This course will survey some fundamental theories about mass media and culture. We will methodically summarize, evaluate, and compare these writings and critical approaches. The writings we will cover criticize media as popular culture, a communications technology, a representational device, a commercial industry, a site for audience engagement, and a territory for cultural citizenship.
Monday, 9:30 AM – 12:20 PM
Kiely Hall, Room 321
Section: MEDST 201W–01 (43827)
Monday, 1:40 – 4:30 PM
King Hall, Room 105
Section: MEDST 201W–02 (43828)
Juan Monroy
G Building, Room 102-D
Mondays, 5:00 – 6:00 PM
Also available remotely on Google Hangouts by advance appointment.
The following textbook is available through Amazon, Textbookx, and on reserve at Rosenthal Library
You should also review Goals for Student Writing published by Writing at Queens College.
Required course readings not found in the textbook are available electronically from the course website under the particular class session. You will need to use your QC G Suite account to access these materials.
After each class, I will post a review questions and relevant web links based on the material we covered in class. Use these materials to prepare for the midterm and final exams.
We will not be using Blackboard for this course. Instead, consult the Course Website for the syllabus and Google Classroom for submitting assignments.
Would you like free in-person assistance with writing your papers?
The Writing Center at Queens College offers in-person tutoring with your writing assignments. You can schedule recurring weekly sessions or a one-time “drop-in.” You can also stop-by the Writing Center to consult with a tutor. Students can also submit work online via the Writing Center’s e-tutoring service.
The Writing Center is located in Kiely Hall, Room 229 and can be reached at 718–997–5676.
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.
Please be present in each class.
In each class, we will be reviewing the readings, which can be challenging to understand without some collective guidance, and we will be working on drafting your writing assignments. Additionally, we will critiquing and commenting on each other’s works in class, requiring attendance at each class.
Please read the assigned course material prior to each week’s class. Consult the Course Schedule (below) for the required reading 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 comprise forty percent 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.
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.
In their influential essay, “The Culture Industry,” Adorno and Horkheimer criticize newly emergent mass culture of the late–nineteenth and early-twentieth century as an industrial product that deceives its audiences.
Discuss how the author of the one of the following essays may disagree with this argument by characterizing mass culture as popular culture, that is culture that is meaningful for the people that use it and engage with it.
Assignment Guidelines
Writing in the 1980s, Herbert Schiller observes the increasing control of culture by a decreasing number of corporations that prioritize profit over the artistic or cultural value of a work. Does this argument update and reinforce the “mass culture” argument made by Adorno and Horkheimer nearly fifty years earlier?
Discuss how the author of the one of the following essays extends Schiller’s argument about media and culture industries at the turn of the twenty-first century?
Assignment Guidelines
The in-class midterm exam consists of questions related to the assigned readings and the attendant discussions from the first half of the course. Use the review questions posted on this course website to help you prepare for the exam.
*This is an open-book exam*: you may use your copy of The Media Studies Reader for the exam, but no other material is permitted.
The take-home final exam, to be completed on Google Classroom, consists of questions related to the assigned readings and the attendant discussions from the second half of the course. Use the review questions posted on this course website to help you prepare for the exam.
Our class for today is cancelled. Please complete the tasks listed below (“To-Do Today”) in preparation for our next meeting.
Watch Episode 1 on John Berger’s Ways of Seeing (1972) for an illustration of the concepts discussed by Walter Benjamin.
The draft version of the What is Popular Culture? is due today on Google Classroom.
Watch Episode 3 on John Berger’s Ways of Seeing (1972) for an illustration of the concepts discussed by Berger in this chapter.
We will take the midterm exam in class today.
The final version of What is Popular Culture? is due today on Google Classroom.
The draft version of Media and Culture Industries is due today on Google Classroom.
The final version of Media and Culture Industries is due today on Google Classroom.
The final exam will be due today on Google Classroom. No late exams will be accepted.