Mass Media and Mass Culture

elective courses

This class is for students familiar with the U.S. history and civilization

This course is designed to provide students with an outline of the mechanisms and trends of the media market in the United States today, and to provide an introduction to the theory of culture; the concepts of popular culture and mass culture shall be central for this part of the course. However, the course is essentially designed to discuss mutual and direct dependence of media and mass culture. The course will discuss media as vehicles of mass culture.

This course is designed to provide students with an outline of the mechanisms and trends of the media market in the United States today, and to provide an introduction to the theory of culture; the concepts of popular culture and mass culture shall be central for this part of the course. However, the course is essentially designed to discuss mutual and direct dependence of media and mass culture. These two are mutually dependent on each other, which can be proved by, for example, comparing forms, values, genres typical for mass culture with the most popular television and radio genres. The course will discuss media as vehicles of mass culture.

Topics for discussion:

1. Introduction to theory of culture.

2. Types and sub-types of culture.

3. Mass culture.

4. Functions of mass culture.

5. Mass media in the USA.

6. Radio and television genres.

7. Press as a vehicle of mass culture.

This class shall include optional topics, always in response to the specific interests of the students. Examples:

- series,

- soap operas,

- advertising in media,

- news as a product,

- talk shows,

- reality shows,

- Hollywood,

- women's press,

- violence,

- creating celebrities.

Terms and conditions:

- participation in class discussions,

- attendance, as required by the Institute of English Studies Rules and Regulations,

- presenting a selected topic in the class,

- semestral test.

Fellow, Anthony. American Media History, Wadsworth Publishing, 2012

Gołębiowski, Marek. An Encyclopedia of American Culture. Peter Lang, Bern, 2016

McQuail, Denis. McQuail's Mass Communication Theory, SAGE, London, 2010

Samovar,Larry, Porter, Richard, McDaniel, Edwin R. Intercultural Communication: A Reader. Cengage Learning, 2014

Pew Research Center online sources

primary source documents (official sites,codes, cases) available online

periodic handouts

BEFORE 2022/23

KNOWLEDGE students:

- know mechanisms of mass communication

- know the concept of mass culture and related concepts

- know media market in the U.S.

SKILLS

- can explain dependencies between mass media and mass culture

- can analyse media techniques and strategies

- can analyse characteristics, mechanisms, inlueneces of mass culture

ATTITUDES

- understand mass media mechanisms

- understand influeneces, power and roles of mass culture

- are conscious of messages and contents of mass culture

SINCE 2022/23

Knowledge: the graduate will be able to

K_W02 Describe on an advanced level the current trends in media studies, based on the US media market

K_W04 Characterize on an advanced level the principles of research design in cultural studies, with special focus on the application of methods and tools in formulating research problems in the scope of communication and media studies, their history, evolution, and operation

K_W05 Identify the notions and principles pertinent to intellectual property

Abilities: the graduate is able to

K_U01 Apply advanced terminology and notions pertinent to cultural studies, in particular in the scope of mass communication and media studies

K_U03 Apply knowledge obtained during the class to account for and solve a problem, thereby completing a research task related to mass communications and media on the example of the US media

K_U04 Analyze cultural phenomena and draw generalizations on their basis in the context of societal, historical and economic factors on an advanced level

K_U06 Find information in various sources and critically assess its usefulness for research related to the topic of the class

K_U07 Use modern technology in the process of learning and communicating with academic teachers and fellow participants in classes, applying various channels and techniques of communication

K_U09 Present knowledge in a coherent, precise and linguistically correct manner in English on level C2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, ensuring an appropriate register and form

Social competences: the graduate is ready to

K_K02 Apply knowledge and skills obtained in the class to undertake lifelong learning, as well as personal and professional development

K_K03 Take responsibility for performing one’s professional duties, with due respect for the work of others

K_K04 Assess critically one’s own knowledge and skills related to the issues discussed in the class

K_K06 Value cultural heritage and cultural diversity as well as individual opinions, based on the example of the US media

In class discussions students acquire skills of expressing their thoughts in a clear, coherent, logical and precise manner, with the use of language which is correct grammatically, lexically and phonetically.

Language training level: minimum B2+.

1. Presentation, participation in classroom discussions, test in the end of semester; retake: test; two absences allowed

2. On-line edition using Moodle IA, GoogleMeet, @uw.edu.pl

Assessment: as above

No