Professor: Dr. Jeffrey Jones
Office: BAL 3012
Office Phone: 683-6267
E-mail:
Office Hours: Monday 10-12, Tuesday 3-4:30, and by appointment
Class:
Mondays, 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Constant 1042
Web site:
www.odu.edu/al/jpjones
Course Overview:
This course focuses on the
ways in which citizens develop knowledge of,
engage with, and practice politics through mass media and personal media forms
in contemporary American society.
Students will examine contemporary practices of civic engagement and
political organizing via media such as television, the Internet, feature films,
documentaries, talk radio, letters-to-the-editor, and the alternative
press. Students will develop an
understanding of the power available to citizens for political engagement in a
world saturated with mediated forms of communication.
We move beyond the
normative critique of media that citizens are passive and "acted
upon" by a news media that have failed American democracy. Instead, students are lead to recognize the
ways in which citizens develop knowledge of government in their day-to-day
lives, as well as the numerous opportunities for affecting political change
beyond the simple act of voting.
First, we explore
contemporary scholarship and debates about civic engagement and the history of
citizenship. Second, we assess factors
that should lead us to rethink the role of media in civic engagement debates. Lastly, we undertake a case-by-case analysis
of various media forms (e.g. TV, radio, film, etc.) to assess firsthand the
case for foregrounding media’s role in civic engagement.
Three Exams (25% each): All exams are essay, so please bring a blue exam
booklet. Each will cover the readings
and lecture/discussions for each respective section of the course. Hence, the final
exam is not comprehensive.
Film Paper (15%):
You
will write a 7-page paper on either two feature films or two documentary films
(your choice or you will be assigned). A
detailed description of the project is included on the last page of this
syllabus. All class members are
responsible for watching at least two of the feature films and two of the
documentaries (irrespective of whether you are writing your paper on one
but not the other).
In-class
Participation (10%): This class is not a lecture class, though you
should take notes for the two tests.
Rather, I employ a mild version of the Socratic method. That is, the discussion is directed toward
points that shed greater light on the truth, as well as situate our study in
the greater body of knowledge we have about the world. Such a method is greatly dependent on your
coming to class prepared. Preparation
means more than simply having read the material. It means that you have reviewed the material,
considered what it means, perhaps have even written some notes or important
points, and come to class ready to engage both your professor and your
peers. Our working through these texts,
however, will be based on more than simply how you feel about them or your opinion about the issue under
scrutiny. You should offer precise,
articulate, informed and thoughtful comments.
Your participation grade will be based on how well you have achieved
this goal, not simply how much you talk in class. Your participation grade is 10% of the
overall score, and is measured by 1) class attendance, 2) verbal comments that
reference the reading, and 3) engagement with your professor’s and fellow
students’ arguments.
Required
Schudson, M.
(1998). The good citizen: A
history of American civic life.
Jones, J. P.
(2004). Entertaining politics:
New political television and civic culture.
Blackboard
1. Research
Project (40%)
The paper is a traditional
humanities 20-page research paper. Pick
a research question related to mediated engagement with politics (in
consultation with the professor) and craft a research project that will attempt
to answer it.
2. Populist
Mythology in Film Paper (25%)
Watch
all of the feature films and write a 11-12-page analysis. Due on Thursday, Oct.
19.
3. Oral Exam on a supplemental reading (15%)
You
will meet with the professor over coffee and hold a conversation about the book
Alternative and Activist Media, by
Mitzi Waltz. Please order this book
yourself on-line (that is, the bookstore will not have this in stock).
Due
Thursday, November 16.
5. Class Participation (20%)
As
a graduate student, there is an expectation that you will often play a leading
role in contributing your ideas to the class.
Class Policies
Grades:
The following grade scale
applies to all written work: A = 95; A-
= 92; A-/B+ = 90; B+ = 88; B = 85; B- = 82; B-/C+ = 80; etc… If you would like to discuss how to improve
your grades, please come see me during office hours (I don’t discuss
graded work in the hallway or after class).
There is a 24-hour rule on
the return of graded work. That is,
24-hours must pass before you are allowed to communicate with the professor
about your grade. That means no verbal discussions or flaming e-mails. After 24-hours, I will be happy to talk to you
about your grade.
Graduate Student
Information:
The
graduate grading scale will be used for students enrolled in the 500-level
version of this course. The grades used
shall either be A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, or F. There is no D grade given at the graduate
level. Additional assignments required
for graduate students are described above.
Higher quality work will be expected from graduate students than their
undergraduate classmates.
Attendance:
Roll is taken and used in
the calculation of your participation grade.
Excused absences include only the following:
·
Illness that
requires medical treatment (must provided written documentation of doctor or
health clinic visit)
·
Death in
immediate family (must provide obituary)
·
Official
college sponsored activity (must provide note from college personnel)
Paper Submission and Late Papers:
Papers are due at the beginning of class.
Papers submitted after that time will be deducted one letter grade per
calendar day (note: calendar day, not class day). Late papers should be can
either be given to me directly or placed in my mailbox or under my office
door. If you do not give the paper to me
directly, please have the department secretary put a time/date stamp on the paper and initial it. Also,
I do not accept papers via E-mail. You are responsible for printing your work
yourself.
E-mail
account activation
As a participant in this
class, you are required to have an active ODU e-mail account. This is important for class communication, as
well as required for you to access Blackboard and to fill out the teaching
evaluations at the end of the semester.
Student Evaluations of Teaching
As a participant in this class, you
are required to fill out a student evaluation of teaching performance on-line
at the end of the semester.
Blackboard
A substantial amount of reading is
posted in .pdf files (readable with Adobe Acrobat) in Blackboard.
Student Progress and
Withdrawing from the Class
The
last day to drop this class is Tuesday, October 23. Your first exam will be returned prior to
this date, so please make your decision of continuance accordingly.
Students with
Disabilities
Reasonable accommodations
are provided for students with disabilities.
Students should present me with the appropriate documentation from the
Office of Disability Services and contact me as soon as possible to discuss the
appropriate accommodations.
The Office of Student
Judicial Affairs has published a guide on College Classroom Conduct. In short, you should refrain from: arriving late; conversing during a lecture; answering
a cell phone (or allowing it to ring by not turning it off); packing to leave
before class is finished; eating loud or smelly food in class; sleeping or
studying unrelated materials in class; surfing the net, instant messaging, or
text messaging.
Remember to include or
address the following items. Failure to
address these will result in grade deductions.
It is highly recommended
that you ask someone to edit your
writing prior to submission. Every
article, book, news story, etc., that you see in print is the product of
several sets of eyes. Students should
develop the habit of having someone mark their papers for grammatical errors or
awkward syntax and phrasing. Learn to
give and take criticism productively.
Plagiarism is one example of
violating copyright law. Furthermore,
there are no acceptable instances in written language of using someone else’s
words without quotation marks. If you
plagiarize, you will receive a hearing through the judicial affairs division of
the Office of Student Services. More
likely than not, you will be suspended or expelled in addition to receiving the
grade of F. It is my belief that at
least half of student plagiarism cases occur because students do not know what
it is or how to avoid it. Please see the
information sheet available on the library’s webpage (http://www.lib.odu.edu/libassist/tutorials/Plagiarism/index.htm),
and take it upon yourself to learn the proper means of citing someone else’s
words and ideas.
Schedule and
Blackboard
Putnam, “Bowling Alone”
TH Sept. 13: Models of
Citizenship: The Rights Bearing Citizen
& The Monitorial Citizen
T Sept. 18: Television
and Citizenship: Passive or Active Audiences?
In-class:
Watch Politically Incorrect and This Week
T Sept. 25: Political
Satire: Jon Stewart and Michael Moore
In-class: Watch The
Daily Show and The Awful Truth
TH Sept. 27: First Exam
T Oct. 2: Prime Time Fiction
Blackboard
Pompper:
“The West Wing: White House
Narratives That Journalism Cannot Tell”
Blackboard
Blackboard
The Bad Populist: Network and A Face in the Crowd
TH Oct. 18: ***No Class:
Professor at Conference***
T Oct. 23: Political Mythology II
The Good Populist: Dave and Head of State
***Last Day to Drop Class
is Tuesday, Oct. 23***
How
the Sausage is Made: The War Room and A Perfect Candidate
T Oct. 30: Documentary II
Government
Malfeasance:
The Case of Radio
T Nov. 6:
Second Exam
TH Nov. 8: E-Democracy
TH Nov. 15: ****No Class;
Professor at Conference****
The
Case of Music
T Nov. 20: Music and Political Protest
Blackboard
TH Nov. 22: ****No
Class; Thanksgiving****
Blackboard
TH Nov. 29: Political Comics
and Op-Ed Cartoons
Blackboard
Comics—The Boondocks, Doonesbury,
Opus
T Dec. 4: The Alternative Press
Blackboard
Case Study II: Media Ensemble and the Political Right
Dec. 13: Third Exam, 12:30 a.m.
Film Papers
Copies of all films will
be on reserve at the Reserve Desk at the library (though many of these films
are also available at quality video rental stores).
Description for Feature Films:
Films include Network, A Face in the Crowd, Head of State, Dave
This
paper will explore the hopes or fears associated with the political
populist. The objective is to explore a
recurrent theme in American political mythology—populism (consult the reading
by Kazin on Blackboard). Two primary
aspects of this mythology are the Good Populist (as portrayed in Head of State and Dave), the
honest and courageous savior of the people, and the Bad Populist (as portrayed in Network and A Face in the Crowd) the charlatan or demagogue who uses media to
manipulate the masses and/or attain power (or execute power for others). You
should choose to watch and write your paper on either the Good Populist
or the Bad Populist. Questions you might
ask as you seek to critically analyze these films include: What is the central populist myth and how is
it manifest in these films? What
feelings, needs or attitudes does it address in the viewer (that might lead it
to recur over time)? How does the myth
offer hope and/or warnings for American democracy? What role for women in these films? For the media? For “the establishment” (or corporate or
political players)? In short, explore the two films as a manifestation of
popular mythology about government, politicians, capitalists, the media, and
“the people.” Do not, of course, simply retell
the film’s narrative or storyline.
Descriptions for Documentary Film:
How the Sausage is Made: The War Room and A Perfect
Candidate:
This paper should explore
the potential for documentary film to provide a more detailed and nuanced look
at “how” electoral politics actually works in
Government Malfeasance:
This paper should explore
the potential for documentary film to interrogate controversial government
actions or politicians. Somewhere in the
paper you will want to briefly (very
briefly) tell what both films are about, but the paper should present an
argument based upon critical analysis.
Questions that might guide your argument or facilitate your thinking
include: What makes these films powerful rhetorical arguments in trying to
convince the viewer of its point of view?
That is, how do the films go about making their case (in similar or
different ways), and is that effective?
What assumptions underlie the arguments being made here? Since all narratives are biased, is either
film more effective than the other in hiding its biases or in proudly
displaying them? Do these films provide
something that television news is incapable of providing, and if so, how and
why? Even if the viewer disagrees with
these films, are they still important vehicles for discourse, dialogue, and
deliberation about American government, that is, something that helps citizens
engage with American politics? Why?