Fall 2017 - CMNS 820 G100

Media, Democratic Communication and the Concept of the Public (5)

Class Number: 3516

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: Fri, 11:30 a.m.–3:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

This course examines and evaluates the media (such as journalism, film, community media, or digital media) as fields of political and cultural practices, in relation to debates, concepts and models of the public sphere, democratic communication, and alternative media practices.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course examines and evaluates the media (in particular, journalism) as fields of political and cultural practices, in relation to debates, concepts and models of the public sphere, democratic communication, and alternative media practices.  Notions of the public sphere figure prominently in discussions of how media industries, technologies, and practices constitute and shape spaces in which social and political discourses take place.  While the idea of the public sphere has been widely contested, then, even among its harshest critics, some concept of the public is often understood as a starting point for attempting to understand and explain the bases for political communication, collective action, and social change.  It is a question of particular urgency in the era of authoritarian ‘populism’ and environmental crisis, as existential threats to democracy and even meaningful human survival.

In this course, we explore the history of the concept of the public, addressing arguments about the decline of the public sphere and the role of counter-publics in the development of new democratic spaces and practices.  Likely seminar topics include:  the Enlightenment and the liberal idea of the public sphere; mass society, democracy and public opinion; Habermas and the rediscovery of the public sphere; revising the model – counterpublics and difference; the public sphere and models of democracy; Bourdieu’s field theory as a reconceptualization of media power; alternative media and media reform as modes of media democratization; possible public spheres in the context of digitalization, globalization and neoliberalism; public engagement in the context of global crisis; revitalizing journalism as a public voice – as part of an investigation of how media may or may not be understood to nurture future democratic possibilities.  Students will be asked collectively to take charge of arranging readings on the relevance (or otherwise) of democratic journalism and public spheres in the context of neo-fascism, climate crisis, and the ‘post-truth’ society.

Grading

  • Subject to change with notice.
  • Reading Journal, Reading Analyses and Presentations (due throughout term) 20%
  • Book Review or Think Piece (1000-1500 words) 20%
  • Final Term Paper (18-20 pages), including initial proposal and class presentation 50%
  • Attendance and Participation 10%

NOTES:

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 S10.01 with respect to Academic Integrity, and Policies S10.02, S10.03 and S10.04 as regards Student Discipline.  [Note: as of May 1, 2009 the previous T10 series of policies covering Intellectual Honesty (T10.02), and Academic Discipline (T10.03) have been replaced with the new S10 series of policies.]

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Joseph Gripsrud, H. Moe, A. Molander, and G. Murdock, eds.  The Idea of the Public Sphere: A Reader.  Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
ISBN: 978073914198-4.

A number of other readings will be made available through Canvas, the Bookstore or Custom Courseware.

Students may also want to review the resources site   http://publicsphere.ssrc.org/

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS