Objectives:

English 514, Language and Media Discourse, will focus on the rhetorical elements of such audio and visual media as commercials, documentary and dramatized television programs, music videos, film, and cybermedia.  The course outline provides a tentative schedule of topics for class discussion. Focusing on rhetorical elements of popular media, particularly in advertising, information, and entertainment, the course will foster:

• understanding of the nature of rhetoric in its varied roles in modern, popular discourse;
• comprehension of various media and the ways practioners interact with their audiences;
• examination of  visual and media literacies; and
• opportunity to explore, examine, synthesize, and express ideas about language and media discourse.

Requirements:

The final grade will be determined by an average of grades on:

1. Language and Media Discourse Journal--Each student is expected to keep a journal and write entries frequently; fifteen will be assigned in preparation for class sessions, and some will be collected during the semester.  Journal entries should be thoughtful and thorough, an informal discussion with yourself over issues, ideas, and experiences occasioned by readings, class sessions, and media confrontations in the course.  Specific journal entries will be handed out during the course; each student will be responsible for at least twenty, although he/she may have more, depending on the number of non-assigned, independently generated entries written.
2. A Paper on  Media 1
3. A Paper on  Media 2
Each paper will be on a different aspect of media; each will be a formal, well-prepared presentation of ideas about specific issues, examples, or research.  They will be seven to ten pages long, typed, double-spaced, with footnotes and bibliography where appropriate.  Details about specific assignments will be provided separately, but students are encouraged to find areas of interest relevant to particular media or particular works in those media and propose their own alternative topics to those assigned. Note: Creative or pedagogical alternatives will be admissible with the instructor's approval.
4. Final Examination
5. Participation--Students are expected to attend most class sessions, be prepared by completing assigned reading and writing, and participate through classroom discussion.

Texts:

• Sturken, Marita, & Lisa Cartwright. Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. (Oxford)

Note: Some additional reading will be required through texts on reserve and course handouts.

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Forward to Reserve Reading

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