Fall, 2007: Mr. Duennebier
“I saw a subliminal advertising executive, but only for a second”. – Steven Wright (my favorite comedian)
Huxley, Brave New World (H)
Potter, Media Literacy (P)
Pratkanis and Aronson, Age of Propaganda (P & A)
Scads of Xeroxes (X)
PPM Journal (provided)
Various Websites
Readings:
Why We Wrote this Book (P & A, intro)
Bobos in Paradise (Excerpt) (X)
Our Age of Propaganda (P & A, #1)
Why Increase Media Literacy? (P, Ch. 1)
TV Without Guilt (X)
Class Activities: Media Mystery Document, Come to our College!; Logos, Slogans, and Statistics, Media Exposure Log
Film: The Gods Must be Crazy (clip)
Paper #1: Media Memoir
Readings:
Mysterious Influence (P & A, #2)
Subliminal Sorcery (P & A #34)
Mindless Persuasion (P & A #3)
Secret Messages on Records (X)
Broadening our Perspective (P, Ch. 13)
How Do the Effect Processes Work (P, Ch. 14)
Films: The Manchurian Candidate (clip), The Deerhunter (clip), Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?
Class Activities: Subliminal advertising, backmasking
Websites: http://www.subliminalworld.org/choice.htm
www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdisneyperv; www.reversespeech.com; http://zapatopi.net/afdb.html,
www.poleshift.org/sublim/index.html
Readings:
Words of Influence (P & A. #6)
Doublespeak (X)
Why Don’t We Say What We Mean? (X)
Pictures in our Heads (P & A, #7)
Saddam Hussein: The Hitler of Baghdad? (P & A, #8)
A Questionable Persuasion (P & A. #9)
The Power of Decoys (P & A, #10)
The Psychology of Factoids (P & A, #11)
Class Activities: Ad Reframing, Doublespeak
Websites: www.urbanlegends.com/index.html/; www.snopes.com/
Paper #2: Words in Persuasion
Readings:
Weapons of Influence (or “click – whirr…) (X )
The Four Strategems of Influence (P. #5)
Class Activities: GA letter; Deindividuation
Film: Constructing Social Reality
Readings:
If Hitler Asked You…”(X)
The Pathology of Imprisonment (X)
The Credible Communicator (P & A, #12)
The Manufacture of Credibility (P & A, # 15)
How to Become a Cult Leader (P & A, #36)
The Truth About Jonestown(X)
The Last Revelation from Waco (X)
The Fear Appeal (P & A #24)
Propaganda in the Third Reich (P & A #37)
Films: Quiet Rage, The Wave, Milgrim Experiment (clip)
Activities: UFO Experiment, The Shock Machine
Paper #3: Cult Creation Pamphlet
Readings;
One Flower Given (P & A # 27)
The Granfalloon Technique (P & A # 25)
If You Want to Gain an Inch (P & A #22)
Readings:
Readings:
Social Proof: Truths are Us (X)
Web Sites: http://www.adbusters.org/; http://www.nmmlp.org/; http://www.adflip.com
Paper #4: Ad Deconstruction
Readings:
Advertising (P, Ch. 8)
Packages (P & A #17)
Naked Attics (P & A #19)
Why Do they Keep Repeating? (P & A #20)
Protagora’s Ideal: One-Sided Puffery vs. Two-Sided Debate (P & A #23)
Inventing the Commercial (X)
The Discarded Factory (X)
Who Owns and Controls the Mass Media? (P, Ch. 11)
Virtual Product Placement (X)
Films: Sell and Spin: The History of Advertising; Behind the Screens; The Merchants of Cool
Class Activity: Two Routes to a New Cereal
Paper #5: News from Two Media
Websites: www.nologo.org; www.mcspotlight.org; www.supersizeme.com; www.sweatshopwatch.org
Readings:
Effects on Institutions (P, Ch. 15)
Readings:
“Buy this 24-year-old… “ (X)
I Want Your Sex (X)
Bringing up Britney (X)
Mass Media Influences on Sexuality (X)
Violence, The Most Obscene Fantasy (X)
Dick and Jane as Victims (X)
Why I Still Want a Wife (X)
Films: Killing Us Softly 3; Tough Guise
Websites: www.commercialcloset.org; http://camy.org/; http://www.adiosbarbie.com/
Activities: Teen Magazine Analysis
Readings:
The Invisible Knapsack (X)
Preface to Black Image in the White Mind (X)
Advertising Whiteness (X)
The Color of Ratings (X)
Gimme a Break! (X)
Black Angels (X)
Films: Bamboozled, 60 Minutes on “Abercrombie”; History of White People
Website: http://popandpolitics.com
Paper #6: Network Letter
Readings:
What is News? (P, Ch.7)
Nightly News Blues (X))
The View from Abroad (X)
Myth of the Liberal Media (X)
Film: Wag the Dog and/or The Insider
Web sites; www.mediachannel.org;; http://www.jibjab.com/bud2.htm/;
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/smoke/bergman.html
Readings:
Reality and Media Messages (P, Ch.5)
Entertainment Content (P, Ch.6)
Parents or Pop Culture? (X)
The Whipping Boy (X)
Nice TV (X)
Why Reality TV is Good for Us (X)
Children, Entertainment, and Marketing (M)
Film: Bowling for Columbine
Readings:
Brave New World (H)
Peithos’ Children (P & A, #40)
Websites: www.cjr.org/owners/ (Columbia Journalism Review); www.prwatch.org; www.transparencynow.com/truman.htm; www.peterweircave.com/truman/
Film: The Truman Show
Paper #8: Media and the Future
RULES, REGULATIONS, ASPIRATIONS
I) This class will be less teacher-centered than I am used to (and more like an English course than a history course in some ways); unlikely that I will lecture much. Rather, we will discuss together what we have read. Therefore, in terms of grading, etc., this means that:
a) Class will come to a grinding halt if you don’t do the reading; if people don’t regularly do the reading, then we’ll have to have more stupid, time-wasting quizzes, etc. I promise, you will like the reading. And I want to hear you talk about it. If we do have reading quizzes, you will be able to use any reading or class notes you have taken (but not books); so, you might think about taking reading notes.
b) You will be graded on the following:
1) class contribution, including the quality and quantity of discussion, level of preparation, obvious forethought, etc.; basically, what you give us; even naturally shy people can contribute ideas, research, articles or posters for the "Media Moments" board, etc. (10% of grade)
2) more or less weekly activities/graded homework of an informal nature, which can take many forms (watching a local news show, ad for new cereal, etc.) (10% of grade)
3)also fairly informal informal media journal entries, which you will write frequently, sometimes in class, sometimes at home. A specially formatted journal will be supplied to you. You should date each entry, and then just simply write your impressions as required at the time. This is stream of consciousness stuff, not polished writing, but I am MOST interested in how you think and how your thinking develops over the course. (20%)
4) reading quizzes as needed (20% of grade)
5) 4 papers each quarter, about 500-750 words each, with about a week to work on them (40% of grade)
6)Assignments will be given in class and posted on my website (accessed through Brunswick’s history department). Late stuff is downgraded 5% per school day late, counting those days on which we don’t meet.
7) Extra help is cheerfully and willingly given.
8) Please submit all work in paper form, keeping either a hard or soft copy for yourself in case one of us gets reckless and loses the original.
Be tolerant and open-minded. You’ll hear stuff and read stuff that you won’t agree with. Just keep your options open and maintain respect for other classmates’ view at all times.
BRUNSWICK
HISTORY DEPARTMENT
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY GUIDELINES
The community which makes up
Brunswick School demands that all “young men grow in an atmosphere of trust,
care, and mutual respect.” All members of the department endeavor to instill
the values of honesty and integrity in each and every student. It is with these
lofty goals in mind (and in conjunction with and ancillary to the Brunswick
School Handbook.) that the History/Social Studies Department presents the
following specific policies regarding academic integrity:
Cheating
The giving or receiving of any
unfair advantage on any academic exercise not deemed group work by the
instructor. This includes tests and quizzes, essays, homework, projects and
reading notes.
Plagiarism
The submission of work as one’s
own any part of which is:
-written or created by another. (This includes term paper "mill"
sites)
-copied or paraphrased from any source without proper citation
(i.e. cutting
and pasting of web materials)
-based upon an idea unique to another source without proper
acknowledgement.
When in doubt, check with your
particular instructor for clarification.
Dishonesty
The willful perversion of the truth with intent to deceive. In particular, students tend to be dishonest with regards to homework, be it either written or read. Unless a teacher specifically says a student can work with another student, written homework should not be shared or copied. And if you have not read, the department feels it is better just to be up front with your teacher instead of trying to "fake" your way through it during Q&A or a class discussion. Worse yet, begging a classmate for the details is deceitful as well--remember your character and reputation are at stake!
Test Taking
It is in the best interest of the student to take tests on the day they are scheduled. Minor “sicknesses” and the postponement of tests only set students back in the long run. However, if a student is sick, a makeup test will be offered. Students must seek out their instructor first thing in the morning to schedule a time for the makeup. All make-ups must be taken as soon as possible, preferably on the first day back unless there are extenuating circumstances which would not allow the student to take the make-up in the required 24 hour extension period.
All students should not discuss tests after a test has been taken. Post-test discussion, even with students who have taken the exam, constitutes cheating. Student often do not realize that “private” hallway conversations are often heard by others who have not yet taken the test on that day. Play it safe—do not risk being accused of cheating.
The Internet (and the pilfering thereof)
The Internet is a wonderful resource that greatly lends itself to the study of history. Still, there are some pitfalls that must be avoided at all cost. First, the “surfing” of improper sites and/or sites not approved by your instructor during class time is a violation of school rules. Second, avoid surfing to sites that offer term papers (often called paper "mill" sites) for downloading and sale—this is plagiarism. It is surprisingly easy for teachers to find these Web sites as well. Third, there has been a great rise in the incidence of "cutting and pasting" of paragraphs from web sites into papers without proper citation—this also is an act of plagiarism.
Finally, e-mail is a great way to communicate with your classmates but sometimes leads to the cutting and pasting of other’s written homework assignments, in complete violation of the Brunswick Handbook. Use the Internet to accentuate your work--not to compromise your efforts.
Still, in order to "help" students not stray from the proper path, the department now uses technology developed by Turnitin.com to check all major written assignments. Students are required to turn in both a digital and hard copy of all papers. With the digital copy teachers can take the text and run a scan of the words via Turnitin.com's software. This software searches over 10 billion web sites including those called "paper mill" sites which allow students to buy papers.
Any details not specifically covered in these guidelines can be found in the Brunswick School Handbook.
(Updated 9/2005)