Mass Media and Society

SOC 3050:  3 credits
Fall 2008

An examination of the social, political, and economic contexts in which American mass media have developed historically and operate today.  Topics include: concentration of media ownership and control; the effects of political economy, advertising, ideology, and organizational structure on news management; the media’s role in movements for social change; social consequences of the new information technologies; alternatives to current media structure and practice.

Seminar Requirements:   This is a seminar, so weekly attendance and participation in class discussions based on assigned weekly reading is mandatory.  In addition, you are required to post a fully developed response to the class Discussion Board every week.  The major part of the posting is to be based on the week's assigned reading.  The second part of the posting is to consist of reference to course-relevant items from the mass media.  The deadline for the weekly postings is Thursday at 12:00 Noon.  The seminar’s major requirement is the completion of a significant independent research project; the paper is to be submitted at the December 4 seminar meeting.  No extensions will be granted.  You are likely to find the following recommended Web sites helpful in your research:

            Media Education Foundation

            Media Channel

            ProPublica

            Third World Traveler

            Arts & Letters Daily

            Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

            Project Censored

            Free Press

            Radio Days (for use with Listening In)

Required Readings:

Ben Bagdikian, The New Media Monopoly , Beacon Press, 2004.

Susan Douglas, Listening In, University of Minnesota Press, 2004.

Susan Douglas, Where the Girls Are, Three Rivers Press, 1995.

Stuart Ewen, Captains of Consciousness, 25^th Anniv. ed., Basic Books, 2001.

Robert McChesney, The Problem of the Media, Monthly Review Press, 2004.. 

Tentative Weekly Schedule of Assignments: