Mass Communication & Society (COM 201)
Fall 2004 MWF 1-1:50 p.m. Laughlin 116
Professor: Brian Carroll Office: Laughlin 114 Office hours: M/W 10-12; T/Th 12-3 (or by appointment; drop-ins welcome,even encouraged)	phone: 368-6944 home: 378-9238 email: bc at berry.edu on the Web: www.cubanxgiants.com

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Course description: Survey of the history, structure, dynamics, technological innovation and functions of contemporary mass media, focusing on the ethics, problems, criticisms and societal implications of the media.

Introduction: Students will learn about and understand mass media in their historical, social, political, economic, cultural and technological contexts. Students will be able to intelligently discuss issues related to mass communication, its societal processes and its overall importance in daily life. The goal is a detailed and sophisticated map of the U.S. media infrastructure, which requires students to conceptualize mass media in ways that are often inconsistent with the limited understanding shared by mere consumers of media content. The course examines the current industrial structure of U.S. media by focusing on the contemporary production, distribution and presentation processes. The course emphasizes power relationships within a social system model that helps explain how mass media industries operate.

What you will need (required): The Media In Your Life, by Jean Folkerts and Stephen Lacy; access to a daily newspaper, either online or in print.

What you may want (not required): Powerpoint presentations made available by our textbook's publishers, available: http://suppscentral.ablongman.com. (Disclaimer: I have not tried or used these yet myself.) Ask the instructor for the password.

Stuff you need to know:
Instructor: Dr. Brian Carroll
Office: Laughlin 114
Office phone: 368.6944 (anytime)
Home phone: 378.9238 (before 11 p.m., please)
Email: bc at berry.edu
Home page: www.unc.edu/~briman
Office hours: M/W, 9-12; T/Th 12-3 (or by appointment, drop-ins also welcome)

Course Web site and online syllabus (memorize this, be one with it and refer to it daily): www.unc.edu/~briman/berry/com201.html

Tips
* Read the text. Lectures may not always cover the text but you will be expected to know and to apply the material.
* Think ahead. Start your projects early. Plan time for the unexpected.
* No missed deadlines. No kidding. Communication and mass media industries are deadline-intensive. You miss a deadline on the job, and you won't have a job.
* Always make a copy of all course work, whether on computer or hard copy. Keep copies of all work on file until you receive your final grade. Never give anything to the instructor without having a backup.
* If you don't have a classroom buddy, get one. Do not contact the instructor to find out what you missed after an absence.

Policies
Attendance: Attendance is a part of your grade. Be here every day on time, just as you would for a job, major surgery or meeting in-laws for the first time. Everyone gets one unexcused absence >> no questions asked. Stuff happens. After that, unexcused absences will result in point deductions. What is or is not excused is at the instructor's discretion, but a doctor's or nurse's note or large, open flesh wound usually are sufficient.

Ringing cell phones will be lobbed out of the classroom window and/or run over with a large truck.

Readings: All reading assignments should be completed before the class period during which we will discuss a particular topic. You may be called on in class to answer questions related to the day’s readings. In addition, I will expand upon and update the material in the texts. It will be extremely difficult for you to follow the lectures, participate in the discussion, respond to my questions and ask intelligent questions of your own if you come to class inadequately prepared.

How you will be graded:

Three exams (including final)	75% total (or 25% each)
Research paper	15%
Professionalism and participation	10%
Total	100%

To compute your final grade, add up your point totals, apply the appropriate percentages, then refer to the grading system summarized here:

A 95-100 A- 92-94 B+ 89-91 B 85-88 B- 82-84 C+ 79-81 C 75-78 C- 72-74 D+ 67-71 D 62-66 F 61 and below

Definitions of the grades can be found in the Berry College Bulletin. For example: “A” students will demonstrate an outstanding mastery of course material and will perform far above that required for credit in the course and far above that usually seen in the course. The “A” grade should be awarded sparingly and should identify student performance that is relatively unusual in the course.

Course assignments

Exams: Two class session-length exams will employ multiple choice, true/false, short essay and matching question types. The cumulative final will be consistent in style and substance with the two midterms but probably a bit longer.

Research paper:

All papers should be four to five pages long, double-spaced and typed. No electronic submissions. All sources used for the paper should be appropriately cited using either footnotes or end notes. When in doubt, cite. Below are possible topics but you are free to come up with your own. All topics, even the suggested ones, must be approved by the instructor. Grade will reward/punish research, sources, quality of writing and persuasiveness of the argument and/or incisiveness of the analysis.

Suggestion #1: See the movie "The Gods Must be Crazy." Discuss the positive influences and negative influences by the Coca Cola bottle on the local culture.

#2. See the movie or read the book "Fahrenheit 451." Discuss some of the positive and negative impacts of government- or state-sponsored censorship of media, including but not restricted to books.

#3. See the movie or read the book "All the President's Men," "The Paper," or "Deadline USA" and discuss what the main characters see as the role or purpose of a newspaper in society?

#4. See the movie "The Night That Panicked America" (1975) or listen to the original Orson Welles 1938 broadcast "War of the Worlds." Discuss how and why listeners could have been so fooled? Discuss also how contemporary media consumers are different and how they are the same, or still susceptible (think Internet hoaxes and urban legends).

#5. See the movie "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" and discuss what the movie says about the growth of public relations after WWII. Detail an ethical dilemma faced by a major character and how that character did (or should have) resolved the problem.

#6. See the movie "The Matrix" and discuss what the movie says about technological determinism, the melding of man and machine and the increasing blurring and blending in media of what is real and what is virtual (or only seemingly real).

#7. Write a paper predicting a future convergence-type merger. Using the Internet, find and research two companies that might benefit by combining their specific communications content or networks. Justify your choice. For example, a new merger might be Six Flags Amusement Parks with Microsoft (virtual amusement park concepts); or the marriage of Encyclopedia Britannica with Comcast (online knowledge all the time).

Berry Viking code
Academic dishonesty in any form is unacceptable because any breach in academic integrity, however small, strikes destructively at the college’s life and work. The code is not just policy, it is foundational to the academic environment we enjoy and in which scholarship thrives. It is in force in this classroom.

For the complete Viking Code, please consult the student handbook. In short, each student is “expected to recognize constituted authority, to abide by the ordinary rules of good conduct, to be truthful, to respect the rights of others.” The College’s mission, in part, commits to a community of integrity and justice. During an era when ethics are sometimes suspect, there seems no higher goal toward which students ought to strive than that of personal honor.

Students with special needs
If you have special needs of any kind, including learning disabilities, please let me know. Come discuss it with me. I want to make sure on the front end that we prevent any problems associated with the course. Martha Van Cise, director of the Academic Support Center, suggests: “Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodation in this course are encouraged to contact the Academic Support Center in Krannert Room 301 as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.”

Finally, I believe we are here for a good time, not a long time, so let’s have some fun.