Course Description
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 commercial industry, and a territory for cultural citizenship.
Because this is a three (3) unit course, you’re expected to spend an average of nine (9) hours per week working on this course.
Remote Online Course
This course will be conducted remotely.
Most learning activities will be asynchronous, meaning that you will complete these on your own time during the assigned week.
In addition, there will be a number of synchronous activities, including a weekly live discussion session on Zoom. Office hours, including the mandatory consultations about the essays, will also be synchronously held on Google Meet.
Google Classroom
You should use this course website as your primary reference for this course, although you will be accessing essay and exam assignments on Google Classroom. I will also be posting announcements about the course on Google Classroom. You can also estimate your overall grade in Google Classroom.
Unlike Blackboard, you must first join our course in Google Classroom. You must also must have an active QC Google account.
There are two ways of joining our course on Google Classroom:
- Using an Invite Link
- Go to https://classroom.google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu/c/MTczMjY1NDMyODA0?cjc=aqf4bri
- Using an Invite Code
- Go to Google Classroom: https://classroom.google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu
- If this is your first time using Google Classroom, be sure to identify yourself as a student.
- Click on the “+” icon in Google Classroom to Join
- Enter the following code:
aqf4bri
- Due to the particular setup at Queens College, I am unable to invite you using an email invitation.
You should download and install the Google Classroom app for your mobile device: available for Apple iOS devices and for Android devices. I recommend turning on notifications for the Google Classroom app to ensure you receive announcements and notifications about this class and your classwork.
Having trouble? Review this document: “How to Join a Queens College Google Classroom?.”
Goals
This Media Criticism course is best regarded as a criticism of media criticism, or “media criticism criticism,” if you prefer. This course will require you to read one or two essays per week before class that criticizes some aspect of mass media and culture. At each class session, we will cover the historical and scholarly context in which the essays were written and extract some key terms and concepts. In subsequent classes, we will revisit some of the essays compare them the other essays we have already read. By the end of the course, you will be familiar with the literature of media studies and will be able to understand any other essays you encounter in media studies and several other fields. Your success in this course depends less on memorizing class material and more on developing the ability to be a critical media scholar through intensive reading and argumentative writing.
Writing Intensive Course at Queens College
This course is a Writing Intensive (W) course and fulfills one Writing Intensive requirement. W classes include a significant portion of time devoted to writing instruction. This may include things such as revision workshops, discussions of rhetorical strategies, or reflective writing about writing assignments.
You will learn about writing in this course through practice and through reading about writing.
No one can teach you to write. It is something that you will have to learn for yourself. Every writer approaches the craft differently so it would be a waste of time to teach you The One Right Way to write because that would be dishonest. It doesn’t exist. However, I can relate my own experiences in hopes that you discover what works for you. In this course, you will write two comparative essays using a four-part process:
1. researching: reading and learning about your subject
2. outlining: organizing what you’ve learned into a coherent, linear narrative
3. drafting: composing prose corresponding to your outline
4. revising: proofreading, copyediting, and simplifying your prose
You will also read two books about writing that emphasize some important features for every writer:
- clarity: write what you mean and how it makes sense to you
- simplicity: keep it simple
- persistence: writing is a task and it involves a lot of repetition; writing is rewriting
- empathy: think about the human who is reading your words
We will consider this when working on your comparative essays.
You should also review Goals for Student Writing published by Writing at Queens College.
Instructor
Juan Monroy
You can reach me by email at juan.monroy@qc.cuny.edu. To maintain professional standards, please only use your CUNY email account to contact me. I usually respond within a day.
Office Hours
Office Hours will be held remotely on Google Meet, by appointment only.
To make an appointment:
- Log into your QC Google account at https://google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu
- Go to https://juanmonroy.com/qcofficehours and sign up for an appointment, at least one day in advance.
- Go to https://calendar.google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu and find the appointment you just made to find the Google Meet link you will need to join the meeting.
If you cannot keep the appointment, please delete the appointment from your calendar to cancel the appointment. You can access your Google Calendar at https://calendar.google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu. Remember that it is unprofessional to miss an appointment without cancelling it with reasonable notice.
Writing Center
Would you like free in-person assistance with writing your papers?
The Writing Center at Queens College offers individual tutoring for your writing assignments. Make an appointment with a Writing Consultant to get help with any writing assignments.
Many students in the past have attested that visiting the Writing Center to get help with writing assignments was the most effective thing they did at Queens College.
Counseling Services at Queens College
Counseling Services are available to any Queens College student. They assist students with personal concerns that can affect their enjoyment of and success in college. Services are free and confidential. All sessions take place on Zoom or by telephone, depending on student preference.
To make an appointment, students should call 718–997–5420 and leave a message with their phone number and CUNY ID. You can also e-mail counselingservices@qc.cuny.edu to set up an appointment.
https://www.qc.cuny.edu/studentlife/services/counseling/counseling/Pages/default.aspx
Welcome Survey
Please complete the Welcome Survey for this course on Google Classroom.
The survey ensures that you can access Google Classroom and that you agree to be bound by the course policies.
Please complete the Welcome Survey by Wednesday, February 17, 11:59 PM. If you cannot complete this by the deadline, please contact me. Otherwise, I will have to report you as not attending the class and you will be dropped from the course.
Assignments
This course is broken up into twelve modules. Each module consists of:
- assigned readings from the textbooks
- a live discussion session
The material from each module will be posted on the course schedule below and on Google Classroom on Friday afternoons, as noted on the course schedule below.
You must complete the material for each module by the following Friday morning. A subsequent module will be available later that afternoon.
Readings
Assigned readings are listed in the course schedule below and available from the following sources:
- Ouellette, Laurie, ed. The Media Studies Reader. New York: Routledge, 2013.
- Dreyer, Benjamin. Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style. New York: Random House, 2019.
- Zinssner, William. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, 7th ed. New York: Harper Collins, 2006.
Most essays from The Media Studies Reader are also available from their original sources at one of the following:
- Linked below in the course schedule. Use your CUNY Login to authenticate.
- Linked under each module on Google Classroom.
Audiobook versions are available from Audible for the following books:
- Benjamin Dreyer, Dreyer’s English: This is the complete text of the print book, read by the author. I’ve auditioned it, and I recommend it. Dreyer’s narration is very entertaining and engaging.
- William Zinsser, On Writing Well (abridged): This is an abridged version and is not the same as the 7th (“30th Anniversary”) edition listed above. I have not auditioned this audiobook so I cannot recommend it nor can I recommend against using this.
Both audiobooks are also available through Audible’s subscription program. You can sign up for a free trial.
Disclosure: links to Amazon, including Audible, are affiliate links. I will receive a referral payment should you buy or rent something or if you sign up for a trial.
Screenings
There are a few screenings I would like you to do before our live discussion session. These are linked in the course schedule below and available on Google Classroom.
Live Discussion Section
All students must participate in the live discussion session.
Join the session on Zoom by signing in using your CUNY Login. This article explains how to log in to Zoom using CUNY Login Credentials.
During this discussion session, we will break into groups and answer the Review Questions for the week.
- Each Friday at 10:00 AM on Zoom
- Authenticate using your CUNY Login credentials: this article explains how to log in to Zoom using CUNY Login Credentials.
- Attendance is mandatory
- Weight: 10%
Essay 1: Mass Culture or Popular Culture
Write a comparative essay that compares Adorno and Horkheimer’s “The Culture Industry” essay with an essay we’ve studied in class.
Essay 2: Media and Culture Industries
Write a comparative essay that compares Herbert Schiller’s “The Corporation and the Production of Culture” essay with an essay we’ve studied in class.
- Assignment Guidelines
- Draft and Outline due Friday, April 23, 11:59 PM, on Google Classroom
- Mandatory individual office hours: April 26–May 7
- Final Essay due Monday, May 17, 12:00 PM, on Google Classroom
- Length: 1,200 words
- Weight: 30%
Midterm Exam
The take-home midterm exam consists of questions related to the assigned readings and the attendant discussions from the first half of the course.
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, necessary or even very helpful.
- Available Friday, March 19, 12:00 PM, on Google Classroom.
- Due Friday, March 26, 11:59 PM, on Google Classroom.
- Weight: 20%
Final Exam
The take-home final exam consists of questions related to the assigned readings and the attendant discussions from the second half of the course.
This is an open-book exam: you may use your copy of The Media Studies Reader for the exam and the Sasha Torres essay, but no other material is permitted, necessary or even very helpful.
- Available Friday, May 14, on Google Classroom
- Due Friday, May 21, 11:59 PM, on Google Classroom
- Weight: 20%
Course Schedule
Complete all activities no later than the date listed on this course schedule.
Getting Started, January 29
- Get the textbooks:
- The Media Studies Reader
- Dreyer’s English
- On Writing Well, 7th ed.
- Read the policies governing this course
- Activate your QC G Suite account
- Students New to Queens College, Recently Transferred to QC, or Enrolled in another CUNY Campus: You must activate your email and Active Directory accounts before you can activate your G Suite for Education account. The process takes about three (3) business days so please start this process as soon as possible
- Join the class on Google Classroom
- Download and install the Google Classroom app for your mobile device
- Turn on notifications for the Google Classroom app to ensure you receive announcements and notifications about this class and your classwork
- Review the Goals for Student Writing published by Writing at Queens College
- Complete the Welcome Survey on Google Classroom
- Listen to a conversation between Preet Bhara and Benjamin Dreyer about the “The Laws of Language” and the “morality of writing.” It is available at Cafe: scrub to 0:10:24 where the conversation begins
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EST, on Zoom.
Module 1: Mass Culture and the Culture Industry, February 5
- Read Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception, in Dialectic of Enlightenment”
- Available in The Media Studies Reader, 13–30
- Available on Marxists.org (note that this translation differs from the one in The Media Studies Reader)
- Read the Wikipedia page on The Culture Industry
- Watch "Critical Theory, The Frankfurt School, Adorno and Horkheimer and the Culture Industry on YouTube
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s reading: on Adorno and Horkheimer
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EST, on Zoom
Readings about Writing
- Read Zinsser, “Introduction”
- Read Dreyer, “Introduction”
Module 2: Lipsitz and Popular Culture, February 19
- Read George Lipsitz, “Popular Culture: This Ain’t No Sideshow”
- Available in The Media Studies Reader, 45–55
- An earlier version of this essay is available from QC Library
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s reading: on Lipsitz
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EST, on Zoom
Readings about Writing
- Begin reading Zinsser, Part 1, “Principles”
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 1, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up Your Prose”
Module 3: Benjamin and Mechanical Reproduction, February 26
Readings about Writing
- Conclude reading Zinsser, Part 1, “Principles”
Module 4: Media, Technology, and Power, March 5
- Read Lev Manovich, “The Practice of Everyday (Media) Life: From Mass Consumption to Mass Cultural Production”
- Available in The Media Studies Reader, 80–87
- Available from QC Library"
- Read Lynn Spigel, “The Domestic Economy of Television Viewing in Postwar America”
- Available in The Media Studies Reader, 131–145
- Available from QC Library
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s readings: on Manovich and on Spigel
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EST, on Zoom.
Readings about Writing
- Read Zinsser, Part 2, “Methods”
Module 5: Television and Authority, March 12
- Read Susan Douglas, “The Turn Within: The Irony of Technology in a Globalized World”
- Available in The Media Studies Reader, 93–104
- Available from QC Library
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s readings: on Douglas
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EST, on Zoom
Readings about Writing
- Review Zinsser, Part 3, “Forms”
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 2, “Rules and Nonrules”
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 3, “67 Assorted Things to Do (and Not to Do) With…”
Module 6: Media, Industry, and Political Economy, March 19
- Read Herbert Schiller, “The Corporation and the Production of Culture”
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s readings by Schiller
- Watch Herbert Schiller Read the Sunday New York Times (1981), available on Vimeo
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EDT, on Zoom
Readings about Writing
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 4, “1, 2, 3, Go”
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 5, “Foreign Affairs”
Midterm Exam, March 26
- Complete the midterm exam, available on Google Classroom, by today, 11:59 PM
- There is no live discussion session today
Module 7: Media and Niche Marketing, April 9
- Read Michael Curtin, “On Edge: Culture Industries in the Neo-Network Era”
- Read Hector Amaya, “Citizenship, Diversity, Law and Ugly Betty”
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s readings by Curtin and by Amaya
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EDT, on Zoom
Readings about Writing
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 6, “A Little Grammar is a Dangerous Thing”
Module 8: Media, Technology and Control, April 16
- Read Mark Andrejevic, “The Work of Being Watched: Interactive Media and the Exploitation of Self-Disclosure”
- Read Tom McCourt and Patrick Burkart, “When Creators, Corporations and Consumers Collide: Napster and the Development of Online Music Distribution”
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s readings by Andrejevic and by McCourt and Burkart
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EDT, on Zoom
Readings about Writing
- Begin reading Zinsser, Part 4, “Attitudes”
Module 9: Media Audiences and Fan Culture, April 23
- Read Lawrence Grossberg, “The Affective Sensibility of Fandom”
- Available in The Media Studies Reader, 458–465
- Available from QC Library," 50–65
- Read Mizuko Ito, “Japanese Media Mixes and Amateur Cultural Exchange”
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s readings by Grossberg and by Ito
- Watch Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Fans of My Little Pony (Laurent Malaquais, 2012), available on Google Classroom
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EDT, on Zoom
Readings about Writing
- Continue reading Zinsser, Part 4, “Attitudes”
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 8, “Notes on, Amid a List of, Frequently and Easily Misspelled Words”
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 9, “Peeves and Crochets”
Module 10: Media, Citizenship, and the Public Sphere, April 30
- Read Stuart Cunningham, “Popular Media as Public ‘Sphericules’ for Diasporic Communities”
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s readings by Cunningham
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EDT, on Zoom
- These are the breakout room questions for today’s session
- Recording available on Google Classroom
Readings about Writing
- Conclude reading Zinsser, Part 4, “Attitudes”
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 10, “The Confusables”
- Review Dreyer, Chapter 11, “Notes on Proper Nouns”
Module 11: Media and Cultural Citizenship, May 7
- Read Lauren Berlant, “The Theory of Infantile Citizenship”
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s reading by Berlant
- Watch The Simpsons, “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington,” September 26, 1991. Available on Google Classroom
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EDT, on Zoom
Readings about Writing
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 12, “The Trimmables”
- Read Dreyer, Chapter 13, “The Miscellany”
Module 12: Media and Governmentality, May 14
- Read Laurie Ouellette and James Hay, “Makeover Television, Governmentality and the Good Citizen”
- Read Sasha Torres, “Television and Race,” in Janet Wasko, ed. A Companion to Television, Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2005
- Study the Review Questions for this week’s readings by Ouellette and Hay and by Torres
- Watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, “The Harris Family,” April 11, 2004. Available on Google Classroom
- Join the Live Discussion Session, today from 10:00–11:15 AM EDT, on Zoom
Final Exam, May 21
- Complete the final exam, available on Google Classroom, by today, 11:59 PM
- There is no live discussion session today