Welcome to the course COMM 431 Mass Media and Society. In this Welcome Message, I will discuss the contents of the course, the readings and other learning material, as well as the grading elements.

The main goal of this course is to make you aware about the function and impact of Mass Media in our society, and thus, also in our individual life.

As I explained in the syllabus, I am using the term mass media in plural (the singular form would be mass medium). When we talk about mass media, we refer to different channels to reach broad audiences, such as cinema, television, radio, newspapers, Internet, or traditional books. Even if the term is commonly use in singular (mass media is, mass media has, etc), I will consciously and systematically use the term in the plural form (mass media are, mass media have, etc).

But before I would like to introduce myself.

Personal Introduction

My name is Jose Carlos del Ama.

Although I originally come from Spain, I have spent the most important part of my life and academic career in Germany. I received my PhD from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz.

Before I came to the United States in 2003, I had been teaching and researching in Spain at the Universidad de Navarra (Pamplona) and in Germany at the above mentioned university.

My emphasis areas of teaching and research are

• Public Opinion,
• Mass Communication Research,
• Filmic Narrative,
• Persuasive Communication,
• New Technologies and
• Web-publishing.

More information about the instructor, you can become in this link:

José Carlos del Ama

Course Contents

The most important content area in the course’s menu is dedicated to the “course contents”. Here you can find the online lectures, the readings, and the audiovisual material that you need to succeed in this course. I have divided the course contents in 10 learning units (at this point only 5 are available, I will finish the course contents area in the next days) and organized the weekly schedule based on that. However, You should start exploring the contents as soon as possible. Since you have to start immediately doing research for your case study.
As I said in the syllabus, this online introductory course is reading intensive. You will find the contents in three main formats:
Online Lectures (HTML documents)
Readings (mostly PDF documents)
Streaming Media (videos)
Even though I am not using any official textbook for this course, I recommend you following style guideline:
Bourhis, J., Adams, C., & Titsworth, S. (any edition). Style manual for communication studies. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Information contained in this book will be available in Blackboard Learn.
The course includes the feature film Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976), I strongly suggest you to find and watch this movie. It is available in practically all the public libraries of the Greater Hartford area. Since due to copyright issues, we cannot publish the whole movie, I have streamed two key scenes . Still, to be best prepared for discussions and final exam, you should watch the entire film.
ALL THE CONTENTS OF THE LEARNING MODULES ARE RELEVANT FOR THE COURSE AND WILL BE RELEVANT FOR THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT, THE WEEKLY DISCUSSIONS AND THE EXAMINATIONS.

About the contents

As stated in the syllabus:

COMM 431 builds on what you learned in COMM 230 (Introduction to Mass Communication). The course offers the participants a deep insight into mass media research. Note that I am using the term mass media in plural (the singular form would be mass medium). Even if the term is commonly used in singular (mass media is, mass media has, etc), I will consciously and systematically use the term in the plural form (mass media are, mass media have, etc).
The course discusses, first of all, some of the classic theories in the field of mass communication, such as agenda setting, framing, cultivation, etc. During this segment of the course, students also become familiar with the name of indispensable authors in the history of mass media research. The work of Marshall McLuhan, Neil Postman, or Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann will be the subject of lectures and readings.
We will also analyze the effect of mass media on very specific areas, for instance, how explicit violence or sexual contents can affect different audiences, or what is the correlation between race and gender stereotypes in the media and the public perceptions of those social groups.
Finally, the course studies the radical change that new digital communication technologies have created in mass communication. Internet revolutionizes the way we receive and deliver information. It makes the ideal of the two-way communication possible. Convergence – or converging media – is the term that defines the new mass communication paradigm. The traditional differences between media contents, genres, formats and platforms are slowly vanishing. Students need to become aware of the impact of the digital revolution on individual, society, and media professions and industries.

Grading Elements

Examinations
	1st Quiz	20%
	2nd Quiz	20%
	Final Exam	30%
Case Study		20%
Participation		10%

Examinations

There will be a two quizzes and a final exam, which includes the contents of the whole course. Examinations will exclusively cover material from the learning units. There will be no make-up exams (except for well documented medical emergencies).
Both exams will be completed online. They will be available 24 hours the scheduled day. You will have 90 minutes to complete the quizzes and 3 hours for the final exam.

I will make the quizzes available following days:

1st Quiz: Friday, February 24.

2nd Quiz: Friday, March 1

The final exam will be available the day scheduled by the university in the finals week (May 8 – 14).

Case Study

You will have to write a case study,  worth 20% of your final grade, following the APA style guidelines. The case study should focus on a particular instance of your choice of any of the theories and concepts discussed in the course.
You can perfectly write your case study in 6-8 pages (doubles spaced, font size 12).

Papers are delivered online through the particular assignment’s page in Blackboard Learn. I will not accept papers sent through any e-mail system. Make sure that you attach you paper as a PDF or Microsoft WORD document. If you send the assignment in any other format, I may not be able to open it.

The case study is due on April 4.

Participation

The grade for participation will be based on an active and positive participation in the online discussions.

Technical Issues with Blackboard Learn

If you have any technical issue with the online learning system, please contact the help-desk at CCSU (860) 832 1720.

Interaction with the Instructor

Please, use the “Contact the Instructor” area in the course’s main menu to ask questions related to this course. I am in Blackboard Learn several hours every day and check regularly your messages.
I will also hold office hours for those students who want/need a face-to-face interaction with the instructor.
Office hours:
M: 9 – 11:30 am 
T: 1:30 – 2:30 pm 
F: 10:40 am – 12:10 pm
You can contact me anytime to make an appointment if you cannot make it during the office hours.
Please, check the announcements in Blackboard Learn every day.
Good luck!