95184 SOC 195 D
T-Th, 11:40-12:55, Lafayette L200
Both media and elections are a key aspect of life in modern democratic societies, and to understand one you have to understand the other. There are existing scholarly literatures about media and elections, but the last year has been the most unpredictable, volatile, and surprising election season since the late 1960s. When it comes to media and elections, it seems like everything has changed and we’re still in the middle of it. This means that much of the scholarly research in the area is out of date. I ordered one of the most recent textbooks available (2015), and while it’s still good, it won’t have all the answers for us, because many of the old rules seem to no longer hold.
This means that we’ll have to approach this course with energy, creativity, and our eyes wide open. We will study what people have figured out so far, but we will also have to think through many things on our own during the semester, watching what’s happening in the media and trying to figure it out as we go along. This will be fun, but also challenging. Be prepared to read, discuss, and think hard.
The basic assignments are a midterm (25%, Oct. 13) and final exams (25%, Dec. 13), reading journals turned in regularly during the semester (20%), a critical media analysis essay (20%), and attendance (10%). Also, every Tuesday you should come to class having read a major news story about the elections so we can discuss it. Details about each of these are on this syllabus.
Two books have been ordered, and there will be additional readings and other materials linked on the syllabus:
Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld, The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media, W. W. Norton & Company, 2012
Shanto Iyengar, Media Politics: A Citizen's Guide, 3rd Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, 2015