Syllabus: Com100 Communication Seminar

COM 100 Syllabus: Communication Seminar
Lecturer: Jonathan C. Ong
1 Semester 2008-2009
Department of Communication
Ateneo de Manila University

I. Course Description
This course is an introduction to doing media and communication studies in Ateneo de Manila. It provides foundational frameworks to understanding media and communications, such as theories of media power, representation, and mediation. At the same time, the series of TrackTalks aims to link theory and practice by bringing recent Ateneo Communication graduates to discuss their work experiences in light of their undergraduate major. Crucially, the course invites students to reflect on the centrality of media and communications in everyday life and its consequences for culture, politics, and, fundamentally, ethics.

II. General Objectives
This course aims to:
• introduce foundational theories and concets from the field of media and communication studies
• underscore the political, social, cultural, and moral relevance in understanding the media’s role in today’s world
• provide academic/career mentoring for students through the TrackTalk series
• train students in critical, dialectical thinking

III. Methodology
Media and communications is an academic discipline that requires much reading—reading from textbooks and academic journals as well as “reading” from media such as film, television, and music. The quintessential Ateneo Communication student is someone who is able to link “theoretical knowledge” gathered from books and “practical knowledge” acquired from exposure to media artifacts. It is the student’s responsibility to keep up with the varied reading materials.
The course consists of lectures, lecturettes, TrackTalk seminars, discussions, online discussions, film viewings, research work, and creative work.

IV. Topic Outline
1. Week 1 (June 10, 12): Course Overview
• Introduces course aims, methods, and requirements

2. Week 2 (June 17): Introduction to Media
• Provides an overview of the field of media and communications research
• Key reading:
a. Silverstone, R. (1999). Why Study the Media? London: Sage. (Chapter 3)

3. Week 2 (June 19): Introduction to Communication
• Presents different paradigms in how communication has been historically viewed in philosophy, psychology, engineering, etc.
• Contrasts dissemination and dialogic models of communication as well as ritual and transmission models
• Key readings:
a. Thompson, J. (1995). Media and Modernity. Cambridge: CUP.
b. Peters, J.D. (1999). Speaking into the Air. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

4. Week 3 (June 24, 26): Nature and Process of Theorizing
• June 24 Guest Lecturer: Lisandro Claudio
• Exposes students to epistemology and invites them to reflect on the assumptions behind media scholars’—and their own—arguments
• Key reading:
a. Jansen, S.C. (2002). ‘Scholarly writing is an unnatural act’. In Critical Communication Theory: Power, Media, Gender, and Technology. USA: Rowman and Littlefield.

5. Week 4 (July 1, 3): The Philippine and Global Media Landscapes
• Discusses issues of ownership, access, availability, media literacy in both Philippine and global contexts
• Highlights historical trends and changes in the industry

6. Week 5 (July 8): TrackTalk 1: Media and Film Studies
• Invited Speakers: Lisandro Claudio, Abby Yao, Kristina Aquino, Kamyl Pilar

7. Week 5 (July 10): TrackTalk 2: Journalism
• Invited Speakers: Angeli Guidaya, Katrina Yap, Ayee Macaraig

8. Week 6 (July 15): Seminar Discussion
• Critically reflects on insights and issues raised by the first two TrackTalks

9. Week 6 (July 17): TrackTalk 3: Advertising and Public Relations
• Invited Speakers: Therese Mangosing, Donnah Alcoseba, Trixie Reyna

10. Week 7 (July 22): TrackTalk 4: Production
• Invited Speakers: Justine Javier, Bea Ledesma, Rey Ilagan

11. Week 7 (July 24): Seminar Discussion
• Critically reflects on insights and issues raised by the first two TrackTalks

12. Week 8 (July 29, 31): Representations
• Underscores the relevance of the study of words and images in light of issues of inclusion/exclusion and media ethics
• Presents quantitative and qualitative approaches to textual analysis, including news framing, semiotics, and discourse analysis
• Key reading:
a. Hall, S. (ed.) (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Open UP. (Chapter 1)

13. Week 9 (Aug 5, 7): Representations of the Other
• Develops a critique of the processes of Other-ing present in popular media representations
• Introduces the concepts of Orientalism, compassion fatigue, media fatigue, and proper distance
• Key reading:
a. Silverstone, R. (2006). Media and Morality: On the Rise of the Mediapolis. London: Polity. (Chapter 3)

14. Week 10 (Aug 12, 14): Political Economy
• Guest Lecturer: Jason Cabanes, MA, Ateneo de Manila
• Explores how the paradigm of the political economy of communications contributes to a critical understanding of inequalities in ownership, access, and literacy in today’s (new) media environment
• Key readings:
a. Williams, K. (2003). “The Censorship of Money: Theories of Media Ownership and Control.” Understanding Media Theory. London: Arnold.

15. Week 11 (Aug 19, 21): Culture Industry
• Explores the contribution of the Frankfurt School in the analysis of how power is exercised through the processes of media production and consumption
• Introduces the concept of ideology
• Key readings:
a. Strinati, D. (2004). An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. London: Routledge. (Chapter 2)

16. Week 12 (Aug 26, 28): Student Presentations
• Students examine issues pertaining to representation and media power, linking theory with practice

17. Week 13 (Sept 2, 4): Identity Politics and Resistance
• Discusses issues of self-representation and culture jamming: Can the Other speak in a global media environment? And when the Other does speak, who listens?
• Key reading:
a. Mitra, A. (2001). “Marginal Voices in Cyberspace.” New Media & Society, 3(1).

18. Week 14 (Sept 9): Digital Youth
• Reflects on the mediation of contemporary youth culture and its consequences for identity and learning
• Key reading:
a. Stern, S. (2008). ‘Producing Sites, Exploring Identities: Youth Online Authorship.’ In Buckingham, D. (ed.) Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. Boston: MIT Press.

19. Week 14 (Sept 11), Week 15 (Sept 16, 18): Media and Morality
• The last series of concluding lectures underscores the moral role of all participants in the global media: owners, producers, actors, and audiences
• Introduces the concepts of mediapolis, responsibility, cosmopolitanism, and risk society
• Key readings:
a. Cabanes, J. (2007). ‘Agency & Responsibility: On the Question of Being Human in a Mediated World. A paper presented at MediaTalk@admu: News and the Other. ADMU.
b. Corpus Ong, J. (in press). ‘Where is the Cosmopolitan? Locating Cosmopolitanism in Media and Cultural Studies’. Media, Culture & Society.

20. Week 16 (Sept 23, 25), Week 17 (Sept 30): TBA
• The Lecturer is in London at this time. Activity to be announced.

21. Week 17 (Oct 2): Creative Projects Presentation

22. Week 18 (Oct 7): Conclusion
• Presents a summary of the course and provides suggestions as to its application in everyday life
• Key readings:
a. Silverstone, R. (1999). Why Study the Media? London: Sage. (Chapters 15-16)
b Orgad, S. (2007). “The Internet as a Moral Space: The Legacy of Roger Silverstone.” In New Media & Society, 9 (1).

V. Course Requirements
1) Creative project – 20%
2) Quizzes – 20%
3) Student presentations – 20%
3) Final paper – 20%
4) Participation – 20%

1 – The creative project (documentary, fiction film, ad campaign, webisodes, website, “media event”, debate, etc) is an attempt to challenge students to become effective and responsible media producers. The objective of the creative project is to provoke further debate in a specific issue (or issues) discussed in class. This is to be accomplished by groups of not more than five (5) students. Examples of creative projects may be: 1) a watchdog blog on Philippine advertising using concepts of representation and Other-ing, 2) a documentary exploring issues in Philippine cinema, 3) a satire of theories on media power 4) a reality TV program that tries to find the “ultimate cosmopolitan,” etc.

2 – There will be at least four quizzes throughout the term. Quizzes are essay-based. Students will choose to answer one question out of three to five.

3 - Students have short presentations on additional readings every week. They are expected to cull the main argument from the essay, highlight its strengths and weaknesses, and relate the essay to the course topic and to their everyday life. They will be judged in terms of both content and creativity. Further, there are student presentations that expound on key issues discussed in class.

4 – The final paper is a take-home essay reflecting on issues about media and morality. Essay topics will be revealed in class in September.

5 – Participation takes into account classroom discussions and online discussions. Students are expected to display critical thinking, wide reading, and the ability to link concepts from the various lectures and even from their other classes.

VI. Biographical Notes
Jonathan Corpus Ong is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at the University of Cambridge. He is one of only 100 students in his batch with the prestigious Bill Gates Scholarship. He has an MSc in Politics and Communication (with Distinction) from the London School of Economics and a BA in Communication (summa cum laude) from the Ateneo de Manila University. His industry experience includes becoming the youngest manager at GMA Network, media planning at McCann-Erickson Phils., and working as a research assistant at the BBC. His research interests are on media and morality, media and migration, and mediated public participation.