SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

CMNS 224-3/286-3

Dr. Gail Faurschou	Spring 2002
Telephone: 604-291-3687	Burnaby Day

SOCIAL ISSUES AND COMMUNICATION

Prerequisite:

CMNS 110 and permission of instructor. It is also hoped that students will have taken some Arts courses in their first year, at least a few of which required essay writing.

This course will introduce students to debates on the relationship between political economy, culture and ideology. It will begin with a history of capitalist modernity, focusing on the rise of the market and the new forms of social and political organization it creates. We will look at debates in social theory over the extent to which the market and its processes of commodification have consequences not only for economic life, but for social and cultural relationships as well. Questions will be raised over how the market perpetuates inequalities such those based on class, race and gender divisions. In the second part of the course, we will look more closely at the cultural dimensions of commodification with an emphasis on “race” and representations of otherness in post-colonial discourse. This will be an important part of understanding the politics and economics of globalization and the issues it raises for communication and cultural studies today. This semester we will examine representations of the war on Afghanistan, as well as examples from television, magazines, tourist advertising, and film that focus on non-Western subjects.

As a double course, students will be introduced to historical and theoretical material in the early weeks which will serve as a foundation for analyzing contemporary debates later on. No specialized knowledge is presupposed. However, as one of the aims of this course is to develop student’s skill in critical thinking and writing, essay writing skills and the careful evaluation of principal arguments will be stressed. I advise all students to read the excellent books on writing I have listed below. This course is intended to give students a strong foundation for pursuing more advanced studies in the political economy, social policy, or cultural studies streams of communication as well as similar topics in other disciplines.


READINGS:

Course readings will consist of primary and secondary scholarly sources, popular newspaper and television journalism, films, plays, novels and some selections from the “success/ self-help” genre of popular business literature. Specific readings will be announced each day in class. Students must keep up with the readings as lectures and class discussion will be based on interpreting and critically evaluating the points of view presented in the readings.

Attendance and contribution to class discussion is expected.


Required:

(subject to change with notice)

Leidner, Robin. Fast Food, Fast Talk: Service Work and the Routinization of Everyday Life. Univ. of California Press. Berkeley: 1993.
Lutz, Catherine and Collins Jane, Reading National Geographic. University of Chicago Press, Chicago:1993
Globe and Mail subscription. Call 1 800-387-5400 for student rate of approx. $6 per month. Please do this at least a week before class begins.

Reading Kit: Will be available on reserve when class commences.


Recommended:

Mistry, Rohinton. A Fine Balance. McClelland and Stewart: 1995.
Miller, Arthur, Death of a Salesman, Penguin: New York: 1976.
Flower, Linda. Problem Solving Strategies for Writing. Harcourt and Brace. 1993.
Hall, Donald. Writing Well. Addison, Wesley, Longman: 1998.
Spurr, David, The Rhetoric of Empire: Colonial Discourse in Journalism, Travel Writing, and Imperial Administration, Duke University Press Durham, N.C: 1993.
Robbins, Richard, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, Allyn and Urwin Pub. New York: 2002


ASSIGNMENTS:

(subject to change with notice) As a six credit (double) course, the marks add up to 200 instead of 100. You will receive the same grade for 224 and 286.

Tutorial Participation and Presentation: 20 marks
First Assignment: 15 marks (5 pages)
First Midterm: 30 marks (in class with questions handed out previous week)
Second Midterm: 35 marks (in class with questions handed out previous week)
Essay: 40 marks (12 pages)
Group Project: 25 marks (details to be given at a later date)
Take Home Final Exam: 35 marks.

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to “Intellectual Honesty” and “Academic Discipline” (see the current Calendar, General Regulations section).