An overview of twelve aspects of media technologies, including print, photography, motion pictures, advertising and public relations, telegraph and telephone, radio, television, computers, Internet, and globalization. We will examine the technical development of each technology, the function of each, and the impact each had on the cultures adopting it.
Monday, 6:30 PM – 9:20 PM
Kiely Hall, Room 315
Section: MEDST 100–02 (44010)
Juan Monroy
G Building, Room 102-D
Mondays, 5:00 – 6:00 PM
The textbooks for this course are available through online retailers, such as Amazon, through Textbookx, and on reserve at Rosenthal Library.
Under each class, I will post on this site the following review materials:
Use these materials to prepare for the exams.
We will not be using Blackboard for this course. Instead, consult the Course Website for the syllabus and Google Classroom for submitting assignments.
This course will use Google Workspace for Education using your QC CAMS (often referred to as the QC ID or QC Active Directory) account.
Below are instructions for how to activate your QC Google Workspace for Education account (titled “Step 1” below) and how to join our course on Google Classroom (titled “Step 2” below).
New Queens College students and students enrolled at another CUNY campus will have to take an additional, initial step (titled “Step 0” below).
You can have more than one Google account. If you use Gmail, you already have a Google Account: this is your personal Google account. Google also offers organizations, businesses and educational institutions Google Workspace accounts for its users. Since you’re enrolled at Queens College, you have access to a QC Google Workspace for Education account.
You cannot access Queens College Google Workspace for Education using your personal Gmail or another Google Workspace 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 Workspace for Education account versus your personal Google Workspace.
Students New to Queens College, Recently Transferred to QC, or Enrolled at another CUNY Campus.
You must first activate your Queens College username and email account at https://cams.qc.cuny.edu.
The process takes about three (3) business days so please start this process as soon as possible.
Information Technology at Queens College offers detailed instructions for activating (or claiming) your QC Google Workspace for Education account. The process comes down to four steps.
You can now access your QC Google Workspace for Education account at https://drive.google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu.
Your Google Google Workspace for Education username is the same as your qmail address (e.g., jmonroy100@qc.cuny.edu).
Google Classroom is a barebones, learning management system that you will use to submit your assignments and I will use to grade your work. We will not be using Blackboard.
I will also post announcements to Google Classroom instead of emailing everyone in class. However, you should use email to contact me, instead of the private commenting system in Google Classroom because it doesn’t work well.
Google has instructions for joining a course in Google Classroom. The process basically comes down to four steps:
I highly recommend downloading the Google Classroom mobile app for iOS or Android. If you allow push notifications, you will immediately receive important announcements from me and learn when assignments are posted.
We will be using some QC Google Workspace applications in this class.
A majority of access issues can be resolved switching to your Queens College Google account. This article describes how to switch between Google accounts.
Another resolution that always works is to log out of all your Google accounts in your web browser and then logging back into your QC Google Workspace account at https://drive.google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu.
I will take attendance at every class meeting and consider it in the evaluation of student performance.
All absences, whether excused or unexcused, are counted equally. The maximum number of absences is limited to 30% of the number of class hours. Note: Absences are counted from the first day of class even if they are a result of late registration or change of program.
For in-person classes, regular attendance is required. Attend 85% of our class session and receive five bonus points added to your final grade. Students missing more than 30% of classes will not be permitted to take the final exam.
For synchronous courses, regular attendance is required. Attend 85% of our class session and receive five bonus points added to your final grade. Students missing more than 30% of classes will not be permitted to take the final exam.
This policy does not apply to fully asynchronous courses.
You must be present or participating in class during the verification of attendance period. Otherwise, I will report you as not attending and you will be dropped from the class.
The verification period is as follows:
Academically-related activities include, but are not limited to:
Note: Logging into an online class is not sufficient, by itself, to demonstrate participation in an academically-related activity by the student.
Digital devices are prohibited in in-person classes. Unfortunately, students in the past have failed to use computers, tablets, smartphones, etc. in a professional, responsible, or productive manner, and, as such, you are not allowed to use these devices in class after the first class session.
I recommend buying a spiral notebook, some nice pencils, and a portable pencil sharpener to do this.
Further, if I find you engaging in any other disruptive behavior, such as passing notes, instant messaging, chatting, photographing, or texting, I will remove you from the classroom and have you withdraw from the class.
Students are expected to use proper language, wear appropriate attire, and be mindful of backgrounds that may or may not be distracting, offensive, or harassing to others when using virtual conference tools, such as Zoom.
Please submit your work on time.
In some cases, late assignments due at the end of the term will not be accepted. In-class exams must be taken at the date and time listed below unless other we make other arrangements.
No assignments will be accepted after the assignment closes on Microsoft Teams.
There are 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.
There are no opportunities for extra credit. As a matter of fairness, your grade will be based on the work assigned to all students.
To maintain professionalism, always use your QC email account (stu.dent00@qmail.cuny.edu) to email me, and also direct all emails to my jmonroy@qc.cuny.edu account. This is the only way I can communicate with you, other than face-to-face meetings or via video conferencing.
The CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity, as adopted by the Board, is available to all students. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in the City University of New York and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion.
This includes the use of homework helper sites, such as like chegg.com, or generative AI tools. These may not be used for class assignments. Students who use these unauthorized tools may be able to obtain an unfair advantage over other classmates. Gaining an unfair advantage is a violation of CUNY policy on academic integrity.
All programs in New York State undergo periodic reviews by accreditation agencies. For these purposes, samples of student work are occasionally made available to those professionals conducting the review. Anonymity is assured under these circumstances. If you do not wish to have your work made available for these purposes, please let the professor know before the start of the second class. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
During the final four weeks of the semester, you will be asked to complete an evaluation for this course by filling out an online questionnaire. Please remember to participate in these course evaluations. Your comments are highly valued, and these evaluations are an important service to fellow students and to the institution, since your responses will be pooled with those of other students and made available online, in the Queens College Course Information System. Please also note that all responses are completely anonymous; no identifying information is retained once the evaluation has been submitted.
Please maintain a professional demeanor when posting online. You can be respectful even when you have a difference of opinion. Treat others as you’d want to be treated yourself. Don’t type in all caps, as that is the online equivalent of shouting. If you need to emphasize a word or phrase, use italics.
The mission of Counseling Services is to enhance students’ academic, intellectual, personal, and social growth. Special attention is given to students’ health and well-being, with the aim of alleviating the effects of painful experiences, enhancing self-understanding and understanding of others, and fostering students’ pursuit of their goals. Counseling Services also presents workshops, training, and educational consultation to the college community.
For more information, contact Counseling Services website: https://www.qc.cuny.edu/cs/.
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should register with the Special Services Office by emailing QC.SPSV@qc.cuny.edu. For more information about services available to Queens College students, visit the Office of Special Services website: https://www.qc.cuny.edu/sp/.
The Queens College Helpdesk, (718) 997–4444, helpdesk@qc.cuny.edu is located in the I-Building, Room 151 and provides technical support for students who need help with Queens College email, CUNY portal, Blackboard, and CUNYFirst.
One of the most important skills you will learn throughout your education is writing. If you cannot write, you will not succeed at communicating your ideas and will endanger your professional development.
The Writing Center at Queens College offers free assistance to students with writing. Please visit the center at least once for each writing assignment you have for your classes this semester. You can schedule a one-hour session or drop in to consult an on-duty tutor.
For each of the twelve media technologies, you will take a quiz on the lecture and reading materials. Each quiz is due by noon on the day of the relevant class, noted below and on Google Classroom.
After midterm exam, begin reading The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires by Tim Wu. I will randomly assign you a media technology addressed in this book for your assignment.
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”:
Follow these guidelines for formatting and submitting your paper.
The midterm exam is an in-class exam, consisting identification and short answer questions. The exam will cover the course material from the first half of the course.
Use the review guide to prepare for the exam, including surveying the format of the exam.
The final exam is an in-class exam, consisting identification and short answer questions. The exam will cover the course material from the second-half of the course.
Use the review guide to prepare for the exam, including surveying the format of the exam.
i3rn8fGutenberg launches a print revolution in Europe that ultimately leads to several other revolutions: the Protestant Reformation, the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the Free Press, and the American and French Revolutions, as well as the Partisan Press.
As you await the arrival of your textbooks, I am providing the reading as a PDF. Use your QC G Suite login for access.
The introduction of steam power to the printing presses at the beginning of the 19th century radically changes the nature of print, its scale, and the content to reach a mass audience like never before possible.
As you await the arrival of your textbooks, I am providing the reading as a PDF. Use your QC G Suite login for access.
Print would serve as a muckraker, a reformer, a war correspondent, a tool of authoritarian governments, the voice of the marginalized, a watchdog, and finally, a way to wrap fish.
In the nineteenth century, inventors improve how to use chemicals to expose light and record it on various media; thus bringing photography to existence. Since then, photography would move from the portrait studio, to the battlefield, and to our own pockets.
Advertising and Public Relations rise with print and broadcasting to persuade the public throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century and, of course, using digital technologies in the twenty-first century.
We will take our midterm exam today in class.
Use the review guide to prepare for the exam, including surveying the format of the exam.
The development of motion pictures in the nineteenth century has made possible an entire industry and new form of entertainment that has captivated us—in different ways—in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The telegraph and telephone both emerge in the nineteenth century, inaugurating the electronic communications era, and both building immense corporate, communication empires in the process.
The discovery of electromagnetism in the nineteenth century opened new possibilities: wireless telegraph, wireless telephone, broadcast radio, and even other uses—from Wi-Fi to podcasting.
The invention of electronic televisions creates a new communications empire for radio companies in the United States.
The development of digital computers since the mid–20th century had made it possible to expand what we as humans can do.
Digital networks that developed in the post-World War II era and the proliferation of computers offered to extend the possibilities of what humans can do with computers and their networks. But who would control these networks?
The global digital revolution—made possible by the communications technology and global social networks—has brought us back to rethink how communication can change our world and how we have to protect the freedom to communicate.
We will take our final exam in class, 6:15–8:15 PM.
Use the review guide to prepare for the exam, including surveying the format of the exam.