the object and in the approach used to analyze it. The presentations will be peer-graded by the rest of the class and by the professor. A rubric for peer-grading will be handed out in class.

 

Participation - 15%

 

Since this is a senior undergraduate seminar, attendance and participation are absolutely crucial. It is very important that students not only attend but also complete the weekly reading and be prepared to discuss it. The best way to demonstrate you’ve done the reading is to make pertinent contributions to class discussion each week. Students who make it apparent that they are not reading, either through their comments or silence, will do poorly on the participation component. Also, bear in mind that participation will be graded on the quality, not just the quantity, of interventions in the class, including demonstrated preparedness. That means a few comments that are insightful and show adequate preparation will go farther than constant speaking that is opinionated but ill informed. Because of this, shy students can do well on this component provided they prepare adequately for the class. A portion of your participation mark will be based on your participation in the group discussions, and on your peer-grading of the student presentations.

 

Other Considerations: