SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

CMNS 486-4

Stuart Poyntz	Intersession 2002
Room: HC TBA; Phone: 604-688-8202	Harbour Centre Day
Email: stuart@cinematheque.bc.ca

(SPECIAL TOPICS)
MEDIA EDUCATION

Prerequisite:

Permission of the instructor or Advisor (Lucie).

Course Dates and Times:

May 2lst to June 28th, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from l:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Course Structure:

This is a six-week intensive summer program specifically designed for students in the School of Communications and the Faculty of Education. The intention of the course is to provide an introduction to the key issues in media education, including:

The Political Economy of Media Production
Advertising and Consumer Culture
The Language of Media Production
Popular Culture and Canadian Culture
Representation and Identity in Media Production
Audiences and Alternative Media Production
New Technologies of Communication

Assignments:

I. Deconstructing a Text (20%)

Examine an individual advertisement or an advertising campaign from television or magazines using the model provided in class to determine the advertisement’s meaning, target audience, likely success and effect.

II. Media Commentary (30%)
Write a media commentary targeted to either print (800 word limit) or radio (500 word limit) on any topic related to media education or the role of the media in our society.

III. Film or Media Education Study Guide (40% -- 5% for presentation; 35% for final submission)

Write a film or media education study guide, 12-16 pages in length. For teachers registered in the course, the study guide will draw on the learning outcomes for media education in BC’s high school curriculum. Communications students will be asked to address their study guide to a teenage audience. The study guides can focus either on one recent film, or a specific media education topic raised in the course.

Participation 10%

Students can purchase Course Readings Package from the Harbour Centre Bookstore in May 2002.

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 aand distributio of grades. In addition, the Sechool will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to “Intellectual Honesty” and “Academic Discipline” (see the current Calendar, General Regulations section).