SEMINAR QUESTIONS:
Question
3: Mass media and popular culture have the capacity to shape the
values and norms of society. Substantiate this statement with
examples.
Tip:
Are the values & norms of a society most clearly revealed in its
popular culture?
Question
4: Discuss, with examples, the relationship between specific mass
media and popular culture in Tanzania.
Question
5: Discuss, with examples, popular culture and social change.
Does Popular culture promote or resist social change? What is to be
changed?
Question
6: Discuss, with specific examples, the impact of specific
popular cultural forms reinforced by local media in Tanzania.
Tip:
How media audiences are being encultured by popular culture?
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CourseOutline: Semester
II – 2014/15
Course
Title: Media and Popular
Culture
Course
Code: Co 310
Course
Units: 3
Meetings:
3 Hours/week
Instructor: Mr. Alex Benson
Course
description
The
course introduces students to media milestones in popular culture
history. It explores the influence of mass media in
creating/constructing, maintaining and promoting/amplifying popular
cultures in our Tanzania's society. The course further examines the
relationship between mass media and popular culture, providing a rich
background for students to understand the social impact of popular
culture.
Course
Objectives
At
the end of this course students will be able to develop a critical
approach to analyzing broadcasts, advertisements, films, print, audio
recordings, games, and online sites [social media] that make up and
shape popular culture.
Course
Content
Module 1:
Conceptualizing Media, Culture and Popular Culture
- Understanding Mass media and its forms
- Understanding culture and its characteristics
- Approaches to understanding popular culture as social phenomena
Module 2:
Theorizing Mass media and Popular culture
- Theories of Media and Popular culture
- Mass media and Pop culture [Analogue, Social, Cultural pyramid]
- Media reality, Social reality and Popular culture
- Media identity, ideology, representation and Pop culture [concept of ''the Other'']
Module 3: Media
technology and Pop culture
- Contextualizing New media technologies
- Issues on new media technology and pop culture
- Social media and the social impact of pop culture
Module 4: Media
audience/consumer and Pop culture
- Media Audiences/Consumers and their powers?
- Media celebrities, Audience and Pop culture
- Media literacy: Audience's reception and negotiations of media text
Module 5: Case
studies of Media forms and their role in creating and promoting
popular cultures
- Print media
- Broadcast media
- Online media
- Music and Films
- Advertising and Marketing
Course
delivery
- Lectures, discussions, and seminar presentations.
Course
Assessment
- 40% - Continuous assessment (10% for Seminars; 15% for Test; 15% for Term paper)
- 60% - Final University Examination
Borchers, T. A, (2005),
Persuasion in the Media Age, 2nd ed., Mc Graw Hill, New
York
Curran, J. (2002), Media
and Power, Routledge, New York
Defleur and Dennis, (1994), Understanding Mass Communication: A
liberal Arts Perspective, 5th ed., Houghton Mifflin, New
York
Dominick, J. R. (2007), The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in
the Digital Age, 9th ed., New York, McGraw-Hill
Hodkinson, P. (2011),
Media, Culture and Society: An Introduction, London, Sage
Kolker, R. (2006), Film, Form and Culture, 3rd ed., Mc
Graw Hill, New York
Rodman, G. (2006), Mass Media in a Changing World: History, Industry,
Controversy, Mc Graw Hill, New York
Storey, J. (1998),
Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A reader, 2nd ed.,
Prentice Hall, London
Watson, J. (1998), Media Communication: An introduction to Theory and
Process, McMillan Press, London
Online Books/Articles:
Boyle, R. & Haynes, R. (2009), Power Play: Sport, the Media and Popular Culture, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press
Storey, J. Ed. (2006), Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader Georgia, University of Georgia Press
Gans, H. (2008), Popular Culture and High Culture: An Analysis and Evaluations of Taste 2nd ed., New York, Basic Books
Coleman, L. (2004), The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines, New York, Simon & Schuster
Fiske, J. (2010), Understanding Popular Culture, London, Routledge
Strinati, D. (2004), An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture, 2nd ed., London, Routledge
Schultze, Q. J. et al. (1991), Dancing in the Dark: Youth, Popular Culture, and the Electronic Media, New York, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Jenkins, H. (2006), Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, New York, New York University Press
Buckingham, D. (1993), Reading Audiences: Young People and the Media, Manchester, Manchester University Press
Alasuutari, P. [ed], (1999), Rethinking the Media Audience: The New Agenda, London, Sage
Chambers, I. (1986), Popular Culture: The Metropolitan Experience, London, Methuen & Co.
Kellner, D. (1995), Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity and Politics Between the Modern and Postmodern, London, Routledge
For your own Reading:
Baehr, C. & Schaller, B. (2010), Writing for the Internet: A Guide to Real Communication in Virtual Space, California, Greenwood Publishing
Lin, C. A. & Atkin, D. J. eds. (2012), Communication Technology and Social Change: Theory and Implications, New York, Routledge
Online Books/Articles:
Boyle, R. & Haynes, R. (2009), Power Play: Sport, the Media and Popular Culture, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press
Storey, J. Ed. (2006), Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader Georgia, University of Georgia Press
Gans, H. (2008), Popular Culture and High Culture: An Analysis and Evaluations of Taste 2nd ed., New York, Basic Books
Coleman, L. (2004), The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines, New York, Simon & Schuster
Fiske, J. (2010), Understanding Popular Culture, London, Routledge
Strinati, D. (2004), An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture, 2nd ed., London, Routledge
Schultze, Q. J. et al. (1991), Dancing in the Dark: Youth, Popular Culture, and the Electronic Media, New York, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Jenkins, H. (2006), Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, New York, New York University Press
Buckingham, D. (1993), Reading Audiences: Young People and the Media, Manchester, Manchester University Press
Alasuutari, P. [ed], (1999), Rethinking the Media Audience: The New Agenda, London, Sage
Chambers, I. (1986), Popular Culture: The Metropolitan Experience, London, Methuen & Co.
Kellner, D. (1995), Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity and Politics Between the Modern and Postmodern, London, Routledge
For your own Reading:
Visual Communication
Smith, K. L., Moriarty, S., Kenney, K. & Barbatsis, G. (2011), Handbook of Visual Communication: Theory, Methods, and Media, New York, Routledge
Writing for the Media
Baehr, C. & Schaller, B. (2010), Writing for the Internet: A Guide to Real Communication in Virtual Space, California, Greenwood Publishing
Lin, C. A. & Atkin, D. J. eds. (2012), Communication Technology and Social Change: Theory and Implications, New York, Routledge
Medoff, N. J. & Kaye, B. K. (.....), Electronic Media: Then, Now, and Later
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Online Discussion:
What constitute Tanzanian culture? Is Tanzanian culture accurately reflected in our local media?
Where to do your work?
Go to Discussion Page and open it, do your work and post/publish. Follow instructions provided therein.
Remember to write your name and registration number on top of your work/discussion. Good luck.
Remember to write your name and registration number on top of your work/discussion. Good luck.
Happy Easter!!
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Q. What constitute Tanzanian culture? Is Tanzania culture accurately reflected in our local media?
ReplyDeletePossible answers.
By Kivuyo Francis J.
Reg: 2012-04-03164
Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another. Hofstede, G. (1984).
Therefore according to Hofstede, culture can be refered as a total way of life that can differentiate one person from another, one community from another, one country from another or even one continent from another.The following bellow are several things that constitute Tanzanian culture;
Language; One of the most powerful identification of Tanzania culture is the Swahili language. Ninety percent of the Tanzanian speaks Swahili language. Additionally, swahili language is one of the official language in Tanzania apart from English language. Wherever you speak Swahili people firstly think you must be a Tanzanian.
Dressing style. In this point we considered a Khanga dress as one of the constitute of our culture because it is only in Tanzania khanga dress worn in most cases by ladies. It’s also argued that khanga has some special uses among Tanzanian women, for example during funeral ceremonies.
Kindness. Worldwide Tanzanian are known to be kind people and this has been our cultural identification all over the world. It is only in Tanzania you can find people charting to each other in the public transport (daladala) as if they know each other before.
Food. One among the foods that constitute our culture is ugali. Al though this kind of food is sometimes found in the neighbor country, but still represent The Tanzania culture since its one of the oldest and most used food among us.
After a little discussion on what constitute Tanzania culture, now, let’s look if Tanzanian culture is accurately reflected in our local media. For my opinions, Tanzanian culture in not accurately reflected in our local media due to the following arguments;
Firstly, in Tanzanian media particularly electronic, many program still bearing English names. For this reason, it’s very difficult to state whether Tanzania culture is accurately reflected.
Secondly, dressing style. Although Khanga and kitenge seems to be part of our culture, still non of our media houses especial television are using them during their activities in order to really portray the Tanzania culture.
Thirdly, the kind of music being played by our local TV and radio station. There is no laws or regulations that forces these station to play those song which reflect our culture as Tanzanian so, you can find the stations playing foreign songs the whole day.
By conclusion, the Tanzanian government should establish clear strategies on how to keep and develop our culture. For example by introducing compulsory culture subjects at all levels of education.
References.
Hofstede, G. (1984). National cultures and corporate cultures. In L.A. Samovar & R.E. Porter (Eds.), Communication Between Cultures. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteQ. What constitute Tanzanian culture? Is Tanzanian culture accurately reflected in our local media?
ReplyDeleteAnswers.
By Selege Fatma A
Reg no 2012-04-03180
Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, moral, laws, custom and any other capabilities and habits as acquired by man as a member of society.
Tanzanian culture constitute of language, literature, music, arts, sports, and so on and all of this are expected to be accurately reflected in our local media. The reflection of Tanzanian culture in our local media is not always seen active because most of the programs revealed in television, radio and other media are the one promotes western culture which based on fashion and lifestyle programs but very rarely they show up programs that portray our culture and reflect it in one way or another.
Reporters are the most people facilitate lack of reflection of our culture in local media as there the ones promote western and outside culture for example they are likely to use code mixing or English at all especially those deal with entertainment and fashion news, there are also television station which use English as their means of communicating like capital television.
Its now the time of being proud by our culture and reflect it to our local media like other countries are doing for instance china and the media in china are playing great role in reflecting their culture even the means of communicating in media is their original language its time we take it as it will promote our culture world wide.