Survey of Mass Communication
January 16th -- Media in Context
Studying Media
Media 1. Plural form of medium. 2. The main means of mass communication (esp. television, radio, newspapers, and the internet) regarded collectively
We talk about things as "media" because they are the different "mediums" of communication Communication: from the Latin root for "common," or "shared." Transmission Model of Communication
Communication only occurs when the receiver interprets the message just the way the sender intended it to be When the receiver doesn't understand the message that the sender sent, it's miscommunication Grounded in idea of transportation... "the process of moving messages from sender through medium to receiver" o This doesn't consider the reality that people can take different messages from the same thing Cultural Model of Communication o "Communication as construction of a shared space or map within which people co-exist" Our previous experiences establish our expectations
What is Culture?
"Culture is the totality of things in our world that shape the way we make meaning." o "Top of the iceberg" -- dress, customs, language, traditions, behaviors o Invisible culture -- assumptions, beliefs, perceptions, attitudes, values, world views Ideology: o System of ideas: values and feelings by which people collectively make sense of the world
how the world works/should work Dominant Ideology: o Prevailing ideas that are shared by the majority of the people but support 'ruling class;' values that uphold norms of most powerful people in the society
Studying Media . . . AND Power! Mass media as site for both reproducing existing power structures AND challenging them. To become a critic of media is to interrogate this process
January 23ra, 2020
Narratives of Media History
How has history of communications fundamentally shaped directions of human endeavor and social life? Concepts of time, space, and consciousness Dynamics of social relationships Questions of control, regulation, and power structures
Oral Cultures The oral tradition is something we think of as ancient tribes or isolated groups in the Amazon or prehistoric folklore, BUT it refers to a type of culture that has a dominant communication structure of spoken word. Oral histories make up the majority of human history In a lot of oral cultures, it is more about collectivity and the physical landscape than the individuals who are there When you sit around the table with friends or family and people are telling stories, that's oral tradition Writing Cultures The introduction of written languages Spoken words are the symbols of mental experience, and written words are the symbols of spoken words -- Aristotle Literacy became a very valued, highly influential role in a given society With written language, you could communicate with someone who wasn't physically there The notion of individual thought in communication is now available and possible in written communication. One's individual thoughts could be put down on paper, people could react to them, all without a word being spoken Knowledge can traverse or extend beyond one geographical space in ways that were not possible before. You can g