CO 205

 Mass Media & Society

Course Outline

BAMC2: Semester I – 2014/15

Lecturer: Alex Benson

Course unit: 3 units

Contact Hours: 3 hours per week

Course Description                                                 

This course examines the relationship between mass media and society. The course intends to broaden students’ knowledge of mass media operations and how they exert influence on individuals and society as a whole. Throughout the course students will be able to learn how to analyze media text, how society members are affected by their media use, how media is influenced by its audiences, and, understand the forces that shape media business practices. At the end of this course students will become knowledgeable and self-critical consumers and producers of mediated culture.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course students should be able to:

o   define and explain different concepts relating mass media, society and culture;

o   analyze the variety of relationships between media and their audiences/society

o   critique and analyze the effects of mass produced culture  on individuals and society in Tanzania;

o   analyze media roles in bringing about positive social change and development

o   assess and critique the impact of new media technologies on traditional media, individuals and society;

Course Delivery & Grading

The mode of delivery shall be primarily lectures, discussions, seminars, and projects. Students will be required to do media monitoring and write project paper, present seminar papers on specific media issues and sit for test/exam,. The Grading system is as follow: Test (10%); Seminar (10%); Media monitoring & production (20%); Semester exam (60%)

Obligation: Student is obliged to attend lectures, participate in discussions, submit assignments timely, and sit for exam/test. Failure to observe that leads to penalty.

Media monitoring Assignment – (15%) (1^st – 30^th November, 2014)

You are required to learn the ways you personally use media on daily basis by keeping media diary (choose 2 TVs, 2 Radios, 2 Newspapers) throughout November, 2014. Then, write a term paper in which you should clearly:-

1. Analyze the major stories that received importance by the local media you have monitored to determine:-

a) media representation

b) media construction of reality and its impact to the Tanzanian society

2.  Provide your critique to the stories covered and the responsible media organization

 (Submission date: 5^th January, 2015)

Course content

Week	Module	Topics	Mode of delivery
1st week 20/10/14 2nd week	Module 1: Introduction to media, society & culture	o Mass media explained o Society explained o Culture discussed o Media-Society relationship	Lectures, discussion & seminars
2nd week 27/10/14 3rd week	Module 2: Theorizing media & society	o theoretical foundation of media & society; o Media effects vs. media influence o Perspectives to media-society effect/ influence o specific media-society theories	Lectures, discussion & seminars
3rd week 3/11/14 4th week 10/11/14	Module 3: Political economy of Mass media	o Media environment o Media organization, ownership & concentration o Functions of media in the society o Media Audiences: -    audience as commodity -    Types of media audiences o Media production & distribution o Media regulations & control	Lectures, discussion & seminars
4th week	Class assignments:	Seminar presentations: Group 1, 2, & 3	Presentations
5th week 17/11/14 6th week 24/11/14	Module 4: Media Representation & Construction of Reality	o Understanding media representation o What is media reality? o Making sense of media text -    media producers, users, forms & texts -    tools for analyzing media text o media construction of images o media typing – archetype vs. stereotype o gender, sexuality representation in the media	Lectures, discussions & seminars
7th week 1/12/14 8th week	Module 5: Media, Politics & democracy	o  Understanding political communication o  understanding media & democracy o  Media realities, persuasion and political propaganda o  Media-society roles in politics	Lectures, discussion & seminars
7th week	Test 1	o  Covering Module 1 - 5
8th week 8/12/14 9th week 15/12/14	Module 6: Media, Development & social change	o Understanding social change o Agents of social change o Roles of media in social change o What is development? o Understanding development communication o Roles of media in national development	Lectures, discussion & seminars
9th week	Class Assignments	o Seminar presentation: group 4 & 5	Presentations
10th week 22/12/14 11th week 29/12/14	Breather Module 7: Media, society and ICT	o What is Information and Communication technology? o Features of ICT o Impacts of ICT on media practice o Impacts of ICT to the society o Impacts of ICT on media-society relationship
12th week 4/01/15	Module 7: continues Class assignment	Submission of Media monitoring assignment
13th week 11/01/14	Class assignments	Seminar presentations: 6 & 7	Presentations
14th week 18/01/14	Summary of class lectures &feedback Coursework scores		Discussions Noticeboards/online

Issues to be raised during class discussions:

o   How is the media function as a mirror of the society?

o   What does media reflect from Tanzanian society?

o   What constitute Tanzanian culture?

o   Who determines the nature of media messages?

o   What is the production & distribution process?

o   What forces: ownership, regulation, economics, etc. influence media practice?

o   What kind of media communities do the media create?

o   What are the effects media exert upon the society?

o   How society affect the media practice?

o   What social realities does media create?

o   Does the media tells us everything we want to know?

o   How media exert influence individually and collectively?

o   What are the roles media play in democracy and politics?

o   In what ways do the new media technologies affect media – society relationship?

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LECTURE NOTES

MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA, CULTURE & SOCIETY

1. Mass media:
Media is the plural term of ‘medium’ which means ‘in the middle’ or content/message being communicated between originator and receiver/destination (Hopkinson, 2010);

• Media enable members of a given society to interact, share and exchange [cultural] experiences without them being in the same geographical area;
• Mass media constitute of Newspaper, Radio, Television and more recently, the Internet;

Mass media involves professional media producers [editors, reporters, graphic designers, camerapersons, sound and visual staff, etc.) and technologies which together transmit large volumes of content simultaneously to mass, anonymous, and heterogeneous audiences (Hanson, 2008);

• Mass media enable members of society to:- create shared meaning between themselves, media and other societies; inform them on how to perceive, understand and construct their views of reality and the world (Baran, 2013); and,  define, interpret and share cultural experience

2. Culture:     

Culture is a learned behavior of a members of a given social group (Baran, 2013);

It is the whole way of life of a society or social group including values, customs, meanings, identities, traditions, norms of behaviour and ways of understanding the world (Hodkinson, 2011);

• Values – are ideas about what is good, right, fair, and just;
• Norms - the agreed‐upon expectations and rules by which a culture guides the behavior of its members in any given situation;
• Customs/Conventions - are standards of behavior that are socially approved but not morally significant;

Harris (1983) maintains that culture is the learned, socially acquired traditions and lifestyles of society members including their patterned, repetitive ways of thinking, feeling and acting;

Finally, Culture is transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in a symbolic forms embodied in symbolic forms by means of which members communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about attitudes toward life (Geertz as cited in Taylor, 1991 and later in Baran, 2013);

Baran (2013) and Hodkinson (2011) argue that culture is, therefore:-

•  socially constructed and maintained through communication;
• limits as well as liberates society members;
• differentiate as well as unite society members;
• defines social realities, thereby shaping the way members think, feel, act, etc.

3. Society:

Society is referred to a group of people who share a common culture in a particular location;

It is the body of institutions and relationships within which a relatively large group of people live (William, 1988);

• society invokes an emphasis on social relations, including detail of everyday interactions;
• Generally society and culture are intricately related, that is, a culture consists of the “objects” of a society, whereas a society consists of the people who share a common culture;

 Symbols, culture and society:

• Symbols are cultural representations of reality;
• Every culture has its own set of symbols associated with different experiences and perceptions;
• Thus, as a representation, a symbol's meaning is neither instinctive nor automatic.
• The culture's members of society must interpret and over time reinterpret the symbol;

From the above, mass media use symbols to create/interpret the realities of the world on the happenings occurring within the society; The question to ask ourselves here as Tanzanians is: Which cultural symbols are being created and therefore interpreted by our mainstream media? 

Mass media and cultural storytelling:
 A culture of a given society like ours in Tanzania should reside upon the stories it tells; This means that the stories covered in our media should reflect our society and culture;

Hardt (2007) holds that stories are sites of observations about self and society, in that, society members use these stories to be entertained, learn about the world, understand the values, the way things work.

Mass media as a storyteller, should interpret the stories in ways consistent with cultural values and norms of our Tanzanian society. In addition, media coverage ought to reflect on the stories’ meanings and what they [stories] say about us Tanzanians and our overall culture.  In your own opinion, do you see Tanzanian media achieving this end? From your media monitoring assignment, what analysis will you provide against this argument? 

Baran (2013) adds that mass media is the primary forum for the debate about culture. It is in the media where culture is mediated. Media, therefore, allows society members to share and exchange ideas, feelings and experience about culture. Is it the case in Tanzania?

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                                                     REFERENCES

Hamlink, C. J. (1994), The Politics of the World Communication: A Human Rights Perspective, London, Sage publication

Herman, E. S. and Chomsky, N. (2002), Manufacturing Consent: The Political economy of the Mass Media, New York, Pantheon Books

Hodkinson, P. (2011), Media, Culture and Society: An Introduction, London, Sage publication

Long, P. and Wall, T. (2012), Media studies: Text, Production & Context, 2^nd ed., Harlow, Pearson

Louw, P. E. (2010), The Media and Political Process, 2^nd ed., Los Angeles, Sage publication

Sparks, C. (2007), Globalization, Development and the Mass media, London, Sage publication


Jacobs, N. (ed), Mass Media in Modern Society  

Alexander, A. & Hanson, J. (2010),  Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Mass Media and Society, NY, McGraw-Hill

Gorman, L. & McLean, D. (2009), Media and Society Into the 21st Century: A Historical Introduction

Fourie, P. J. (....), Media Studies: Media history, media and society 
  
Ryan, J. & Wentworth, W. M. (.....), Media and Society: The Production of Culture in the Mass Media

Hoggart, R. (.......), Mass Media in a Mass Society

Grazian, D. (.....), Mix it Up: Popular Culture, Mass Media, and Society

 Halloram, J. D. (1970), Mass media in society: the need of research, Unesco 

Howitt, D. & Cumberbatch (2012), Mass Media, Violence and Society

Whitney, Fredrick C. (2007), Mass media and mass communications in society

Pasha, S. H. (....), Mass Media Uses in a Developing Society: An Empirical Study of the Gratifications Sought from Television by West Indian Adolescents

Jerry Domatob, Abubakar Jika, Ikechukwu Enoch Nwosu (1987), Mass Media and the African Society,

African Council on Communication Education, 388 pages

Burton, G. (.....), Media and Society: Critical Perspectives

Aggarwal, V. B. ed. (2002), Media and Society: Challenges and Opportunities, New Delhi, Concept Publishing

Perse, E. M. (2001), Media Effects and Society, Routledge Communication series

Hiebert, R. E. (2008), Impact of Mass Media: Current Issues, California, Longman 

Bourgault, L. M. (1995), Mass Media in Sub-Saharan Africa, Indiana, Indiana University Press

Lent, J. A. (....), Third World Mass Media and Their Search for Modernity: The Case of Commonwealth Caribbean 1717-1976, London, Associated University Presses

Curran, J. (2011), Media and Society, London, Bloomsbury Academic

Shah, H.  (.....), The Production of Modernization: Daniel Lerner, Mass Media, and The Passing of Traditional Society [a book chapter]

Pawar, S. N. & Patil, R. B. (1994), Problems and prospects of development, cooperation, voluntaryism Communication Social Tension and Weaker Sections in Rural India, New Delhi, Mittal Publications

Graeme, B. (.....) Media And Society: Critical Perspectives [Look for: Models for studying Mass Media and Society]

MEDIA LITERACY

Silverblatt, A. ed. (.....), The Praeger Handbook of Media Literacy, Vol.2, 

 Potter, W.J. (2011), Media Literacy, 5 ed., California, Sage Publication

Kubey, R.W. ed. (Media Literacy in the Information Age: Current Perspectives
  

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                                   SEMINAR QUESTIONS
GROUP 3 & 4

Question 3: Using issues/events that received wide coverage in the Tanzanian newspapers recently, discuss media representations. In your arguments show clearly:-

• What is being represented on the Tanzanian media?
• How is the representation done?
• What appeals are made and to what section of the society?
• What is included and/or excluded from what is being represented by the media?
• Is there any potential influence of stereotyped representations of gender, age, or class?

Question 4: Using Tanzanian media environment as your case study, provide a critical analysis of media audiences. In your arguments clearly show:-

• Who and where are they
• How are they characterized
• How much are they exposed and therefore influenced by mass media to construct their realities of the world?
• What can you explain of their media literacy skills?

Question for Group 1:

With vivid examples from Tanzania, provide a critical analysis of society, culture and media relationship. Provide a theoretical perspective as a base of your arguments.

Question for Group 2:

   a)    Examine mass media ownership and control in Tanzania;

   b)  With examples, discuss socio-cultural impacts of media concentration in Tanzania society.

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Seminar Groups:

 

SN.	GROUP 1	SN.	GROUP 2
1.	Thomas Asher	1.	Shao Irene
2.	Eveline Samwel	2.	Maria Mwilila
3.	Ramadhani Rajabu	3.	Bakari Ally
4.	Christina Mseja	4.	Mirembe Rose
5.	Sammy Sammy	5.	Waziri Bakari
6.	Matha Lemali	6.	Charles William
	GROUP 3		GROUP 4
1.	Mgelwa Radhia	1.	Yanga Godliver
2.	Winner Abdaraham	2.	Adamu Chauya
3.	Emmanuel Awet	3.	Wilson Mtapa
4.	Hamis Mgaya	4.	Kipengele Jane
5.	Paul Pauline	5.	Labani Sarafina
6.	Kaguo Charles	6.	Innocent Kimaro
	GROUP 5		GROUP 6
1.	Mnengalile Alfred	1.	Juma Ramadhani
2.	Msendo Doris	2.	Mwakipesile John
3.	Edwin Mhagama	3.	Rehema Ramadhani
4.	Zawjia Swalehe	4.	Doris Njau
5.	Aneth Namsoke	5.	Kibasa Kelvin
6.	Adolf Msenga	6.	Asukile Subira
	GROUP 7
1.	Happy Kihundo
2.	Alpha Abdallah
3.	Agness Mbapu
4.	Kadata Kulebelwa
5.	Franco Singaile
6.	Mdindi Miriam

 NOTE:

1. Each member is required to participate fully in the preparations and presentations;

2. Marks will be awarded in two levels: First, to individual member (5%) during class presentations  and Group (5%) for the final seminar paper;

3. Every member must present