Juan Monroy — Media Criticism: About the Exams

Each exam covers the readings and lectures from material covered in class and is based on the review questions and key terms.

As this exam is subjective, your score will be based on how well you explain your response and demonstrate your understanding of the course material, more than providing the “correct answer.”

The exam consists of the following types of questions:

Identification

I will provide you a term or phrase, referenced in the assigned readings. You will respond with a two-to-three–sentence response that defines each, references the author, and explains its context and the significance to the larger argument made by its author.

For example:

culture industry

The culture industry is a concept articulated by Adorno and Horkheimer that they argue is responsible for mass producing culture, not unlike any mass-produced commodity. In the essay, they argue that the products of the culture industry are standardized and formulaic. Deluding its consumers into believing these are unique and original will rob them of their individuality, making them prime for fascist domination.
Short Answer

Answer the question with a one-paragraph response, about four-to-five sentences, that summarizes your argument and references relevant readings.

For example:

What is the sign? What are the signifier and the signified, according to the work of Ferdinand de Sassuere?

According to Ferdinand de Saussure, the sign consists of two processes. The first is the signifier, which is an expression or a reference to something in the real world. The second is the signified, which is the mental concept that arises in the presence of the signified. Hall uses this in his essay on representation because it recognizes the socially constructed, arbitrary, and learned way that language works for a constructivist approach to representation.