Media, Society, and Culture

                                 Spring 2017 Thursday 1:30 PM AVC


Lecturer: Tae-Sik Kim

Office Hour: Tue 1:00 – 2:00 PM & Wed 1:30 – 3:00 PM

Contact Information: beinkid@mail.muni.cz  Office Number: 5. 45


Ø Course Objectives

This course is designed to help students develop an understanding the complexity of media
environments in our contemporary society. Students will consider ‘media’ as cultural practices and
discourses. The course will look at the evolution of communication and media industries over time
to explore how models for information distribution and reception have facilitated communication in
modern society. As well, students will look at the ways that media practices influence and order
other practices in the social world. The first half of the course will cover an historical and
theoretical overview of contemporary media practices, including definitions of ‘media’,
technological determinism and culture, and media and culture industry.  The second half of the
course will then focus on each medium such as newspapers, television, and ‘new’ media as
environments of practice.

·        To understand the history of media and technology to comprehend their reciprocal roles in
relation to society and culture

·        To critically evaluate the power of cultural media and symbolic meaning-making in
affecting fundamental social change

·        To comprehend the ways in which the form of different media –newspapers, TV, video,
exhibition and new media – affects cultural meaning-making

Ø Syllabus

Week 1. Introduction to the course

Week 2. Media vs Culture: Views on Technologies

Week 3. Media Effects

Week 4. Culture Industry and Society

Week 5. Media, Information, and People

Week 6. Alternative Media

Week 7. Transnational Media

Week 8. Midterm Exam

Week 9. Group Presentation

Week 10. Transnational Media

Week 11. Media and Commerce

Week 12. New Media and Culture

Week 13. Final Examination


Ø Literatures

Richard Campbell, Christopher Martin, and Bettina Fabos, MEDIA AND CULTURE: An Introduction to Mass
Communication (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010).

David Croteau, William Hoynes and Stefania Milan, Media/Society: Industries, Images, and
Audiences—Fourth Edition (SAGE Publications, 2012).

Ø Teaching Methods

The format of the course is a combination of lectures and controlled discussions of assigned
readings.

All students are expected to read textbooks assigned and to develop appropriate discussion
questions.


Ø Assessment Methods


v  Attendance 20%: 4 unexcused absences during a semester shall be denied academic credit (NO
EXCEPTION)


v  Midterm Examination 30%


v  Group Presentation 10%

·          Group with 3-4 colleagues

·          Case Study: Media in Brno (Major media, Local media, Street media, Social media

·          Submit PPT and Present in Week 9


v  Class Presentation 10%

·          Develop discussion questions on assigned week’s topic.

·          Introduce cases not included in textbooks


v  Final Examination 30%



Ø Study Materials

Richard Campbell, Christopher Martin, and Bettina Fabos, MEDIA AND CULTURE: An Introduction to Mass
Communication (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010) (Hereafter MC)

Week 1. Introduction to the course

Week 2. Media vs Culture: Views on Technologies

·        MC p.3- 29

·        Mumford, L. “Technics and Civilization”

Week 3. Media Effects

·        MC p.467-489

·        McQuail, D. “The influence and effects of mass media”

Week 4. Culture Industry and Society

·        Adorno, T. & Horkheimer, M. “Culture industry: Enlightenment and mass deception”

Week 5. Media, Information, and People

·        Chomsky and Media

·        Manufacturing Consent on YouTube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO51ahW9JlE )

Week 6. Alternative Media

·        Understanding Alternative Media p. 51-62

·        Shirky, C. “Here comes everybody” Chapter 3


Week 7. Media and Representation

·        Hall, S. (1997). Representation and the Media. Lecture.

Week 8. Midterm Exam

Week 9. Group Presentation

Week 10. Transnational Media

·        Kraidy, M. M. (2003). Glocalisation: An international communication framework?. Journal of
International Communication, 9(2), 29-49.

Week 11. Media and Commerce

·        Jhally, S. “ImageBased Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture”

Week 12. New Media and Culture

·        Livingstone, Sonia (2007) From Family Television to Bedroom Culture: Young People's Media
atHome, in Eoin Devereux (ed.) Media Studies: Key Issues and Debates, London: SagePublications,
302-321.Week 13. Final Examination