SYLLABUS

THE COLLEGE OF NEW ROCHELLE
SCHOOL OF NEW RESOURCES, DC 37 CAMPUS

COM105A - INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION

Fall 2007, Wednesdays 6:00-9:30 p.m.

Professor Jen Heuson

This introductory course presents a comprehensive survey of the communication field to beginning students by exploring the fundamental theories and contexts comprising the field. The seminar introduces students to communications theory and law; technological history; applied communications; communications arts. Through selected reading and a review of media samples, students will develop a basic understanding of the business, science, industry and aesthetics of communication. A Life Arts Project is required.

Course Objectives

1. Understand foundational communication theories. Define “communication” and outline its relation to technological evolution. Identify connections between society and media.
2. Explore how communication technologies define and alter society, culture and community. Examine the impact of emerging technologies on psychology and identity.
3. Recognize the historical development of communication technologies. Evaluate the evolution of print, sound, visual and new media, connecting each to their social impact.
4. Investigate a communication technology through writing and media critique.
5. Analyze readings, media samples and course lectures through weekly online assignments.
6. Document an oral history. Evaluate the interview and documentation process.

Course Requirements

• Students are expected to complete ALL required reading and assignments. Students will complete weekly journal assignments online.
• Students are expected to turn in a research paper in proper APA style with an annotated bibliography. Students will complete AND present a Life Arts Project.
• Students are required to attend and to participate fully in every seminar. Arriving late and leaving early will count against your final participation grade.
• Students are expected to attend all field trips, guest lectures and film screenings.

Required Texts

• Straubhaar, Joseph and Robert LaRose. (2006). Media now: Understanding media,
  culture, and technology (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
• Hacker, Diana. (2007). A Writer’s Reference. (6th ed.). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
• A companion website is available here.
  

Grading

LAP 25%, Research Paper 25%, Online Journals 20%, Final Presentation 10%,
Class Participation/Attendance 20%

• Late assignments will be downgraded. The LAP will not be accepted late.
• The final presentation cannot be rescheduled. Students MUST attend to pass this class.
• Students who miss a class will be expected to complete the reading and view material screened for that week. Students will be allowed two excused absences. Each additional absence will result in a grade reduction of one letter regardless of reason.
• Students who do not attend field trips, guest lectures or film screenings will be counted absent. Missing such events will count toward the allotted two absences.
• Students are expected to be in the classroom when class begins, at the top of the hour, and to stay for the entire period. Students who leave early will be counted absent.
• The use of cellular phones is prohibited in class.

SCHEDULE

SESSION ONE: Introduction, September 5th
Discuss course syllabus – objectives, schedule, assignments, grading and text. Review writing requirements, and introduce online class journal. Ensure students can log on and post entries. Introduce research paper and Life Arts Project. Discuss definitions of “communication.”

SESSION TWO: Communicating in the Information Age, September 12th
Review contemporary communication technologies. Define “information age” and introduce media literacy and communication theories. Compare and contrast communication approaches.
- DUE SESSION 2 (9/12) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 1
Project homework: Select a communication technology for research paper.
Reading: Preface, pp. xvii – xx; The Changing Media, pp. 3 – 27

SESSION THREE: Media and Society, September 19th
Examine the connection between media and society. Evaluate the role of communication media in politics, culture, education and identity. Critique a number of media examples.
- DUE SESSION 3 (9/19) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 2
Project homework: Research paper proposal (worksheet).
Reading: Media and Society, pp. 29 – 54

SESSION FOUR: Print Communications, September 26th
Look at the history of print communications and examine the impact of print media on society, culture and psychology. Examine modes of representation unique to print technologies. Compare and contrast print examples, exploring the changing role of print in society and culture.
- DUE SESSION 4 (9/26) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 3
Project homework: Research paper outline (worksheet).
Reading: Books and Magazines, pp. 57 – 85

SESSION FIVE: NO CLASS - PRAYER SERVICE for DR. LUSTER, October 3rd
Please attend a prayer service for Dr. Gwen Tolliver-Luster in the Saval Auditorium on the 2nd floor of St. John's University at 101 Murray Street (across the street from the DC-37 Campus). The service will be held from 6-7pm.
- DUE SESSION 5 (10/03) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 4
Project homework: Research paper annotated bibliography in APA style (min. 5 sources).
Reading: Newspapers, pp. 87 – 118

SESSION SIX: Sound Communications, October 10th
Review the impact of audio communications and their significant connection to culture, society, politics and identity. Examine the transformation of music and oral history through the introduction of recording and radio technologies. Explore the significance of radio narrative.
- DUE SESSION 6 (10/10) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 5
Project homework: LAP worksheet.
Reading: Recorded Music, pp. 121 – 148

GUEST – Storycorps, TBA
Investigate methods used to document oral histories today. Review interview techniques and dialogue/monologue approaches. Students will schedule an audo interview (I suggest participating in Storycorps) for their LAP.

SESSION SEVEN: GUEST – Women’s Press Collective, October 17th
Explore alternative approaches to print communication. Analyze the political significance of print technologies through the dissemination of ideology and the construction of power.
- DUE SESSION 7 (10/17) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 6
Project homework: LAP proposal (1/2 page). Schedule LAP interview.
Reading: Radio, pp. 151 – 179

SESSION EIGHT: Visual Communications, October 24th
Look at modes of representation in a variety of visual media, including painting, photography, film, video and television. Examine the impact of visual communication today and explore notions of iconography, realism and rhetoric.
- DUE SESSION 8 (10/24) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 7
Project homework: LAP contract and annotated bibliography (min. 3 sources).
Reading: Film and Home Video, pp. 181 – 211

SESSION NINE: FIELD TRIP – Museum of Television and Radio, October 31st
Visit New York’s Museum of Television and Radio. Explore the history of television and radio broadcasting through a number of examples. Review radio technologies.
- DUE SESSION 9 (10/31) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 8
Project homework: Work on research paper.
Reading: Television, pp. 213 – 252

SESSION TEN: GUEST – Hill & Knowlton, November 7th
Learn what it takes to work in public relations today! Discuss how products, ideas and people are given a public face. Evaluate the framing of reality by image consultants and technologies.
- DUE SESSION 10 (11/07) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 9
Project homework: Submit final research paper (7-10 pages).
Reading: Public Relations, pp. 293 – 321; Advertising, pp. 323 – 355

SESSION ELEVEN: New Media, November 14th
Evaluate a brief history of new media technologies, including Internet and telecommunications.
- DUE SESSION 11 (11/04) -
Writing Assignment: Journal 10
Project homework: Submit LAP questions.
Reading: The Internet, pp. 255 – 291; The Communications Infrastructure, pp. 357 – 389

SESSION TWELVE: Media Uses & Effects, NO CLASS November 21st
Evaluate the impact of communication media on daily life and its uses in shaping public opinion.
- DUE SESSION 12 (11/21) -
Project homework: Work on LAP interview.
Reading: Media Uses and Effects, pp. 391 – 429

SESSION THIRTEEN: Behind the Scenes – Network TV, November 28th
Examine what goes on behind-the-scenes of a major network television studio.
Screening: Network. Dir. Sidney Lumet, 1976. (121 min.)
- DUE SESSION 13 (11/28) -
Project homework: Work on LAP interview.
Reading: Media Policy and Law, pp. 431 – 463

SESSION FOURTEEN: The Ethical Uses of Technology, December 5th
Examine the ethics of audio/visual recording in the first film about surveillance technologies.
Screening: The Conversation. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. 1974. (113 min.)
- DUE SESSION 14 (12/05) -
Project homework: Work on LAP paper.
Reading: Media Ethics, pp. 465 – 492

SESSION FIFTEEN: 15 Minutes of Fame, December 12th
How far would you go to guest star on your favorite late night variety show?
Screening: The King of Comedy. Dir. Martin Scorsese. 1983. (109 min.)
- DUE SESSION 15 (12/12) -
Project homework: Work on LAP paper.
Reading: Global Communications Media, pp. 495 – 527

SESSION SIXTEEN: LAP Presentations, December 19th
Evaluate LAP interviews and reflect upon the process of documenting oral history today.
- DUE SESSION 16 (12/19) -
Project homework: Final LAP due (7-10 pages and audio cd).

SESSION SEVENTEEN: Library Day, NO CLASS January 2nd
Evaluate and critique media examples and arguments encountered throughout the course. Prepare for public presentation of audio work.
Project homework: Prepare public LAP presentations.

SESSION EIGHTEEN: Public LAP Presentations, January 9th
Produce and attend a public screening of class life arts projects!!
- DUE SESSION 18 (01/09) - LAP presentations (2-3 minutes).

Screening material listed includes only full-length viewings. We will also examine numerous radio, magazine, news, television and film clips. Many segments will be screened in class, but you will sometimes be required to view media online.