MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS

This course introduces the student to the history, philosophy, epistemology and analysis of media and mass communication. The class covers social, cultural, and political changes triggered by new media and communication technologies and presents current theory and research models. Students will specifically focus on the implications of the phonetic alphabet, the invention of the printing press, television, and cyberspace and will participate in a mixture of lectures, readings, discussions, experiments and projects.

• CLASS INFORMATION
  
• CLASS SCHEDULE
  • CLASS INFORMATION
    
  • CLASS SCHEDULE
    • Week 1 - Introduction
    • Week 2 - History of Communication Media
    • Week 3 - History and Definitions
      Plato/ Vannemar Bush/ Claude Elwood Shannon
    • Week 4 - Mass Media/ Marshall McLuhan
    • Week 5 - Mass and New Media I
      Marshall McLuhan, ArpaNet and WWW
    • Week 6 - Mass and New Media II
      Jürgen Habermas
    • Week 7 - Mass and New Media III
      Neil Postman and Jean Baudrillard
    • Week 8 - Mass and New Media IV
      Bruce Sterling and Neal Stephenson
    • Week 9 - Social Aspects of Media and Communications I
      Propaganda and Censorship
    • Week 10 - Social Aspects of Media and Communications II
      Bias, Ownership, and Monopoly
    • Week 11 - Social Aspects of Media and Communications III
      Social Implications
    • Week 12 - Social Aspects of Media and Communications IV
      Social Aspects of Media and Communications
    • Week 13 - Body/Gender and Reality/Virtuality
    • Week 14 - Final Exam
    • Week 15 - Conclusion and Evaluation
  • MATERIAL
    
  • REQUIREMENTS
  
  
  
  
  

  WEEK 7 - Mass Media III

  >>top
  
  
  

  Information Overflow, Globalization, and Synchronization

  Reading
  Overflow. Postman, Neil. Informing Ourselves To Death. (1990)
  Birkman, Sven.
  Change. Baudrillard Jean. Disneyworld Company. (1996)

  Resources
  European Graduate School. Jean Baudrillard.

  
  

  WEEK 8 - Mass Media VI

  >>top
  
  
  

  Subculture, Cypherpunks, Cryptography

  Reading
  Sterling, Bruce. The Hacker Crackdown. (1994)

  Movie
  Censorship. Movie: Gilliam, Terry. Brazil. (1985)

  Book
  Stephenson, Neal. Crytonomicon. (2000)
  Kahn, David A. The Codebreakers. (1996)
  Kahn, David A. Seizing the Enigma. (1998)

  Resources
  Neal Stephenson. Crytonomicon.

  
  

  WEEK 9 - Social Aspects of Media and Communications I

  >>top
  
  
  

  Reading
  Propaganda. Chomsky, Noam. Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda. (1991)

  Movie
  Race Against The Machine. The Battle of Mexico City. Interview with Noam Chomsky. (2001)

  Book
  Censorship. MacArthur, John. Second Front. (1993)

  Resources
  Race Against The Machine. Interview with Noam Chomsky.
  Z-Magazine.
  Independent Media Center.
  Alternet.
  Democracy Now!
  Counterpunch.
  Freespeech.org.
  Fairness And Accuracy In Reporting.
  PRWatch. Center For Media and Democracy.
  Disinfopedia. Encyclopedia of Propaganda.