[Note: While, the Herman-McChesney Readings 1,2,3,4 now all work. I have also added the extra readings]
Communication
in a Global Era
COMM 3000-003 - Spring, 2006
Tuesday/Thursday
Syllabus Version 1a – (
Instructor:
Office: Libby Residence Hall (1st Floor South
Classroom); I can also meet in Hellems
Office Hrs: T/Th
Mailbox: Comm. Dept Office or Libby Dept Office (can leave at
front desk)
Email: willard.uncapher@colorado.edu ;
E-mail will receive a reply within 48 hours (often within 24 hours).
Web: < http://tac.colorado.edu/willard/comm3000/
> /
Emergency Web Backup < http://www.well.com/user/willard/comm3000.htm
>
[Jump
directly to sched./readings below]
Course Description
It
goes without saying that the world in becoming increasingly integrated in terms
of economic, social, cultural, technological, and demographic exchanges and
movements. We can look to a future in
which globalization will increasingly act upon even the most remote societies
and cultures. What then, is the role of
communication in this transformation, and what impact will globalization have
on communication and its analysis? What
is the history of globalization, and how might a better understanding of its
dynamics help us to anticipate and understand emerging opportunities, problems,
and partnerships? Globalization involves more than national culture written
large. We are going to work with a number of views on globalization, some in
favor, some critical, and some quite speculative. There will be an emphasis on
the link to communication and media studies.
Course Prerequisites/Objectives
This
course is designed for an upper division, undergraduate. A student will need to meet general
requirements for ‘upper division’ courses.
There will be writing and potential for research. At the end of course, the student will be
able to knowingly approach the history, frameworks, topics, and trends of this
emerging field.
Required Texts and Access
Reading
Package available on-line, potentially distributed in class. The on-line version of this document will have
direct links to the required and
optional readings and web sites. That’s
right- we are not buying a single textbook.
Please note: for those with
dial-up connections and/or slower computers, it might make sense to read/access
the readings on campus, and then store them on a disk if you should
desire. We will print them out so they may be available for class discussion. Material
is to be used for course work only. At
the end of the course, these files will be removed and eliminated.
Disability Statement
If
you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities that require
accommodations, please let me know early in the semester so that your learning
needs may be appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation of your
disability to the Disability Services Office. Disability Services determines
accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard
322, http://www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices
Religious Holidays
Students
who will miss class due to religious holidays are asked to provide their
instructors with a list of the dates they will be absent by the beginning of
the second week of the semester. Missed
work on these days will be excused without penalty. These students will have the opportunity to
do the make-up work within a reasonable length of time as determined in
consultation with the instructor.
Students are reminded that individualized instruction cannot be provided
in place of attendance at the regularly scheduled instruction period. See
policy details at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html
Campus Closure
Information
regarding campus closure due to bad weather conditions is available by calling
303-492-5500 or by listening to local television or radio stations. Weather
decisions for daytime closures are usually made by
Academic Honesty and Appropriate
Behavior
Students
are expected to know, understand, and abide by the guidelines on academic
integrity contained in the CU-Boulder Academic Honor Code < http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/>
as well as the policy concerning appropriate classroom behavior < http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html
>. All work done for this course must be the original work of the student
submitting it and should be undertaken exclusively for this course. Assisting
in academic dishonesty (e.g. letting someone copy your assignments) can
retroactively lower your grade. Violations of academic honesty will result in
appropriate action under the University's rules. Any idea, image, or
phraseology not their own should be honestly acknowledged as such and its
source should be fully credited and properly documented. As a
rule of thumb, when in doubt, give credit to the source.
Misrepresenting other’s work as your own will result
in an F for that assignment. Cheating on an exam will result in an F for the
course. Papers will be evaluated by using Turnitin.com. a plagiarism service,
and this service retains a copy of all submitted work for future
comparisons. In addition, any cheating incidents will be reported to the
university honor code council. Students will refrain from engaging in
disruptive or inappropriate behavior in lectures and recitations (this includes
talking at inappropriate times, using your cell phone, sleeping, reading the
newspaper, etc.). For further clarification, plagiarism is defined and its
consequences are explained in the University of Colorado At Boulder Catalog in
the section "Academic Honor Code and Discipline Policies" If there
can be any possible doubts about academic integrity in a course assignment,
contact me before you submit the assignment.
Classroom Etiquette
It
is important that we create an environment in which we can learn and exchange
ideas with one another. We need to bond,
respect, listen to one another, encourage attitudes that foster hard work,
discipline, and independence. We need to
achieve some focus on the material at hand.
Attitudes towards etiquette may have changed in the last 10 years, but
learning them is part of the process of becoming educated.
Please turn of cell phones and pagers before the class
begins. Computers may only be used to
take notes, unless a class exception is made (for the purpose of the class
a whole). That means that use of
computers to read and respond to email, write papers, etc. can result in
immediate expulsion from that day’s class, and potential other
ramifications. It goes without saying
that this also means that you should be working on your planner, or reading the
daily paper during class.
Please attend the class and be on time. You are an
adult, and we know that emergencies can develop. Just because you have paid for the class
doesn’t mean that you can interrupt it or regard it as a secondary
preoccupation. As one book on classroom etiquette states, just because you buy
a ticket on a 747 doesn’t mean that you can jump out of it. Using another student’s notes cannot
duplicate the classroom experience, and we all suffer when we don’t have your
presence for the class.
Please eat your lunch before coming to class. This is not a ‘work meeting,’ and smelling
other’s food when you are hungry can be distracting as well. That said, you can bring in drinks per the
regulations of the Hall.
Please consider meeting with the professor now and
then. I look forward to hearing any
feedback from you at any time, and it can be useful to talk with the professor
on class and general college topics. If
you have any problems, please give the professor a head’s up ahead of time.
Due Dates and Late Penalties
All
course assignments are due at the beginning of class time on their due date
except if specified otherwise. To avoid penalties, arrive to class punctually
with your assignment. An extension will be granted only when both of the
following conditions are satisfied: (1)
a legitimate event or condition, such as an illness, prevents the student from
doing the assignment; (2) the student communicates effectively; the student
requests the extension in writing (e-mail is OK) at least 24 hours before the
due date (except in cases of emergencies or unpredictable accidents, in which
case the student should inform me as soon as is feasible).
Reading Evaluations are due during
class. They will not be accepted at a later time.
Incomplete Policy
Incomplete
grades are not given to students simply because they are receiving lower grades
than they would like. To be eligible for
an incomplete grade, a student must have completed 75% of the course assignments with passing grades and have special
circumstances outside their control that preclude completion of the
course. The incomplete grade that will
be given if the above conditions are met is an IF, which means that if the
student does not complete the work for the course within 12 months, the grade
reverts to an F. For this course, the
term "Incomplete" means that the student has complied with the
Departmental Attendance Policy, has delivered any required presentations, and
has completed all other required course work up to the last two weeks of the
semester. For those students who meet
these criteria, a potential grade of IF will be considered on a case-by-case
basis. An incomplete is not automatically granted to any student in the course.
Course Requirements
1. Attendance and Participation – 10%
Regular
attendance is beneficial and students are expected to fully participate in all
class meetings. Students are responsible
for all information presented and course work assigned during any absence. The
following departmental attendance policy applies: * Classes meeting 2 times per week. Four
absences, for any reason, will be excused. Absences may be caused by illness,
oversleeping, or a late date on the slopes. At the 5th absence, the grade for
the course will be lowered by one letter grade.
Each subsequent absence will also result in the grade for the course
being lowered another half letter grade.
*5th and subsequent absences: may
be deemed excused only for the following reasons: illness, dire medical and family emergencies,
jury duty, and military commitments. Verifiable medical records and/or other
documentation as requested by the instructor will be required.
2.
Twelve Weekly Responses – 25%
Each
week, based on careful reading for the week of the assigned material, you will
be expected to prepare description, summary, and analysis of the readings.
These are to by typed, double spaced, and must be at least two full pages.
These will be used for discussion. They
are not ‘reaction’ papers, but a vehicle for analysis and description. Finally,
it would be ideal if you could include one or two questions from the
reading that remain unsolved, or which might be of interest to discuss in the
class as a whole.
3.
Brief Paper 1 – 10%
Paper 1.
What do you consider the key
problems of globalization? Write
a 3-4 page paper employing what we have learned so far about globalization to
explain your focus and interest in
these topics. There is no one answer to this question. The components of 'writing form' include
sentence clarity, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and overall composition and
will contribute some 25% of the paper grade.
Only the final paper need include a research component.
4. Annotated
Bibliography for Final Project – 5%
Begin
by providing a research question, and one or two sentences about your project.
Then, thinking about something you wish to research, provide at least a 15 item
list of books, on-line sources, etc. for a ‘final paper. I like this project since it gives me a chance
to do some research along side you, to see if we can add a few ideas or
structure or sources for your paper. The final project can be based on personal
background, theory, economics, culture, etc.
As a course in communications, please include some communications
element to it. You may chose from among
a variety of footnote and bibliographic conventions, but be consistent.
5. Final
Project / Paper 2 – 30%
Based
on a study, problem, region, or theorist of your choosing, explore the impact
of communication on globalization or globalization on communication. The various week’s topics might provide suggestions.
Ideally, you will need to provide some focus since you don’t want to get bogged
down in too diffuse or large a topic. My
suggestion is to keep the focus narrow, and then bring additional material in
to support your exploration and conclusions.
This is a research project. 2500
words (10 pages or so).
6. Final Exam – 20%
A final exam will be required with the general
framework announced ahead of time. The
rationale is to see what you have learned over the length of the course, not to see if you can remember
each and every detail of the readings.
It is clear that you will have different backgrounds, different
interests, and different goals. During
the course, continue to think about the larger picture, knowing that your
assessment of globalization will be different than your neighbors. Still, see if you can identify a few salient
points from each week’s readings and discussion, organize them in a clear and
creative way, and present them within a limited time.
Course Evaluation
In
turn, you will have an opportunity to evaluate the course, as well as the
instructor toward the end of the semester.
Your evaluation will not be available to the instructor until after the
grades have been turned in. However, do consider how to constructively modify
the course, and feel free at any time to send the instructor a note, or
to make a visit during office hours.
[Ideally, the online version of this document will contain
direct links to readings and
resources. However, we are still working on this. Otherwise, the readings will be on our
website, listed by ‘week.’ Please note
that the ‘optional’ readings are provided purely to supplement and add to your
enjoyment and understanding.]
1. Week of Jan 17/19 – Introduction and overview –
Between Local and Global
Jan
17th - Introduction to course and to one another
Jan
19th - Globalization and
Localization –
* Barber,
Benjamin. 1991. “Jihad Vs McWorld” Atlantic Monthly. [weekly response for this week can be handed
in along with next week’s on Jan 24th]
2. Week of Jan 24/26 – Thematic Overview – What is the
new global?
Jan
24th – Reading Due:
*
Appadurai, Arjun. (1996). "Disjuncture and Difference"
in Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization.
*
Uncapher, Willard. (1995). "Placing the
Mediascape in the Transnational Cultural Flow: Learning to Theorize an
Emerging Global Grassroots Infrastructure"]
Jan
26th - Discussion
3. Week of Jan 31 / Feb 2nd – Thematic Overview – What is the new local?
Jan
31st – Reading Due: [Short
readings from each] Try to get the responses in by Tuesday, but Thursday will
work this week on account of the later addition of some of this material.]
*
Anderson, Benedict. (1991). Imagined Communities. 2nd
Rev. Ed. NY: Verso. Selection. [17
pages]
*
Appadurai, Arjun. (1996). "The
Production of Locality" Selection. in Modernity at Large. [5
pages]
*
Hobsbawm, Eric. (1983/1992) From “Inventing
Traditions” and Hugh Trevor Roper's "The Invention of Tradition: The
Highland Tradition of Scotland" in Hobsbawm & Ranger,The Invention of Tradition. [9 pages]
*
Diamond, Jared. (1999). “Why the West?” in Guns, Germs, and Steel. NY: Norton.
Selection [4 pages]
Optional,
Supplementary Reading: Useful, so if you have time... - :
[* Meyrowitz, Joshua. (1985). No
Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior. NY:
Feb
2nd – Discussion
4. Week of Feb 7/9 – The Network Society and its Nodes
Feb
7 – Reading Due:
*
Carey, James. (1989). “Technology
and Ideology: The Case of the Telegraph” in Culture as Communication: Essays on Media and Society.”
*
Castells, Manuel. (1996-1998). The Rise of the
Network Society. Selections.
*
Ohmae, Kenichi. (1995) The End of the Nation State. Selection.
[*
Optional- * Braudel, Ferdnand (2002). The Perspective of
the World. NY: Harper & Row. Selection
[*
Optional- * Sassen, Saskia (1999). "Whose City Is It?
Globalization and the Formation of New Claims". In James Hoston, ed., Cities
and Citizenship.
Feb
9 – Discussion
5. Week of Feb 14/16 – Colonialism, Modernization, and
Communication
Feb
14 – Reading Due:
*
Kerbo, Harold. (2003). World
Systems Overview.
*
Rogers,
Extra/Optional
[*
Optional- Finnegan, William (2003). "The Economics of Empire: Notes on the
Feb
16 – Discussion. [Paper 1 Due]:
6. Week of Feb 21/23 – The New Global Classes
Feb
21 – Reading Due:
* Moss
Kanter, Rosabeth. World
Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy. Selections
Extra/Optional
[*
Optional- Apte, Uday M. “Globalization of Information
Systems Outsourcing: Opportunities and Managerial Challenges” in Candace
Deans & Jaak Jurison Information
Technology in a Global Business Environment:
[*
Optional- Bartlett, Christopher A. & Sumantra Ghoshal. “Managing Across Borders: New Strategic Requirements”.
In Deans and Jurison. Looks at the limits to transnationalization and
institutional change.
[*
Optional- Porter, Michael E. 1986. “Changing Patterns of
International Competition.”
[*
Optional. Web page of McKinsey & Company,
and their online magazine, The McKinsey Quarterly
. McKinsey is among the premier global management firms. Many a graduate of a major Business School
Program will try to get a position here as a stepping stone to employment at
the highest ranks of the TNC world (or to stay there).
Feb
23 – Discussion
7. Week of Feb 28/March 2 – Global Media 1 - Rise and
Integration of Media Industries
Feb
28 – Reading Due:
*
Herman, Edward & Robert McChesney. The
Global Media: The New Missionaries of Global Capitalism. Chapter 1 / Chapter 2.
[*
Optional. Check out Columbia Journalism Review's "Who Own's What"
website for a more up to date information about the changing list of global
media conglomeration. Eg. Time-Warner.]
March
2 – Discussion:
8. Week of March 7/9 – Global Media 2 – The Key
Players
March
7 – Reading Due:
*
Herman, Edward & Robert McChesney. 1999. The Global Media: The New Missionaries of Global Capitalism. Chapter 3.
* Robins,
Kevin & Frank Webster. 1988. "Cybernetic Capitalism"
in Vincent Mosco & Janet Wasko, The Political Economy of Information.
[*
Optional. Foucault, Michel. 1980. From “The
Eye of Power.” In Power/Knowledge.
NY: Pantheon]
March
9– Discussion
9. Week of March 14/16 – Global Media 3a - Digital
Revolution 1
March
14 – Reading Due:
*
Herman, Edward & Robert McChesney. The Global Media: The New
Missionaries of Global Capitalism. Chapter 4.
*
Jay Rosen Reading on Internet and Blogs - Link here and
then scroll down to: "The Weblog: An Extremely Democratic Form in
Journalism." Consider some of the other things on this page.
*
Barlow, John Perry. "Declaration of the
Independence of Cyberspace." Very short! The day after President Clinton signed the
Communications Decency Act into law, John Perry Barlow fired back by writing a
manifesto of his own.
[* Optional. Global Newspapers: Via Common Dreams / Yahoo
Meta-Page / Around the World from
Actualidad World Newspapers.com /
Newspaper.com [pop-ups],
etc.]
[*
Optional. Global Radio/TV stations: Listen Live!: TV Radio World / Web TV / Yahoo
Meta-Page, etc.]
[*
Optional. Global ListServs. Local collectives, eg.Australia's Fibre or
[*
Optional- You can check out my reference to Eric Raymond's "The Cathedral
and the Bazaar" paper at the Journal First Monday at www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue3_3/raymond/.
This article includes material on linux development history that our class
might find a bit technical.]
[* A
supplement to class discussion: "The
Californian Ideology" by Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron / 2. "A
Rebuttal to
The Californian Ideology" by Louis Rossetto. Will it be an online
Rave?
March
16 – Discussion / [Annotated Bibliography Due Date]
10. Week of March 21/23 – Global Media 3b - Digital
Revolution 2 -Activism and Grassroots
March
21 – Reading Due:
*
Lovink, Geert. 2002. "Tactical
Media" in Dark Fiber. Tracking Critical Internet Culture.
*
Lovink, Geert. "New
Media Center Sarai" in Dark Fiber. Check www.sarai.net which also includes many
documents and lnks.
[* Optional.
Lovink, Geert. Meetspace:
Conference and Temporary Media Labs ]
[*
Optional. Website of
Next Five Minutes: International Festival of Tactical Media. Many useful
documents.]
[*
Optional. “Alternative” Print News: Common
Dreams [don’t forget to scroll down to consider news services, etc offered /
Alternet / Interactivist / FAIR]
[*
Optional. “Alternative Radio/TV”. Free
Speech Radio / Pacifica
[*
Optional. Low Powered Radio. Overview from Media Access
[*
Optional. Global ListServs. NetTime.org,
etc. Again, these could be multiplied by
topic, philosophy, or region.
*
March 23 – Discussion
[Spring Break – March 28-30]
11. Week of April 4/6 – Digital Divide
April
4 – Reading Due:
*
Warschauer, Mark. "Reconceptualizing
the Digital Divide" First Monday. Volume 8, Number 7 —
* Skim: Gurstein, Michael. "Effective
use: A community informatics strategy beyond the Digital Divide" First
Monday. Volume 8, Number 12 —
[*
Optional Consult: Global Knowledge Partnership.
"GKP
Recommendations.Part III. Focus on Key Factors and learning' from ICD
Applications in the Field." [This article provides linkes to many
field examples. Consider looking at a
few. You will find them below the beginning section. Some are off-line, and
others are hard to read. For example, tarahat is now at: http://www.tarahaat.com <now try it...
and don't forget if you go here to put your cursor over some of the buildings
in the entry scene].
[* Optional. Uncapher, Willard. "The
Politics of Literacy and Development in Pre-Revolutionary Iran." [MS
Word Format. Here is an optional paper I wrote on the politics of literacy in
[* Optional. Crump, Barbara and Andrea
McIlroy. 2003. "The
digital divide: Why the "don’t–want–tos" won’t compute: Lessons from
a New Zealand ICT Project." Volume 8, Number 12 —
[*
Optional. Xiaoming, Hao and Chow Seet Key. 2004. "Factors affecting
Internet development: An Asian survey." First Monday. Volume
9, Number 2 —
April
6 – Discussion
12. Week of April 11/13 – Non-Euro/US
April
11 – Reading Due:
*
Amin, Hussein Y. 2004, "Social
Engineering: Transnational Broadcasting and Its Impact on Peace in the Middle
East" Global Media Journal. Vol.2:4 (Spring, 2004).
*La
Pastina, Antonio C., Cacilda M. Rego, Joseph D. Straubhaar. "The
centrality of telenovelas in Latin America's everyday life: Past tendencies,
current knowledge, and future research." Global Media Journal Vol.1:2
(Spring, 2003).
*
[* Optional
[* Optional
[* Optional
April
13 – Discussion
13. Week of April 18/20 – International Intellectual
Ownership Framework, Property, & Piracy
April
18 – Reading Due:
*
Feld, Steve. "A Sweet Lullaby for
World Music" Public Culture 12.1, (Winter 2000) [famous, much
cited article exploring who owns world music.]
*
Perlman, Michael, "The
political Economy of Intellectual Property" Washington Monthly (Jan
2003).
[* Optional Reading Intellectual Property and
Piracy in the Global Era. Statistics on global entertainment industry piracy
provided by International Intellectual Property Alliance: By region / Overall Pdf (2
pages). Consider how hard it might be to actually collect this information. The
IIPA is an industry group, not unlike RIAA. ]
[* Optional
[* Optional/On
Commons - Uncapher, Willard. Perhaps consider one of my own letters on
intellectual property that attained some circulation: Viacom's famous Letter (page 1 / page 2) , and
my two (one / two )widely
circulated responses. I explore issues of owning a language.)]
[* Optional/On
Commons - A Long reading/primer on Traditional (Indigenous)
Intellectual and Natural Rights (2003) by by the American Association for the
Advancement of science [82 page pdf]. Important Ideas here.]
[* Optional/On
piracy - A
Long, Comprehensive Study of Copyright Piracy in India (1999) -
broken into pages]
[* Optional
- Prof. Peter Yu provides a
number of interesting papers on Piracy and Intellectual Property, particularly
in
[* Optional
- Prof. Suzanne
Scotchmer also provides several interesting papers, but these can be a bit
dry for our purposes. Her "Political Economy of Intellectual Property
Treaties" is well-known. ]
April
20 – Discussion
14. Week of April 25/27 – Two Key Examples:
April
25th – Reading Due:
*
Lull, James. Selections,
from
[*
[*
[*
[*
[*
April
27th – Discussion
15. Week of May 2/4 – Conclusion & the Future: An
Emerging Global Culture?
May
2 –
*
Hinner, Michael (1998). “The Importance of Intercultural Communication in a
Globalized World”
*
Hannerz, Ulf (1992)."The
Global Ecumene" in Cultural Complexity: Studies in the Social
Organization of Meaning (
*
Miyaoka, Osahito. "Endangered
Languages: The Crumbling of the Lingustic Ecosystem" (Also consider
the Endangered
Languages of the Pacific Rim Webpage).
May
4th – Discussion/Summary
[Final 2500 word paper due May 8th at
latest. See above and handouts.]
Last chance to grab the
readings before they are taken down. Have a great break!