The Mass Media and Society (COMM 100)
Spring 2013
310 Frable Building
Spring 2013
310 Frable Building
T & Th 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM
Instructor: Zack Furness, Assistant Professor of
Communications
Office: 106B Main Building
Office hours: Tuesday 1:00-4:00, Wednesday 12:00-1:00, and
by appt.
Office phone: 412-675-9153
Email: zackfurness@psu.edu (Please give me up to 24 hours
to respond and do NOT try to reach me through ANGEL...simply email me directly)
Course blog: http://media-society-psuga.blogspot.com
Course Description
The Mass Media and Society is an overview of the interaction
between mass media and society. By drawing from selected topics, the course
pays particular attention to the social influences (e.g., economics, politics,
technology, law and culture) that shape media messages. Among others, the
course examines the nature of media controllers as well as the character of
"users" and "consumers" of media products. By so doing,
students are informed about the overall structure and scope of the mass media
and led to understand the power and influences associated with media messages
and practices. By the end of the semester, each student should have a better
understanding of the dynamic nature of the mass media in an information
society.
Credit Information
This course fulfills 3 credits in General Education (GS) and
also fulfills one of the ‘Common Requirements’ for the BA degree in
Communications. There are no
prerequisites for enrollment in this course.
Required Texts
·
David
Croteau, William Hoynes and Stefania Milan,
Media/Society: Industries,
Images, and Audiences—Fourth Edition (SAGE Publications, 2012). This book is available at the PSUGA
bookstore.
·
All
other reading assignments will be distributed for free, in PDF format.
Grades
Grading Rubric
Class Attendance & Participation: 20%
Quizzes: 40%
Papers: 15%
Final Exam: 25%
Final Exam: 25%
Weekly Readings and In-class Activities
- The schedule of weekly reading assignments (and due dates) is posted on the course blog and it is subject to change. You will be notified in advance if/when such changes occur. Be sure to check the blog and your Penn State email for updates!
- Reading assignments from the book will be abbreviated on our schedule as MS (Media/Society)
- Suggestions for further reading and research, as well as reading questions & reading guides will be posted online.
Participation
Participating in class is not to be confused with simply
showing up and occupying the same space as your fellow students. Participation
means coming to class ready to ask questions, discuss weekly reading
assignments, and engage in thoughtful, respectful conversation with your peers
(and the professor). In short, your participation grade is not a ‘freebie’; it
is earned and I do not give A’s as a reward for just paying attention in class
(this much is expected of you in any college course).
Quizzes
We will have 6 quizzes throughout the semester and 5 of them will count toward your final grade (your lowest score will be dropped).
The final exam will take place on the last day of class.
Papers
We will have 1 or 2 short papers (2-3 pages) assigned in this class. Detailed instructions for the assignments, as well as grading rubrics, will be posted on the blog and discussed prior to their due dates.
- I do not offer make-up quizzes. Unless you have a legitimate reason for missing class you will not be allowed to make up a quiz if you are absent the day a quiz is administered. Legitimate reasons include 1) school functions in which your participation is mandatory, 2) hospitalization, 3) funeral attendance. If you are absent for any of these reasons, you need to provide me with the proper documentation.
- Quiz scores will be posted online but quizzes will not be handed back. If you wish to see your graded quiz you are welcome to stop by my office hours to check it out.
The final exam will take place on the last day of class.
Papers
We will have 1 or 2 short papers (2-3 pages) assigned in this class. Detailed instructions for the assignments, as well as grading rubrics, will be posted on the blog and discussed prior to their due dates.
Course Policies (Our Contract)
These policies are important: PLEASE READ THEM
1. Email
All students are required to make use of their Penn State
email accounts. While I recognize that you all have your preferred email
addresses, you will still be expected to check your school email account on a
regular basis, and I will use this address to contact you throughout the
semester. With respect to our correspondences, please give me up to 24 hours to
respond to emails. In addition, make sure to consult the syllabus and any
relevant documents (such as paper assignments) on the course blog before
emailing me with questions that I have already explained and/or addressed in
writing. I am more than happy to answer questions via email, but I receive
20-40 emails a day and strongly prefer not to answer questions about things
that are clearly posted online.
2. Attendance
Students are expected to attend all classes and read the
assignments so as to be prepared for class discussion. Experience shows that
there is a direct relation between attendance and performance in the course.
Absences hurt your ability to learn and they hurt your grade. In short, come to
class! Signing up for this class indicates that you are committed to being here
for the full class period each class meeting. If you miss class, you are still responsible
for whatever was covered in lecture and discussion that day. On a related note,
please do NOT email me (if you were absent) in order to ask what you missed in
class…just check the course blog. Similarly, there is no need to email me in
order to tell me why you missed class…just show up the next week ready to go!
3. Late Arrivals and Early Departures
Your professor finds people entering and leaving the
classroom during lecture to be very unpleasant and distracting. If you know
that you must leave early on a given day, please let him know before class.
Please make your visits to the bathroom and drinking fountain before and after
class. If you arrive late or leave early (or if your excretory system presents
you with an emergency in the middle of class) enter or leave the classroom
quietly. If you are more than 10 minutes late, don’t come to class. Repeat
offenders will find their semester grades reduced.
4. Assignments and Extensions
- Reading assignments and paper assignments will be provided well in advance of due dates.
- Clear and coherent writing is an important factor in your success in this class. I urge you to visit the Learning Center on campus and make use of their tutoring services before you hand in written work. I will also be more than happy to look at rough drafts during my office hours.
- A note about computer/printer problems, software issues, email access, etc: I recognize that computer, printer, and email problems can and do arise. Be sure to back up your work on an external hard drive, or simply email copies of your work to your school account (and preferably an additional email account). Always keep back up copies of your papers. In addition, if you do not have Microsoft Word or a PDF reader installed on your computer, you will need to set aside time in order to use one of the school’s computer labs so that you can utilize these programs (if/when necessary). If your printer breaks down the night before a paper is due, I don’t need to hear the reasons why or how…I just expect you to email me the paper (as an attachment) by the time our class period begins. I mention these things because problems related to computers, printers, software and/or email are your responsibilities to address; they are NOT legitimate excuses for late work, incomplete assignments, and so on.
- Late assignments will not be accepted without a verifiable, documented excuse.
5. Academic Integrity
Plagiarism consists of using someone else’s ideas as your
own in formal writing. If you use someone else’s ideas, you are expected to
cite them. If you use someone else’s exact words, even if it is just part of a
sentence, then you must put quotation marks around the phrase or sentence and
properly cite the author. I may not be the smartest person in the entire world,
but you can rest assured that my research skills, as well as my ability to spot
plagiarism, are of a Bruce Lee caliber. In short, plagiarism will not be
tolerated. If I catch you doing it, you will receive an immediate ‘F’ for the
course and all further discussions on the matter will take place between you and
the head of Academic Affairs at Penn State Greater Allegheny. If
you have any questions about academic integrity policies and procedures, please
see me and/or consult Penn State’s guidelines at: http://www.psu.edu/dept/ufs/policies/47-00.html#49-20
6. Grading Policy
·
Grades shall be assigned to individual students
on the basis of the instructor's judgment of the student's scholastic
achievement. Grades are final and I
grade exams and assignments based on your performance, not your intentions. Effort will be recognized in your
participation grade for the course.
·
I am eager to help you do well on exams and
assignments before they are due. Please
visit me during office hours to ask questions when you are working on an
assignment or reviewing material.
·
Here are the circumstances under which I would
change a grade: (a) if I have made an error, or (b) if I have failed to hold
you to the same standard as everyone else. In the event that you feel you
received an undeserved grade, you should make your case in writing to your
instructor within two weeks of receiving the grade. Under no circumstance will the professor award
a grade of “incomplete” for the course.
7. Nondiscrimination Statement
As a professor at Pennsylvania State University, I value
equality of opportunity, human dignity, and racial/ethnic/cultural diversity.
In addition to the Penn States’s policies, and within the bounds of the course,
I also do not discriminate on the basis of political creed. In the simplest
terms possible, this means that you do not have to agree with me in order to do
well in this course. So long as you demonstrate an understanding of (and
engagement with) the course material, you are under no obligation to agree with
the professor, your classmates, or anything we read (you don’t even have to
agree with yourself, for that matter). If there is something I can do to make
the class more hospitable, please let me know.
8. Code of Conduct
Be assured that I will treat students with respect, and I
will promote a safe and conducive environment for learning. I expect all students to do the same. In accordance with college policies, I will
not tolerate discrimination or harassment in my class, whether on the basis of
race, gender, class, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or
physical ability. If you have questions about the school’s
policies, please consult the Student Code of Conduct online at: http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/conduct/codeofconduct/
9. Respectful College Classroom Behavior
One of the ways in which college differs dramatically from high school or work is that you are all here by your own choice. As tuition-paying adults who have made the conscious decision to take a course that either sparks your curiosity or is required for your major (or both), I presume that you want to be here and that you are eager to learn. As your professor, you can presume that I also want to be here and that I am eager to teach you everything I can about the subject matter. With this mutual understanding in mind, there are no circumstances in which I should have to remind you about the kinds of disrespectful behavior that make it difficult for your peers to learn and for me to teach. But in the interest of having everyone on the same page from the beginning of the semester, here are some basic guidelines that constitute what I perceive to be respectful classroom decorum:
- NO cellphone conversations. Turn off your phone (or set it to vibrate) and put it away.
- NO texting. Texting in class is rude and disrespectful to your professor. Don’t do it.
- NO laptops unless they are being used for note taking only. Class is not the place to check Facebook and screw around online.
- NO talking during lectures or film screenings. I strongly encourage participation and dialogue in my classrooms but it is rude and disrespectful to talk while your professor is trying to lecture and explain concepts to the class. If you want to sit and talk to your friends there are plenty of other places to do it.
- NO sleeping. If you need to sleep please find somewhere else to do it.
- NO excuses for not bringing the readings to class. We can't have productive and intelligent conversations about course material if you don't bring (digital or print) copies of the assigned readings to class.
- NO leaving class unless it is absolutely necessary. Walking in and out of class is distracting and disrespectful. The longest you will ever be in my class (before a break or before the end of the period) is an hour and 15 minutes. If this presents a legitimate problem for you physically then you need to make me aware of your situation at the beginning of the semester.
10. Compliance
By staying enrolled in this class, you acknowledge that you
understand – and agree to abide by – the following rules and regulations and Penn
State’s policies (i.e. the accepted codes of conduct and academic integrity).
Failure to follow the letter and the spirit of these reasonable guidelines can
result in a reduction of your final grade, failure of the course, and/or other
penalties as set by the college.
Student Services
The Learning Center
Students in need of
tutoring and/or extra help with study skills are encouraged to stop by the John
H. Gruskin Learning Center, located in the Kelly Library, Lower Level. To schedule an appointment, call 412-675-9088.
Appointments are encouraged, but not
required.
Disability Services
Penn State encourages academically qualified students with
disabilities to take advantage of its educational programs. It is the policy of
the University not to discriminate against the disabled in its admission
policies, procedures or its educational programs, services and activities. No
qualified student with a disability may be excluded from participation in or
denied the benefits of any course or course of study on the basis of
disability. Applicants to Penn State
Greater Allegheny or prospective students who wish to request accommodations
based on a disability should contact the Disability Contact Liaison, Victoria
Garwood (vkg2@psu.edu, 412-675-9070). Students requesting accommodations must
complete requested intake forms and participate in an intake interview.
Documentation supporting the request for accommodations must be submitted and
cannot be more than three years old. Documentation is specific to the type of
disability that a student has. Individual Education Plans (IEPs) from high
school are not acceptable. Additional
information can be obtained on the Office of Disability Services homepage at
www.equity.psu.edu/ods/.
Semester Schedule
The full semester schedule, including quiz dates and due dates for all reading assignments, is posted on the main page of the course blog.
