A survey of contemporary media industries including their technical, economic, social, political and cultural implications. We will also examine the economic underpinnings of media, the role of advertising and public relations, and the policies that govern contemporary media industries.
This is a three (3) unit class: you’re expected to spend an average of nine (9) hours working on each module.
This course will be conducted remotely over the Internet.
All course material, including links to graded assignments, is available on the course website at https://juanmonroy.com/contemporarymedia. We will not be using Blackboard.
Most learning activities will be asynchronous, meaning that students complete learning activities on their own time by the deadlines noted on this course website.
We will meet for a weekly synchronous live discussion session, each Monday beginning at 7:00 PM, on Zoom.
This course consists of twelve modules on contemporary media. For each module, there will be:
After six modules, there will be an exam on the material you covered.
You must complete each module, each quiz, and each exam by the deadline specified on this course website.
We will not be using Blackboard.
Queens College offers loaner devices to students who need them for remote instruction. Contact Queens College ITS for how to request a device.
To access CUNY Microsoft Office 365,
If you’re having trouble accessing the resources hosted on CUNY Office 365, including OneDrive and Microsoft Teams, take these steps:
In this course, we will aim to accomplish the following:
Juan Monroy
Office hours will be held remotely. Sign up for an appointment at https://juanmonroy.com/officehours.
After you sign up, I will email you a Zoom Meeting link for you to join the meeting.
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https://www.qc.cuny.edu/studentlife/services/counseling/counseling/Pages/default.aspx
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Please complete the Welcome Survey for this course.
The survey serves to ensure that you can access Microsoft Forms and that you agree to abide by the course policies.
Please complete the Welcome Survey by Monday, February 14. If you cannot complete this by the deadline, please email me. Otherwise, I will have to report you as not attending the class and you will be dropped from the course.
This course is broken up into twelve modules. Each module consists of:
Modules are released, one at a time, on Tuesdays, for a total of one module per week, and are due the following Monday at 6:00 PM. See the course schedule for exact dates.
Each module requires you to read a chapter or two from the following textbook:
Downloadable editions are available from the Open Textbook Library.
Note: this book is woefully out of date, but we’re using it because it’s available as an Open Educational Resource, meaning it’s free. The video lectures, in tandem with the textbook readings, are vital for learning about contemporary media.
Each module requires you to watch a recorded lecture and answer the comprehension question based on that material. The recorded lecture is split into a series of videos, between three and five videos, and each video is between five and twelve minutes in length.
The videos move through the course material quicker than an in-person lecture. As you watch each video, pause and rewind the video as necessary to take notes on the material. This will help ensure you’re ingesting the course material.
Each video is linked on the course schedule below.
Your scores on the lecture comprehension questions count for 30% of your final grade. I will drop the combined lecture comprehension quiz scores from your two lowest performing modules.
Please complete each quiz on time. Because we will review each quiz during our weekly live discussion sessions, no quiz will be accepted after that module’s live discussion session has started.
Each module requires you to take a quiz on the readings from the textbook. Each quiz consists of a mix of true-false and multiple-choice questions and is linked on the course schedule below as a Microsoft Office Form.
Note the quiz deadlines on the course schedule. No late quizzes will be accepted.
There will be a total of twelve quizzes. I will drop your two lowest quiz scores. The remaining ten quizzes are collectively worth 30% of your final grade.
Please complete each quiz on time. Because we will review each quiz during our weekly live discussion sessions, no quiz will be accepted after that module’s live discussion session has started.
All students must participate in the live discussion session.
We will meet each week on Zoom to discuss the course material you covered in that week’s module. The meeting will take place at the following time:
Attendance to the weekly discussion session is mandatory and is worth 10% of your final grade.
These sessions will have live transcription and will be recorded for only students in our class.
You are required to complete two exams. Each exam will consist of objective questions, a mix of true and false, and subjective questions, requiring answers in the form of explanations. Your answers to the exam questions should synthesize what you learned in the recorded lectures and the textbook readings.
Exams are available as Microsoft Office Forms, linked below on the course schedule, according to the following schedule:
Both exams are required and constitute 30% of your final grade. Your higher exam score will be worth 20%, your lower exam score will be worth 10%.
All exams must be submitted by the deadline, otherwise they will be penalized by reduction in a grade, according to the course policies.
Please submit your work on time. Late quizzes and take-home final exams will not be accepted. In some cases, 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 we make other arrangements.
All other work will be penalized as follows:
As the learning material is available asynchronously, you may complete each module as your schedule permits. However, the due dates for each assignment—including quizzes, lectures, and exams—are firm and must be completed on-time in order to receive credit. Please plan accordingly.
Exam 1 covers the material for the Modules 1–6
Exam 2 covers the material for the Modules 7–12
Note: No late exams will be accepted