GIS 3991/AGS 4760: Media in America (4 credits)

Time & Place: Monday, 6:00-9:40 p.m., Oakland Center.

GIS 3991: Interdisciplinary core Seminar Section#: 982 Call#: 93659

AGS 4760: Senior Seminar I Section#: 982 Call#: 95195

Instructor’s Work Address: Moti Nissani, Interdisciplinary Studies Program, 2nd floor, 5700 Cass, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202

Instructor’s Home Address: 28645 Briar Hill, Farmington Hills, MI 48336 E-Mail: moti.nissani@wayne.edu Tel.: 248.427.1957 (h) (12-10 p.m. every day)

Instructor’s Internet Homepage: http://www.cll.wayne.edu/isp/mnissani/welcome.htm

Class Internet Address: : http://www.cll.wayne.edu/isp/mnissani/pagepub/media/flyer.htm

Office hours: By appointment (Wayne State University main campus or Farmington Hills)

Text: A Media in America Reader ($8; for sale in class)

Internet: By now, the internet—if you know how to use it—is just as good a resource as any textbook. It is, moreover, almost free of censorship and control. So some of the best (and also the worst!) material, nowadays, is on the internet—for free. You can begin your explorations with my own Media Resources and Links:

http://www.cll.wayne.edu/isp/mnissani/media/mediafro.htm

But perhaps even more important and useful is a simple search of whatever you are doing at the moment. If you have Netscape, for instance, and are tackling a topic such as the greenhouse effect, you can do so by going to one of the search engines, e.g., Alta Vista. In the appropriate spot, you now type, in quotes, "greenhouse effect" Or let’s say you want to see if the writer Chomsky has written anything on the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and the United States. Your search now will be: +Chomsky +"Persian Gulf" +Iraq +"United States"

Grading: Your grade will be based on:

Attendance (30%). A good portion of whatever you learn will be in class. Among other things, we shall have at least three guest speakers throughout the term. So you are strongly encouraged to attend all sessions and to be there on time.

Class participation, curiosity, and a reasoned, well-informed, critical stance towards some of the views expressed by class instructor, guest speakers, and fellow students (10%).

A variety of written and oral assignments throughout the term (60%).

In 1807 Thomas Jefferson said: "I really look with commiseration over the great body of my fellow citizens, who, reading newspapers, live and die in the belief that they have known something of what has been passing in the world in their time." In 1919, the famous muckraker Upton Sinclair defined "journalism in America as the business and practice of presenting the news of the day in the interest of economic privilege." In 1987, respected media commentator Ben Bagdikian noted, "The American audience, having been exposed to a narrowing range of ideas over the decades, often assumes that what they see and hear in the major media is all there is. It is no way to maintain a lively marketplace of ideas, which is to say it is no way to maintain a democracy."

This class will touch upon the questions these quotes raise. In particular, it will ask:

Is it true that, when it comes to the media, he who pays the piper calls the tune?

What has been the role of the media in American history?

What's the impact of the media on our democracy and future?

To what extent have the media shaped your views about such things as elections, community, shopping, beauty, yourself, health care, and the environment?

What shall we do with the American media?

1. Written responses to all class readings—see weekly schedule (forthcoming).

2. A research paper assessing media portrayal of one topic of your choice (e.g., Indonesian politics; historical role of U.S. in perpetrating South African Apartheid; the murders(?) of Walter Reuther, Judy Bary, JFK, MLK, Princess Diana; Detroit incinerator; the demise of Clinton’s health or greenhouse policies; overpopulation; Afro-Americans in the news; role of money in American politics; quality of American vs. Japanese cars throughout the 1990s).