This is an archived course. Visit the most recent syllabus.

Course Description

An overview of twelve media technologies: writing, manual printing, mass printing, photography, telegraphy, telephony, motion pictures, sound recording, radio, television, computers, and the internet. We will examine the technical development of each technology, the function of each, and the impact each had on the cultures adopting it.

Time and Place

Thursdays, 1:40 – 4:30 PM
Campbell Dome
Sections: MEDST 100–01 (66132) / MEDST 100–02 (66134)

Thursdays, 6:30 – 9:20 PM
Kiely Hall, Room 244
Section: MEDST 100–03 (66669)

Instructor

Juan Monroy

Connect

Office Hours

G Building, Room 102-D
Thursday, 12:00 – 1:00 PM

Schedule an appointment

Also available remotely on Google Hangouts by advance appointment.

Course Materials

Textbooks

The following textbooks are available through online retailers and on reserve at Rosenthal Library. Note that “The Bookstore” has been ordering the wrong editions.

Electronic editions of Alphabet to Internet are available from the following booksellers:

Electronic editions of The Master Switch are also available.

Reserve Readings

Required course readings not found in the textbook are available electronically from the course website under the particular class session. You may need to use either your QC Library Card barcode or QC Google Apps for Education account login to access the reading.

Review Materials

Under each class, I will post on this site the following review materials:

  • a lecture outline
  • copies of the slides (PDF)
  • review questions and terms based on the material we covered in class.

Use these materials to prepare for the midterm and final exams.

Blackboard

We will not be using Blackboard for this course. Instead, consult the Course Website for the syllabus and Google Classroom for submitting assignments.

Google Apps for Education

This course will use Google Apps for Education using your QC CAMS account.

About Google accounts

You can have more than one Google account. If you use Gmail, you already have a Google Account: it is likely a personal Google account. Google offers organizations—businesses and educational institutions—to establish accounts for its users. Since you’re enrolled at QC, you have access to a QC Google Apps account.

You cannot access QC Google Apps for Education using your personal Gmail or another Google Apps account.

You can be logged into both accounts at the same time, but you will likely have to switch between accounts to access your QC Google Apps versus your personal Google Apps.

Activate Your QC Google Apps account

The Center for Teaching and Learning offers detailed instructions for activating (or claiming) your QC Google Apps account. The process comes down to three steps.

  1. Go to http://gdrive.qc.cuny.edu.
  2. Sign in with your QC CAMS account. Use your QC username (e.g. jmonroy100) and your QC CAMS password.
  3. Accept the terms of service.

Access your QC Google Apps account at https://google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu.

Join Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a barebones, learning management system that we will use for our course. We will not be using Blackboard. I will also post announcements to Google Classroom, instead of emailing everyone in class.

You will submit all of your assignments through Google Classroom.

I will be providing everyone a course code at the first meeting on February 4, and to your QC email account.

To add the class:

  1. Go to Google Classroom.
  2. Sign in using your QC CAMS login.
  3. Near the top-left of the browser, click the “+” to “Join class.”
  4. Enter the code I emailed to your QC email account.

Download the Google Classroom mobile apps for iOS or Android.

Use the QC Google Apps

We will be using several QC Google Apps in this class.

  • Google Drive is a cloud-based file storage platform. Your QC Google Drive offers unlimited storage, compared to 15 GB with your personal Google Drive. You should store your weekly, midterm exams here. Download the Google Drive mobile apps for iOS or Android.
  • Google Docs is a cloud-based, word-processing application. It is comparable to Microsoft Word except that all your documents are stored in your Google Drive. Be sure you’re using your QC Google Apps account, not your personal Google account. Download the Google Docs mobile apps for iOS or Android.
  • Google Hangouts is a video-based, communication platform used for remote office hours. Download the Google Hangouts mobile apps for iOS or Android.

Requirements

This class consists of four components. You cannot satisfactorily complete this course without all four of these.

Attendance and Participation

Please be present in each class.

Each class session will form the basis of the material I expect you to know for the exams. We will cover the historical, technological, and economic context relevant to each electronic media technology. Although I will post review questions each week, they serve as poor substitutes for attending and participating in each week’s class.

Readings

Please read the assigned course material prior to each week’s class. Consult the Course Schedule (below) for the required reading assignments.

Assignments

All assignments must be completed on time in order to receive full credit. Late assignments will be penalized by a 10% reduction for each 24-hour period it is late. After seven calendar days, the assignment will not be accepted and you will likely fail this class.

Exams

Exams comprise half of your course grade and are designed to reward regular attendance and diligent studying. Exams will be administered in class and must be taken at the specified date and time.

Policies

Professionalism

Please respect the classroom environment. You should pay attention to the lecture, take notes, and avoid digital distractions. Studies have consistently shown that students using laptops and mobile phones perform about 11% worse than students who are not distracted by these devices.

On a personal note, it’s very difficult to stay motivated as a teacher if I see students seemingly disinterested in their own education. Seriously, I’m this close to banning all digital devices in class. If I find you engaging in disruptive behavior, such as watching online videos, passing notes, instant messaging, chatting, or texting, I will remove you from the classroom and have you withdraw from the class.

Late Work and “Incomplete” Grades

Please submit your work on time. Late quizzes will not be accepted, and the Media Technologies and “The Cycle” assignment, due May 6, will be penalized by a 10% reduction for each 24-hour period it is late. After one calendar week, the assignment will not be accepted, and you will likely fail this class.

There will be no incomplete grades for this class except in the case of a documented emergency in the final weeks of the semester. If you experience such an emergency, please contact me immediately, and we will work out a schedule for you to complete the outstanding work before the beginning of the following semester.

But aside from these circumstances, no late work will be accepted and no “incomplete” grades will be granted. If you have difficulty keeping up with coursework, consider giving yourself extra time to complete assignments, reducing your overall course load, and/or taking this class at a later semester.

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York. Penalties for academic dishonesty include academic sanctions, such as failing or otherwise reduced grades, and/or disciplinary sanctions, including suspension or expulsion. Examples of Academic Dishonesty include cheating, plagiarism, obtaining an unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents.

Cheating is the unauthorized use or attempted use of material, information, notes, study aids, devices or communication during an academic exercise. Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writings as your own. Obtaining Unfair Advantage is any action taken by a student that gives that student an unfair advantage in his/her academic work over another student, or an action taken by a student through which a student attempts to gain an unfair advantage in his or her academic work over another student.

For tips and information on how to maintain academic integrity, consult Writing at Queens document, “What is Plagiarism?”.

Computers, Tablets, and Mobile Phones

Please refrain from using your digital devices during class. Also remember to silence your mobile phone, or turn it off to save your battery.

It is particularly rude to use your devices in class because it distracts not only me but also the students around you. And others can see what you’re doing.

Students must surrender mobile phones, tablets, and computers on exam days.

Email

Please use your QC email account (student@qmail.cuny.edu). This is the only way I will communicate with you, other than face-to-face meetings.

Students with Disabilities

Queens College has a history of commitment to the enhancement of education of students with disabilities. The Office of Special Services for Students with Disabilities was established in 1974 to provide equal opportunities for a college education to academically qualified students with physical disabilities. The office offers comprehensive support services to students with various disabilities. Queens College prohibits discrimination against students with disabilities and it ensures full access and equal opportunity to qualified students with disabilities to all academic programs and social activities on campus.

To receive these services, a student must first register with the office in Kiely 171. To do so, you must bring proper documentation pertaining to the nature of your disability from a qualified professional. To learn more about CUNY Assistive Technology Services and the office located at Queens College, call (718) 997–3775 or visit Kiely Hall 173. For more information, visit The Office of Special Services.

Assignments

Quizzes

For each of the twelve media technologies, you will take a quiz on the lecture and reading materials. Each quiz is due by the end of the Wednesday before the relevant class, noted below and on Google Classroom.

  • Due: Wednesday before class, 11:59 PM
  • All twelve quizzes are required
  • No late quizzes will be accepted
  • Weight: 25%

Media Technologies and “The Cycle”

At the midterm exam, I will assign you one of five media technologies addressed in The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires by Tim Wu.

Write a 1,500-word of summary of how your assigned media technology follows the pattern of what Wu terms “The Cycle.” Your summary should address the timeframe of that technology and also confront at least three of the following steps of the “The Cycle”:

  1. The invention and adoption of the media technology;
  2. The technology’s disruption of an existing, incumbent technology;
  3. The consolidation of number of actors controlling that technology
  4. The division of the media technology industry due to a newer technology or regulatory action;
  5. The reorganization of the media technology industry into another consolidated industry with a few entities controlling it.

Follow these guidelines for formatting and submitting your paper.

Exams

Midterm Exam

The midterm exam is an in-class exam, consisting identification and short essay questions. The exam will cover the course material from the first half of the course.

Final Exam

The final exam is an in-class take-home exam, consisting identification and short essay questions. The exam will cover the course material from the entire course.

Course Schedule

February 4 • Welcome

February 11 • Writing

The first media technology was writing because it allowed humans to store, transmit, and retrieve knowledge in ways that oral cultures simply could not.

Reading

As you await the arrival of your textbooks, I am providing these readings as PDFs. Use your QC Google Apps login for access.

  • Fang, Irving. “Writing: Gathering Thought.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 13–35. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015. You should also read the introductory chapter.
  • Robinson, Andrew. “The Origins of Writing.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 36–42. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Review

February 18 • Early Print

Early print allowed information to be printed in books that were produced using manual (hand-operated) machines, such as the medieval printing press. Beginning in the fifteenth century, the printing press would shape modern Europe.

Reading

As you await the arrival of your textbooks, I am providing these readings as PDFs. Use your QC Google Apps login for access.

  • Fang, Irving. “Early Printing: Reaching More of Us.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 37–57. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Graff, Harvey J. “Early Modern Literacies.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 104–112. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Review
Did you know…?

February 25 • Mass Print

The steam engine and the attendant industrial revolution of the eighteenth brought mass production. The mechanical printing press brought new print forms—inexpensive books, newspapers, and magazines— and the attendant mass culture of the nineteenth century.

Reading
  • Fang, Irving. “Mass Printing: Reaching Still More.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 59–85. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Thompson, John B. “The Trade in News.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 113–116. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Review

March 3 • Photography

Beginning in the 1830s, the reproduction of light becomes a mechanical, photochemical process, that produce images that both memorialize individuals and bind together entire cultures.

Reading
  • Fang, Irving. “Photography: Personal and So Much More.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 163–181. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Keller, Ulrich. “Early Photojournalism.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 161–168. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Review

March 10 • Telegraph

Electricity and communication merge for the first time in the electromagnetic telegraph of the 1840s and annihilate space and time in the nineteenth century.

Reading
  • Fang, Irving. “Telegraph: Uniting the United States.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 111–123. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Carey, James. “Technology and Ideology: The Case of the Telegraph.” Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society, revised ed., 155–177. London: Routledge, 2009. New Reading
  • Standage, Thomas. “Telegraphy: The Victorian Internet.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 121–129. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Recommended Screening
Review

March 17 • Midterm Exam

We will take our midterm exam in class today. Use the review guide to study for the exam. Also, note the test format to avoid any surprises on exam day.

March 24 • Telephone

Though hardly designed to do so in 1876, the telephone renders many functions of the telegraph obsolete. Throughout the twentieth century, the telephone emerges as a communication utility controlled by a monopoly.

Reading
  • Fang, Irving. “Telephone: Reaching without Touching.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 125–146. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Fischer, Claude. “The Telephone Takes Command.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 143–149. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Review

March 31 • Motion Pictures

A combination of earlier photographic technologies yields the motion picture camera in the 1890s and the emergence of a popular entertainment form in the 1900s.

Reading
  • Fang, Irving. “Silent Film: The Audience Awaits” and “A Movie Century: Moving Us.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 183–223. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Czitrom, Daniel. “Early Motion Pictures.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 176–183. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Review

April 7 • Sound Recording

In the late nineteenth century, the recording of sound evolves from preserving speech to disrupting the printed music industry and establishes a commercial industry producing musical sound recordings.

Reading
Assignments
Review

April 14 • Radio

Radio emerges as the first technology to transmit an electromagnetic signal without a physical medium, potentially undermining every other communications media theretofore established.

Reading
  • Fang, Irving. “Radio: Helping Us Through the Rough Years.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 225–249. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Douglas, Susan. “Early Radio.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 210–217. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Screening
Review

April 21 • Television

In the 1930s, television emerges as electromagnetic motion pictures—known as video—transmitted using radio signal. Television would have cannibalized broadcast radio were it not for the radio companies developing television in the first place to cannibalize themselves.

Reading
  • Fang, Irving. “Television: Pictures in Our Parlors.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 251–276. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Boddy, William. “Television Begins.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 244–253. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
  • Spigel, Lynn. “Making Room for TV.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 259–267. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Review

May 5 • Computers

Computers emerge as a media technology with digital media—the merger between modern media forms and computable code.

Reading
  • Fang, Irving. “Computers: Beyond Calculation.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 277–291. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Manovich, Lev. “How Media Became New.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 319–322. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Review

May 12 • Internet

Developed as a distributed computer network transmitting binary code as packets, the Internet emerges as the connective tissue for digital media throughout the world.

Reading
  • Fang, Irving. “The Internet: The World at Our Finger Tips.” In Alphabet to Internet: Media In Our Lives, 293–313. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Abbate, Janet. “Popularizing the Internet.” In Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society, edited by D. J Crowley and Paul Heyer, 5th ed., 323–328. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2007.
Assignments
Review

May 26 • Final Exam

Your final exam is due today on Google Classroom. Use the review guide to study for the exam.