INSTRUCTOR:

Andrew Calabrese, Ph.D.

103A Armory

Phone: 492-5374

E-mail: andrew.calabrese@colorado.edu

Web: http://spot.colorado.edu/~calabres/

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS:

Three Individual Writing Assignments (30%)

Group Project (30%)

Final Paper (30%)

Participation (10%)

Attendance is required.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course surveys the major themes in theory and research about the political, economic, and cultural impact of international mass communication. The lectures, audiovisual presentations, discussions, and assignments will provide illustrations, explanations, and critical analyses of:

1. the role of communications media in the early emergence of nationalism and nation states, and the continued role of media systems in nation building;

2. the significance of the forces and relations of global political and economic transformations for the media systems of individual nation states and for transnational communications, including technological and industrial convergence, and new patterns of ownership and control;

3. efforts by social movements (e.g., environmental, feminist, peace, civil rights, labor, ethnic, religious) to influence and/or bypass national and transnational media systems in their efforts to bring about social change through the use of communications media;

4. efforts by governmental and nongovernmental organizations to institute systems of governance and principles of democratic communication on a transnational scale

5. the commonly applied concepts and terms used in discussions about international communication, including “development,” “modernization,” “dependency,” “colonialism,” “post-colonialism,” “cultural imperialism,” “nationalism,” “cosmopolitanism,” and “globalization”;

6. the unique role of the United States in the global media system, particularly in terms of the power and responsibilities of, and limits to, American global media influence; and

7. case studies about local, national, regional and global media systems, both public and private.

In addition to these course-specific objectives, this course will generally promote student understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications, and understanding of the diversity of groups in American society and in a global society in relationship to communication.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES:

Disabilities: If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services (DS) early in the semester so that your needs may be addressed. DS determines accommodations based on documented disabilities (303-492-8671, Willard 322).

Religious observance: If you have a religious obligation that conflicts with a particular date of classroom attendance, or with meeting an assignment deadline, please notify me two weeks prior to the date so that we may consider possible solutions to the conflict.

Classroom behavior: As a result of extensive discussions with and recommendations from faculty and students, the University has a new classroom behavior policy. Please consult the policy at: (http://www.colorado.edu/policies/index.html).

Honor code: According to the university’s honor code, students must neither give nor receive unauthorized assistance on the work they do. You are responsible for knowing and adhering to this code. The honor code is available at: (http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/). Please pay particular attention to the definitions of various forms of academic dishonesty so that you may be certain that you are not in violation of the code.

Sexual harassment: The university’s policy on sexual harassment applies to all students, staff and faculty. Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual attention. It can involve intimidation, threats, coercion, or promises or create an environment that is hostile or offensive. Harassment may occur between members of the same or opposite gender and between any combination of members in the campus community: students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Harassment can occur anywhere on campus, including the classroom, the workplace, or a residence hall. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been sexually harassed should contact the Office of Sexual Harassment (OSH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the OSH and the campus resources available to assist individuals who believe they have been sexually harassed can be obtained at: http://www.colorado.edu/sexualharassment/

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

This course involves lecture and discussion sessions, critical analysis of contemporary writing on the topic, writing assignments, a group report, and a final research project.

Individual writing assignments will be 3-4 double-spaced pages that use the readings and your thoughts about them to develop a position with respect to a set of issues that we identify. For example, you may be asked to compare briefly the views of two authors with respect to the concept of “development,” and to explain why you agree with one compared with the other. The papers will be graded on your use of the readings, by the quality of the argument you develop, and the quality of the writing.

The group project will be a report about a country’s media system. More details about this assignment will be provided in class. The final paper will be about a topic of your choosing, in consultation with me. We will discuss paper topic options in detail in class and in individual consultations.

Participation will be evaluated on the basis of classroom presentations, participation in discussion, and regular attendance.

READINGS:

Readings listed on the syllabus are required and available at either the CU Bookstore, on reserve, or on the Internet.

Some useful web-based resources for individual and group projects

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

Week	Day	Topic	Assignment
Wk.1	11 Jan	Introduction
	13 Jan	Development & Modernization	Rostow; Lerner, “The grocer and the chief”
Wk.2	18 Jan		Lerner, “Modernizing styles of life”; Schramm
	20 Jan	Colonialism, anti-colonialism and dependency	Fanon
Wk.3	25 Jan	Prof. Polly McLean visits	Encyclopedia of Communication
	27 Jan	Video: Black Skin, White Masks	Rogers, “The passing of the dominant paradigm”
Wk.4	1 Feb		Masmoudi, “The new world information order”; Assignment #1 due (development)
	3 Feb	Global communication governance	Excerpt from MacBride Report (recommendations)
Wk.5	8 Feb		Post-MacBride commentaries: Roundtables, Mowlana & Roach
	10 Feb		Discussion of Churchill essay and controvery
Wk.6	15 Feb	Corporate globalization	UN Declaration of Human Rights; Jean D’Arcy on the right to communicate; Final paper proposals due
	17 Feb		McChesney (from Who owns the media?)
Wk.7	22 Feb	Group project planning (media systems)
	24 Feb		O’Siochru (from Who owns the media?);
Wk.8	1 Mar	Communication and the quality of life	UN Millennium Declaration; quality of life indicators
	3 Mar	Quality of life, cont’d	WSIS Declaration and Plan of Action (two items); Additional indicators on communication and the quality of life (literacy, access, etc.); problems of censorship and attacks on the press
Wk.9	8 Mar		Assignment #2 due (global media corporations)
	10 Mar	Language and the right to communicate	Hamelink; Skutnabb-Kangas
Wk.10	15 Mar	Social movements & global civil society; Video: The 4^th World War	Excerpts from: Global Uprising;
	17 Mar	Social movements & global civil society cont’d.	Calabrese
Wk.11	22 Mar	SPRING BREAK – NO CLASSES
	24 Mar	SPRING BREAK – NO CLASSES
Wk.12	29 Mar		Group project meetings and consultations; Final paper topic and bibliographies due
	31 Mar		Assignment #3 due (right to communicate)
Wk.13	5 Apr		Assignment #4 due (profile of NGO or corporate political advocacy PR)
	7 Apr		CWA Panel: “Iraq: Stories from the Frontlines”
Wk.14	12 Apr		Paper consultations
	14 Apr		Graduate student group project presentation on WSIS
Wk.15	19 Apr		Media system group reports in class
	21 Apr		Media system reports, cont’d.
Wk.16	26 Apr	Modernity and modernization revisited	Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity; Assignment #5 due: Book report or report on CU panel discussions.
	28 Apr		Final papers due