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TTh 12:45 - 2:05pm Warren 2001 |
E-mail: tgillesp@weber.ucsd.edu Office hours: W 2-5pm @ Seq. 200 |
Course Synopsis
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the major debates surrounding the role of media in the lives and development of children. Popular claims about the effects of media on children will be investigated and deepened, with a communication perspective that gives weight to the complex interplay between media texts and audiences, between lived experience and symbolic representation. Reading will be combined with viewing of various child-oriented media materials -- to ground our discussion in the particular media that surrounds children today. Some questions we will consider: How has the "child" become such a powerful symbolic icon in contemporary cultural discourse? How has the very notion of "childhood" changed historically? How is the interaction between child and media related to the contexts of the family, the dynamics of school, the agendas and organization of entertainment industries, the shifting dynamics of media technologies, and the regulatory efforts of government and parents? How can we successfully study children and their media consumption to trace these complex contours?
Course Requirements
The most important assignment is to complete all of the reading assigned; comprehension of the arguments is crucial to your success in this course. Two brief writing assignments will ask you to comment on particular issues in the relationship between children and media. But the majority of the course grade will be based on an in-class midterm in the ninth class meeting, and a take-home final due during the scheduled exam period. The midterm will cover the basic concepts introduced in the first half of the course; the final will require students to draw from the materials of the course to assess and contribute to the arguments about the complex relationship of children and media. Further explanation for these assignments will be provided in class.
Attendance
Attendance will be taken at every class meeting. While attendance does not count specifically towards your grade, you cannot pass this class if you miss more than four sessions.
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brief writing assignments: 10% each | Midterm: 30% | Final: 50% |
Books (available at Groundworks Books)
David Buckingham, After the Death of Childhood: Growing up in the Age of Electronic Media (2000)There is also a required course reader, which will be sold at the end of the first two class meetings. If you miss purchasing it in class, contact University Reader Printing Service at 540-8789 or by e-mail at bhamadeh@aol.com to make arrangements.
Anne Haas Dyson, Writing Superheroes: Contemporary childhood, popular culture, and classroom literacy (1997)
Course Schedule
ONE. THEORIZING THE CHILD
To begin, it is crucial to look broadly at how we as a culture think about childhood, and how scholars have argued about the nature of the child. What we will find are some recurring assumptions commonly made about childhood, and some problematic omissions. At its core, "childhood" is a socially constructed category.
Thurs., January 10 -- representations of childhood
TWO. MEDIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN
Media designed for children both shape children's activity and become resources for negotiating the complex symbolic environment around them. Dyson's book focuses on the use of stories drawn from popular culture in the negotiation of classroom expectations, the demands of literacy, and the unofficial culture of the child. Media addresses children in two voices, appealing to them in terms of their place within adult contexts and to their sense of independence.
Thurs., January 31 -- media in the classroom
THREE. CHILDHOOD ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
How are entertainment industries structured? How does that structure inform the products they produce? When their products are particularly targeted towards children, what kinds of assumptions are built into the texts that emerge? Has the rapid expansion of massive corporations and their intense colonization of children's material culture had an impact on American childhood?
FOUR. PUBLIC DEBATES AROUND CHILDREN'S MEDIA
How does our culture express its concern over children's media? Who's responsibility is it to regulate it, according to what criteria? How has the icon of the child been used in discussions about the Internet and new media? How are children actually engaging this new digital realm?
The FINAL EXAM will be a take home, due during the official exam period.