DAILY ASSIGNMENTS
CORE 120 – SPRING 2003

For Unit I and Unit II click here
 

Unit III – Mass Media

Tuesday  February 18
        Lecture: Mass Media, the Individual and Society: Information, Persuasion, and Entertainment
        Read:  Mass Media Introduction (if school was cancelled on Monday, read this for Wednesday)

 Wednesday  February 19    Mass Media, Information, and Democracy
        Read: Media in Democracy 
        Read: Democracy and the Media
        STUDY QUESTIONS
        Read: Mass Media Introduction (this is the text of Tuesday's lecture)
     

  Friday  February 21         Quiz 6   (covers lecture and readings from Tue - Fri.  Quiz will be "open book & notes")

                                                                     Mass Media Ownership
        Read: The Media Cartel
        Read: http://www.creativecommunity.us/page/page/305114.htm (Position paper on limiting ownership of media outlets)
        Read: http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/lowry/cl-et-lowry15jan15,0,4149354.story (FCC Director Michael Powell on diversity in information media).
       View: A chart of the major media giants -- Click on a couple of media conglomerates to see what they own that you buy and use.
        Read: Does Big Mean Bad?
        STUDY QUESTIONS
 

Monday February 24       Information v. Knowledge
      Read: "Informing Ourselves To Death"-- http://world.std.com/~jimf/informing.html       Study Questions
         Read: Generation IM
         Video:  Data Smog (in class).

Tuesday February 25         The Media and the War
        
         Homework: Watch a national television 30 minute news cast (CBS, NBC, Fox or ABC)
                              How is the news made "entertaining" with special effects, compelling visuals, dramatization
                              of conflict?  How complex is the analysis?  What questions are not asked and answered? 
                              What news events do not get presented in the 30 minutes?  Test Postman's thesis.       
          Read: Neil Postman, "Amusing Ourselves to Death: The Huxleyan Warning"
          Read: That's Militainment
         Video (in class): Now with Bill Moyers. (You can read the transcript of the video "Selling the War" from
                                    Jan. 31,2003)
         Study Questions
 

Wednesday February 26                 Trivialization
          Read: Media and Trivialization
          Read: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/jog9901.html (a summary and critique of Postman's thesis
                        about "amusing ourselves to death" with television. 
          Study Questions

Friday February 28           Mass Media and the Visual Culture

          Read:  Information and The Visual Culture  (an analysis of the consumer society we live in and the
                    diminishing of rational thought in a visual advertising culture.)
          Study Questions

Tuesday March 4                        Advertising and the Good Society
      
          Assignment: Bring magazine ads to class that associate a product with some image of success or happiness or achievement of
                                the "American Dream" (i.e., the "good life").           
          Project: Watch the nightly national news on CBS, NBC, Fox or ABC.  Analyze the ads and the use of images of the "good
                                life"  to sell the products. How is the "ad world" different from the "real world" presented in the news?

The readings for wednesday and friday may or may not be assigned by your core Instructor.  The Topic of Privacy May Be Taken Up After The Break.

Check the "Web Links" page on the syllabus for information on advertising, politics, and the myths and beliefs that ads exploit.

Wednesday March 5          The Individual in Mass Media Society
                Read: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~rich/aspen.html
                Read: http://www.lawrence.edu/fac/boardmaw/Privacy_brand_warr2.html (Harvard Law Review article by Warren and Brandeis)

Friday March 7                  Right to Privacy vs the Public's Right to Know
                Case Study: Richard Jewel: http://www.cjr.org/year/97/2/jewell.asp
                                                               http://www.augustachronicle.com/headlines/102996/jewel.html
                Case Study: Steven Hatfill   http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2002/06/rozen-l-06-27.html
                                                               http://www.sunspot.net/bal-te.hatfill04sep04,0,5143703.story
                Browse:
                                 http://www.rightoprivacy.com/ (Forum on privacy issues)
                                 http://www.publaw.com/privacy.html (Privacy in the Workplace in an Information Age, contains history of privacy rights)
                                 http://www.article19.org/docimages/512.htm#prin1 (The Public's Right to Know)

SPRING BREAK
Over the Break you should begin reading DeLilio's White Noise

         The War and The Media. 

During Spring Break you should  watch the news on TV and read newspaper reports about the impending War with Iraq.  After the Break we will explore how the different media treat the news about the war, how the issues about the war are debated in the media, and how the media are used by our political leaders to inform and persuade the American people. There will also be issues of free speech, protest, and censorship to discuss.

To prepare for our discussions you should analyze how the media (especially TV) present the war to us, both in style and content.  The readings you will find for Monday provide some background about the U.S.'s conflict with Iraq, our allies' positions and the arguments of those who oppose the war.  This background will help you judge the nightly news reports as to balance, fairness, persuasive effect, etc.

Tuesday March 18             
            Sykes Auditorium 9:30.  Video "Behind Closed Doors": How the Bush War Policy was Formed. 
            If you have not read them yet, read the Monday assignments for today.

Friday March 21   Review for Exam #2

Monday March 24     EXAM #2  Study Guide

               
UNIT IV -- Art Issues In The Modern World
 

Introduction to art unit. Read: Public Art Removed from Carillon Bldg. in Charlotte
                               Read some Letters to the Editor on the Carillon Art Removal

Lecture: Lisa Morton, Artist and Director of the Durham Art Guild
Accenture Auditorium, Sykes 24, 9:30a.m.

Begin reading for tomorrow:" Publicly Chosen Art: What Standards Apply?"
                                                       

Topic: The question of quality in art
Read: "Publicly Chosen Art: What Standards Apply?" (see above)

Study Questions:
        1. What are the three functions of a work of art that we need to consider when we judge whether art is good?
            Explain each.
        2. Can these three functions be considered separately, or must they function together when we try to judge
            quality in art?
        3. Be able to summarize some of the difficulties we face when we try to decide whether a work or art is good.
        4. What are the problems the National Endowment for the Arts faces when it tries to decide which works of art
            most deserving of funding?

Topic: The elements of art, the question of quality.

Artspeak Activity and Writing Assignment: Go to the site Artspeak 101: Visual Glossary. Click on and read "definitions" (the elements of art).  Print this page on the ten elements of art. Then look at the paintings on the Visual Glossary page as examples of the terms.  You can click on the terms (in blue) to remind you of the definitions.

Write a 1-2 page paper on one of the paintings you find here by clicking on the "you choose" hyperlink.    Here's how to choose your painting:  Choose at least three pictures by checking the box, then click on "Make My Museum" at the bottom of the page.   Look at your chosen paintings carefully and decide which one you like best. Explain why you like this painting, using as many of the ten elements of art from "the Visual Glossary" as possible. Be sure to identify by title which painting you are writing on. 

Hand in this paper in class today. Late papers will be penalized one letter grade. This paper will count as one quiz grade, Quiz 9.

Topic: Preparation for Mint Museum. This is an important class day. You will get your worksheet for the museum in class today. Bring it with you to the museum tomorrow!

Reading: Edward Hopper.     View Nighthawks        Read about Nighthawks

No class or lecture. Trip to the Mint Museum of Art, located at 2730 Randolph Road. Visit the Mint on your own between the hours of 10:00a.m. and 8:00p.m. (closes at 10:00). Plan for your visit to take about 60-90 minutes. Admission will be free. Bring your worksheet and your student ID. Sign in at the front desk. If you need another copy of the worksheet click here.

Directions: Drive down Selwyn towards uptown Charlotte, continuing straight when Selwyn becomes Providence Rd. Go past the Manor Theatre and take a right on Laurel Ave. at the light. Follow Laurel to Randolph Rd. and take a right on Randolph. The entrance to the Mint Museum will be on your right about half a mile after you turn on Randolph.

Regarding influences on Hopper, his teacher Robert Henri had this to say about art.  Lisa Morton read it to us last Tuesday:
     
Art when really understood is the province of every human being.  It is simply a question of doing things, anything, well.  It is not an outside, extra thing. When the artist is alive in any person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing creature.  He becomes interesting to other people.  He disturbs, upsets, enlightens, and he opens ways for a better understanding.  Where those who are not artists are trying to close the book, he opens it, shows there are still more pages possible. The world would stagnate without him, and the world would be beautiful with him; for he is interesting to himself and he is interesting to others.  He does not have to be a painter or sculptor to be an artist.  He can work in any medium.  He simply has to find the gain in the work itself, not outside it. Museums of art will not make a country an art country. But where there is the art spirit there will be precious works to fill museums.  Better still, there will be the happiness that is in the making.  Art tends towards balance, order, judgment of relative values, the laws of growth, the economy of living--very good things for anyone to be interested in.
 

Wednesday, April 2    Turn in Mint Museum Worksheet.

Topic: Artist Case Study:  Read: Jackson Pollack                Optional Reading: Modern Visions
                                            Read: Quotes

Study Questions: 
1. In her opening lecture, Lisa Morton noted that all artists are subject to a myriad of influences.  As you read the first section (“The Artist”) of the Pollock website, make a list of people, places and ideas that had an impact on his work.
2. As you read, be sure to take time to look at the development of Pollock’s painting as seen in the various illustrations of his work.  How would you characterize the changes his work undergoes?
3. In the section “The Paintings,” how do you react to “Lavander Mist”?  Taking into account the elements and principles of art we’ve discussed, is it a “quality” work?
4. What type of paint does Pollock prefer?  Why?  What other traditional elements of painting does Pollock reject?
5. What defines “action painting”?

Topic: Artist Case Study: Bob Timberlake and Thomas Kincaid

1. Thomas Kinkade Home Page  

2. "Future Clouded for ‘Painter of Light’s’ Galleries," Los Angeles Times, February 3, 2003

3. "Rediscovering America: South Comfort Bob Timberlake’s down home Carolina"
    Browse: Bob Timberlake Home Page

Monday, April 7     Optional readings on the War & Media: 1. The Other Air War
                                                                                                                     2.  Marshall McLuhan's Messages
Topic: The role of art in creating good communities
 

Unit V -- White Noise

      Read: White Noise, pp. 47-105

    Study Questions:

1. What is the role of the media in the novel?
2.How does the novel depict consumerism?

Friday, April 11

     Read: White Noise, pp. 109-63

Study Questions:

1. What is “The Airborne Toxic Event”?  What is the cause of this event?  What are the effects of exposure to it?
2. What are the different ways that the cloud is described? What is the significance of these changing terms?
3. How are Jack and his family affected by the Event?
4. What is Jack told by a SIMUVAC technician?  What does it mean to say “you are the sum total of your data” (141)?
5. What does Jack do to find spiritual comfort when he’s upset?  In a general sense, what is the role of spirituality in the novel?

Monday, April 14

     Read: White Noise, pp. 167-219

1. How has Jack’s fear of death been intensified?
2. What is Dylar?  What are its effects?
3. What does Jack learn about Babette?  Who is Mr. Gray?

Tuesday, April 15  Note: The Quiz has been moved to Wednesday

    Read: White Noise, pp. 220-71 (in sections)  Class will begin no later than 9:00.
    Remember: The last required Convocation (Awards Day) is today in Dana Auditorium at 10:50.

1. What suggestions does Murray give to Jack when Jack tells him about his own fear of death?
2. What does Jack get from his father-in-law Vernon Dickey?  What will he do with this?
 

    Read: White Noise, pp. 272-321

1. What happens in Jack’s confrontation with Mr. Gray?  Does the confrontation accomplish what Jack hopes it will?
2. What does Jack want from the nun at the hospital?
3. How is Jack changed at the end?
4. What does the novel suggest about what constitutes a good life?

Friday, April 18   No Class Easter Holiday

Monday, April 21

    Review for the final exam.            Review Guide for the Final            Exam Article (Kobre)

Tuesday, April 22 *****Reading Day*****

Wednesday, April 23 *****Exams Begin*****

Characters in White Noise

Elvis and Hitler

anti-Monsanto articles

Beyond the Information Revolution

Reading: http://www.ibiblio.org/cmc/mag/1995/mar/hyper/npcontexts_119.html (Excerpts from Postman's book Technopoly:
                                The Surrender of Culture To Technology)
Reading: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/tecdet/tdet08.html (discussion of the neutrality v. non-neutrality of
                                technology)

  Read: Generation IM
  Read: Chapter 16 of Brave New World -- http://www.huxley.net/bnw/sixteen.html

MEDIA & BUSINESS

Media and Democracy from Ben Bagdikian
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Media/DemoMedia_Bagdikian.html

Media Monopoly: Big Business
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Media/MediaMonopoly_Bagdikian.html

Excerpts from Bagdikian's media Monopoly
http://eserver.org/filmtv/media-monopoly.txt
 

ADVERTISING

Videos of ads: test dummies and dope, from Feb 3. jan 27 has the super bowl ads under "previous"

http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=36970

advertising claims and the fact that we are all affected by ads (those who say they are immune are kidding themselves

http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/comp/ad-claims.html

advertising techniques http://www.adcracker.com/creativeideas/

ellen goodman on advertising using sex and violence doesn't work: http://www.postwritersgroup.com/archives/good0703.htm

SUV ads are misdireccted http://www.townhall.com/news/politics/200301/NAT20030110a.shtml

SUV ads announced http://ca.news.yahoo.com/030109/5/r97f.html

PSA's from the Ad Council (on AIDS and Racial Injusrtice)
http://www.leoburnett.com/content/news/2002/pr20020806-093601.htm
http://www.aegis.com/news/pr/2002/PR021115.html

INFORMATION AGE

information society: on post-Fordism, the new economy of information, need for flexibility in career prep

http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/media/infotech.html

http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/index.html

http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/media/infotech.html  use this one, it works

Does communication technology affect the way we communicate, the style and the content of the communication

http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/media/techdet.html

The information age, Bill Gates, and Computers

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed253a/beatriz.htm

McLuhan, the internet, and the Global Community

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/bas9401.html

the general page that has the above articles and links to McLuhan and Postman

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Sections/influ.html

FROM "iwantmedia.com"

Who controls the information: Media conglomerates decrease diversity (so advertiserss can't find a diverse audience!)

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2003/feb03/feb03/4_thurs/news4thursday.html

Media conglomerates, the business of media, Greed.
http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-lowry5feb05,0,3198887.story

Media mergers and conglomerates, a chart from Frontline

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/giants/

Media conglomeration is threatening our democracy
http://www.iwantmedia.com/people/people19.html

http://www.iwantmedia.com/consolidation.html

There should be limits on media ownership to preserve diversity (mentions internet, etc.)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2003-01-21-powell_x.htm

and

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2003-01-21-meyer_x.htm

Center for digital democracy -- keep diversity in information media
http://www.democraticmedia.org/issues/mediaownership/index.html

The creative community position paper on limiting ownership of media outlets

http://www.creativecommunity.us/page/page/305114.htm

Michale Powell (son of Colin Powell is FCC Director  who says there is plenty of diversity in the media today, but this article differs

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/lowry/cl-et-lowry15jan15,0,4149354.story

who owns what in the media?: http://www.cjr.org/owners/ (Who owns what in the media)

http://www.cjr.org/owners/

Companies appeal to consumers in many different ways to persuade them to buy their products. As individuals, or in small groups, list television, magazine or newspaper advertisements that use each of the techniques described below. Make a list of specific products and describe how they use the techniques.

(based on Tressler and Lewis, Mastering Effective English (Third Edition), pp.470-472)

T 4/13