Communications Studies (COMS) 441 - Lecture 02
Cultural Studies in Communications

Winter 2008
Saturday: 8:00 a.m. Class dates: January 19, 26;

           February 2, 9, 23; March 1, 8, 15, 29; April 5.   

 

Instructor:	Deidre Martin
Office	SS 209
Office Phone:	NA
E-Mail:	TBA
Web Page:
Office Hours:	Saturday, 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. or by appointment.

Additional Information

This course incorporates a range of teaching and learning styles and techniques including: formal lectures, guest lectures, discussion groups, workshops, activities, individual and group presentations, fieldtrips, and audio-visual materials.  It is important that students keep up with the assigned readings and come to each class prepared to thoughtfully, creatively and critically engage with each other and with the course themes, theories, methods and practices.

 

Course Description

Cultural Studies in Communications is designed as an advanced introduction to the scholarly field of Cultural Studies.   Our study will cover the historical development of Cultural Studies, its key thinkers, major research methods, theoretical approaches, critical concepts, themes and issues.  Students will be asked to consider the following question: How has Cultural Studies scholarship contributed to our contemporary understandings and experiences of communication and culture?  Special topics for discussion will include: surrealism, suburbia, souvenirs, globalization, mobility and collective memory.

Objectives of the Course:

The goal of this course is to give students a meaningful knowledge of what Cultural Studies is all about.  COMS 441 students will develop a solid foundation in the central cultural and communication issues of our time.  Students will also gain the analytical tools necessary to independently frame and develop Cultural Studies research questions and projects.

Textbooks and Readings:

The Cultural Studies Reader, Simon During, Routledge, 2007.  Available for purchase in the campus bookstore.

Assignments and Evaluation

 

Keyword Essay   20%  due February 9, 2008.

Profile of a Cultural Studies Thinker   25%  due March 15

Group Presentation    25% Presentation dates to be assigned in class.

Final Exam  30%  In class April 5, 2008.

 

Descriptions (Detailed descriptions of assignments will be distributed in class):

 

Keyword Essay

This short  (2 typed double-spaced pages) essay assignment is inspired by Raymond Williams's seminal Cultural Studies text, Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (Oxford University Press, 1983).  Students are asked to select one keyword of particular interest to them, and pertinence to our course study, and to write a concise, thought provoking, critical essay defining and describing this concept.  A list of possible keyword choices will be provided in class (for example: celebrity, collective, country).  Students are also permitted and encouraged to come up with their own original keyword selection, so long as they have cleared this term with me prior to commencing the assignment.  Time will be set aside in class for the presentation and discussion of Keyword Essays.

 

Profile of a Cultural Studies Thinker

In a 5 - 7 (typed double-spaced) page essay, students will profile one Cultural Studies thinker (for example: Judith Butler, Roland Barthes, bell hooks, Edward Said, Walter Benjamin, Donna Haraway) who they believe has made a significant contribution to the field.  Your profile must identify the socio-historical context in which the thinker lived and worked, outline the central research questions they posed and the methods they used to conduct an analysis of culture.  The thesis of your paper should critically assess the enduring impact of their work on the field of Cultural Studies.  Profile essays should draw upon a maximum of 2 original key texts produced by the thinker.  A list of possible thinkers to study will be provided in class.  Students may get initial ideas for possible thinkers from our class textbook, or come up with one of their own.  Please see me in advance of commencing the assignment if you wish to profile a thinker that you feel has made a significant contribution to Cultural Studies but is not on the list. 

 

Group Presentation

In groups of 3 - 5 individuals, students will be given 30 minutes of class time to present their research findings, ideas and questions on a Cultural Studies theme, theory or phenomenon.  Possible topics for group presentations (for example: cell phones and the culture of mobility) will be drawn from class readings and lecture materials and assigned in class.  Students will be allotted some time in class to collectively organize, develop and prepare their group presentations.

 

Final Exam                                                                                                                        The final in-class exam is designed to test students' knowledge and application of Cultural Studies themes, theories, concepts and methodological approaches.  It will consist of short answer questions that raise issues of cultural analysis and draw directly upon class readings, lecture and audio-visual material.  Students will be asked to critically engage with key Cultural Studies debates and to analyse a cultural text or phenomenon using a specific methodological framework (for example: political economy, semiotics, feminist analysis, narrative analysis, ideology) learned in class.  I will provide a set of preparatory questions and guidelines the week before the final exam to help students organize their thoughts and focus their study.

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.
Note: Please hand in your essays directly to your tutor or instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination:  No

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you need help with your writing, you may use the Writing Centre.  Visit the website for more details: www.efwr.ucalgary.ca

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

A+ (96-100); A (92-95); A- (86-91); B+ (81-85); B (77-80); B- (71-76);
C+ (65-70); C (62-64); C- (59-61); D+ (55-58); D (50-54); F (0-49)

 

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people's words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS 106, efwr.ucalgary.ca) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/su

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Ethics

Whenever you perform research with human participants (i.e. surveys, interviews, observation) as part of your university studies, you are responsible for following university research ethics guidelines.  Your instructor must review and approve of your research plans and supervise your research.  For more information about your research ethics responsibilities, see

The Faculty of Communication and Culture Research Ethics site: http://www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/ethics

or the University of Calgary Research Ethics site: http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/ethics/info/undergrad/

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

 

To be distributed in class.