Communication 1101
Cases in Communication

Fall 2009
Prof. Tarleton Gillespie
online via Blackboard
http://www.tarletongillespie.org/syllabi/1101.F09.html

MWF 9:05-9:55am
Goldwin Smith Hall, 132
e-mail: tlg28@cornell.edu
office hours: Wed, 10-12 -- 315 Kennedy

synopsis

This course will serve as an introduction to the department and the field of Communication, by introducing and familiarizing you with a range of questions, perspectives, and ideas that inform our research. The course has a broad reach, from understanding the intricate dynamics of face-to-face interactions to examining the most profound changes in modern society. Always, the practices, process, and implications of human communication serve as the lens for understanding the fundamentals of human sociality. The course uses a case studies approach, drawing real and pressing issues and controversies from the world around you, as examples and excuses for thinking through elements of Communication study and research. By the end, you should have not only a map of the kind of work done in this department, and a set of fundamental tools for thinking about communication challenges in your own experience, but also a real sense of what it means to be a social scientist - how and why to examine deep and pressing challenges in our world by approaching them with an analytical mind, posing and testing specific questions, and connecting what you find to broader theoretical thinking about why things work as they do.

requirements

- the most important assignment is to complete all of the reading assigned, thoughtfully and on time; comprehension of the materials is crucial to your success in this course.

- attendance will be taken in the form of "1-minute response papers" scattered throughout the course, where you will write a quick in-class response to a question I give, based on the readings for that day or the discussion in class thus far. When these happen will be at my discretion. This attendance counts towards your overall grade. (15% total)

- At the end of each case there will be short exams, focusing on the materials covered during that section. These five exams are due during the semester as the schedule indicates. (17% each)

materials

This course has one text book: Stephen Littlejohn and Karen Foss, eds., Theories of Human Communication. You may use either the 8th edition (2004) or 9th edition (2007). Print copies are available at the Cornell Bookstore or from online retailers; the book can also be "leased" as an ebook through iChapters.

The remainder of the readings are either online or posted in the Blackboard course space. Check the online version of the syllabus regularly for updates.

 

From the Cornell "Code of Academic Integrity":

"Absolute integrity is expected of every Cornell student in all academic undertakings. Integrity entails a firm adherence to a set of values, and the values most essential to an academic community are grounded on the concept of honesty with respect to the intellectual efforts of oneself and others. Academic integrity is expected not only in formal coursework situations, but in all University relationships and interactions connected to the educational process, including the use of University resources. While both students and faculty of Cornell assume the responsibility of maintaining and furthering these values, this document is concerned specifically with the conduct of students.

A Cornell student's submission of work for academic credit indicates that the work is the student's own. All outside assistance should be acknowledged, and the student's academic position truthfully reported at all times. In addition, Cornell students have a right to expect academic integrity from each of their peers."

The full text of the Code of Academic Integrity can be found online at

http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/AIC.html

 

INTRODUCTION
Aug 28 - Sept 4

  
aim: we will set the terms for your success in the course and major, introduce the field and what it cares about, and introduce social science as an approach to investigating and understanding the world. We will go over the "7 traditions" of Communication research that the text book uses to organize its material.
key readings: LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Chapters 1, 2, and 3  
 

Aug 28 -- introduce the course

Aug 31 -- communication as a question, the purpose of inquiry, the role of theory

LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Chapters 1 and 2 (Chapter 1 is available online)
David Morley, "Communication" in Bennett, Grossberg, and Morris, eds., New Keywords: A Revised Vocabulary for Culture and Society

Sept 2 -- Communication as a department / field / social science; introduce the 7 traditions

LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Chapter 3

Sept 4 -- 7 traditions, continued

 

1. COMMUNICATION IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Sept 7 - Sept 18

 CASE: COMING TO COLLEGE (or, HANDBOOK AND FACEBOOK, CLASSROOM AND DORMROOM)
aim: we will begin by considering communication very close to home. Arriving at college, which for some of you is happening as we speak, disrupts the communication we take for granted: because of the unfamiliar surroundings and the need to develop new relationships, the workings of this taken-for-granted communication is momentarily visible. This section will consider language, conversation, social roles, and the performance of self and community as key elements of everyday communication.
key readings: LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Chapter 6 and part of Chapter 4 [82-98]
                      James Carey, "A Cultural Approach to Communication" 		exam: Sept 18
 

Sept 7 -- Unit 1: arriving at college (setup)

Cornell University, "Profile of the Class of 2013"
David Skorton, Cornell University, "2009 New Student Convocation Address" 8.22.2009
Gannett Health Services, Cornell University, "Top 10 Health Topics at Cornell University: Relationship Problems"

Eleanor Chute, "Students face a long list of obstacles on the way to college degree," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 8.31.2008
Joe Smydo, "First year college students often fail as 'life intervenes'," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 9.2.2008
Eleanor Chute, "Required courses can boost degree of difficulty," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 9.4.2008

Sept 9 -- Unit 1: the character of conversation
Special guest: Prof. Jeff Hancock

no reading assigned

Sept 11 -- Unit 1: communication in its social context

LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Chapter 6

Sept 14 -- Unit 1: presentation of self

LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, part of Chapter 4 [82-98]
Johanna Peace, "Facebook eases freshmen fears, fosters friendship" CNN.com 9.7.2007
"Facebook Is 'Social Glue' for University Freshmen" ScienceDaily 10.14.2008
"The Official Group: Cornell University Class of 2013" Facebook.com
Sept 16 -- Unit 1: getting information versus maintaining connection

James Carey, "A Cultural Approach to Communication" from Communication as Culture http://www3.niu.edu/acad/gunkel/coms465/carey.html
Sept 18 -- Unit 1: exam

 

2. COMMUNICATION AS INFLUENCE
Sept 21 - Oct 7

 CASE: FOOD, HEALTH, AND THE RISE OF OBESITY IN THE U.S.
aim: most communication intends to change someone's opinion or behavior. By looking at deliberate efforts to influence people to change what they think or do, and looking at how we live amidst and navigate a sea of persuasive messages, we will understand not only what persuades and why, but also how persuasion works psychologically and socially, and what challenges the effort to persuade faces. We will also use this as an opportunity to think about the ethics of communication and influence.
key readings: LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, part of Chapter 5 [119-141] and part of Chapter 4 [69-81]
                      Stephen Hilgartner, Chapter 2 of Science on Stage 		exam: Oct 7
 

Sept 21 -- Unit 2: influence (setup)

Elizabeth Kolbert, "Why Are We So Fat?" The New Yorker 7.20.2009
Bryan Walsh, "It's Not Just Genetics" Time 6.12.2008
Sept 23 -- Unit 2: the psychology of attitude change

LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, part of Chapter 5 [119-132] and part of Chapter 4 [69-81]
Screening: Food, Inc
Cornell Cinema, at the Willard Straight Hall theater -- 9/24 7:15pm, 9/27 4:30pm, 9/28 9:20pm, 9/29 7pm + panel discussion
please attend one of these screenings; we will discuss the film on Sept 30.

Sept 25 -- Unit 2: health campaigns
Special guest: Prof. Jeff Niederdeppe

no reading assigned

Sept 28 -- Unit 2: the paradox of interpretation

LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, part of Chapter 5 [132-141]
Roni Rabin, AIn the Fatosphere, Big Is in, or at Least Accepted" The New York Times 1.22.2008
Sept 30 -- Unit 2: credibility, expertise, and trust

Stephen Hilgartner, Chapter 2 of Science on Stage: Expert Advice as Public Drama
Stacey Schiff, "Know it All: Can Wikipedia Conquer Expertise?" The New Yorker 7.31.2006
Oct 2 -- Unit 2: advertising

John E. Calfee, "How Advertising Informs to Our Benefit" Consumers' Research 4.1998
Russ Baker, "The Squeeze," Columbia Journalism Review 10.1997
Oct 5 -- Unit 2: the ethics of persuasion

National Communication Association (NCA) "Credo for Ethical Communication"
David Barstow and Robin Stein, "Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged TV News" The New York Times 3.13.2005
Oct 7 -- Unit 2: exam

 

3. GROUPS, NETWORKS, ORGANIZATIONS
Oct 9 - Oct 23

 CASE: 'PEER PRODUCTION' IN THE INFORMATION INDUSTRY
aim: communication always happens in the context of others, often a set of people brought together to accomplish something - whether its in an ad hoc team or a transnational corporation. The dynamics of groups are fundamentally about communication; organizations are, to some degree, constituted by the communication patterns that exist within them. Using the emergence of a form of collaboration that seems to challenge common sense notions about how groups and organizations get things done, we will examine the way we communicate in groups, through networks, and within organizations, and the way technology can help coordinate collaboration, while also shaping it.
key readings: LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Chapters 8 and 9
                      Alejandro Portes, "Social Capital" 		exam: Oct 23
 

Oct 9 -- Unit 3: groups, networks, organizations (setup)

Thomas Malone, Chapters 1 and 4 from The Future of Work
Oct 12 -- FALL BREAK

Oct 14 -- Unit 3: how do groups work, why do they succeed or fail
Special guest: Prof. Poppy McLeod

LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Chapter 8
Oct 16 -- Unit 3: collaboration through technology

revisit Chapter 8

Oct 19 -- Unit 3: collaboration through technology

Anabel Quan-Haase, Joseph Cothrel, and Barry Wellman, "Instant Messaging for Collaboration: A Case Study of a High-Tech Firm" Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Oct 21 -- Unit 3: how do organizations work through communication

LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Chapter 9
Oct 23 -- Unit 3: social networks, social capital, reputation economy

Alejandro Portes, "Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology" Annual Review of Sociology
Ryo Chijiiwa, "Reputation Economy and the Internet" 2.17.2003
take home exam due
 

4. MEDIA AND THE INDIVIDUAL
Oct 26 - Nov 9

 CASE: REPRESENTATIONS OF TERRORISM IN POST-9/11 MEDIA
aim: "the media" (and we'll have to consider what that means exactly) are complex, imperfect, and necessarily biased providers of information and ideas. To the degree that news and entertainment play a powerful role in informing us as individuals and citizens, and paint carefully-crafted pictures of the world of their own, we must consider how we make sense of media and what impact the particular forms and values media offer have on our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world we inhabit.
key readings: LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Chapter 10
                      Michael Schudson, "What's Unusual about Covering Politics as Usual"
                      David Altheide, "Consuming Terrorism" 		exam: Nov 11
 

Oct 26 -- Unit 4: media and the individual (setup)

The Project for Excellence in Journalism, "Return to Normalcy? How the Media Have Covered the War on Terrorism: CNN v. FOX"
Steven Kull, Clay Ramsey, and Evan Lewis, "Misperceptions, the Media, and the Iraq War" (summary)
Jane Mayer, "Whatever it takes: The politics of the man behind 24" The New Yorker 2.19.2007
Oct 28 -- Unit 4: what media is for

LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Chapter 10
Oct 30 -- Unit 4: the psychology of media narratives
Special guest: Prof. Michael Shapiro

revisit Chapter 10

Oct 30 -- Unit 4: the possible effects of media violence
revisit Chapter 10

Nov 4 -- Unit 4: framing and agenda-setting, spheres of consensus and contest

Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion, "The World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads"
Michael Schudson, "What's Unusual about Covering Politics as Usual," in Zelizer and Allan, eds., Journalism after September 11
Nov 6 -- Unit 4: what we make and re-make of media

Russell Frank, "When the going gets tough, the tough go photoshopping: September 11 and the newslore of vengeance and victimization." New Media & Society (2004)
Nov 9 -- Unit 4: immersion in a media universe

David Altheide, "Consuming Terrorism," Symbolic Interaction (2004)
Nov 11 -- Unit 4: in-class exam

 

5. MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Nov 13 - Dec 2

 CASE: THE 'DEATH' OF NEWSPAPERS
aim: we can think of media not only in terms of its implications for individuals, but as a part of society, shaping other elements of society: politics, education, community, culture. As new technologies of information emerge, these social systems change too - though the cause-and-effect is by no means direct. We will use current concerns about how we will provide news in a digital age to examine media and information on this "macro" scale, wondering about what is gained and lost as we shift to an online information space and develop new institutions for its maintenance.
key readings: DiMaggio et. al. "Social Implications of the Internet"
                      James Curran, "What Democracy Requires of the Media"
                      Carolyn Marvin, Chapter 1 of When Old Technologies Were New
                      Zizi Papacharissi, "The Virtual Public Sphere 2.0" 		exam: Dec 4
 

Nov 13 -- Unit 5: the 'death' of newspapers
Special guest: Matthew Bernius

Eric Alterman, "Out of Print: The death and life of the American newspaper" The New Yorker 3.31.2008
Michael Massing, "The News about the internet," New York Review of Books 8.13.2009
Nov 16 -- Unit 5: media, technology, society (setup)

Paul DiMaggio, Eszter Hargittai, W. Russ Neuman, and John Robinson, "Social Implications of the Internet," Annual Review of Sociology (2001)
Nov 18 -- review day

no reading: TAs will be available in class to atlk about the course material. This is optional for most; for those of who it is required for, you will recieve an email from me before Nov 16 to that effect.
Nov 20 -- Unit 5: change, technological and otherwise

Carolyn Marvin, Chapter 1 of When Old Technologies Were New
Nov 23 -- Unit 5: media and democracy

James Curran, "What Democracy Requires of the Media," in Overholser and Jamieson, eds., The Institutions of American Democracy: The Press "And Then There Were Eight" Mother Jones 3.2007
Nov 25 -- THANKSGIVING... SORT OF... to be announced

no reading assigned

Nov 27 -- THANKSGIVING

Nov 30 -- Unit 5: blogging, journalism, and objectivity

J. D. Lasica, "When Webloggers Commit Journalism" 9.17.2002
Jay Rosen, "Bloggers vs Journalists is Over" 11.21.2005
Cass Sunstein, "The Daily We," Boston Review 2001
Dec 2 -- Unit 5: the changing public sphere

Zizi Papacharissi, "The Virtual Public Sphere 2.0" in Chadwick and Howard, eds., The Handbook of Internet Politics
 

CONCLUSION
Dec 4

  
aim: we will draw the course to a close, and point to some of the directions that you can take frrom here, in the department and beyond.
key readings: LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Afterword
 

Dec 4 -- Conclusion

LITTLEJOHN & FOSS, Afterword
in-class exam due