Course:  Mass Media

Who should take this course?         
Students should be in grade 11 or 12.  They should have a basic ability to demonstrate critical thinking ability, at least at what would be considered an average level.  This is a course for students looking to improve their media literacy and ability to wisely use mass media in all of its formats.  In addition, it is a class for students with aspirations to pursue study in any of the media outlets, including journalism, television and film production, advertising and photography.

Course focus/umbrella questions:

What is the difference between active consumption of media and passive consumption?  Why is active consumption critical?

How does a person detect bias in the media, and how does an active consumer of media put information to good use in spite of this bias?

How pervasive is censorship in our society?  Is censorship ever justified?

What does it mean to be literate in this “age of media”?

How does a person find balance between the need to be critical/defensive/paranoid with the right to believe and be optimistic and entertained?

Non-negotiable assignments required of all students who take this course:
Final examination project or optional cumulative final exam.

Required reading:    
Students in Mass Media read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  In addition, they are expected to be regular consumers of print and television media, so newspaper and magazine articles are regularly required as well.

Student expectations

• Students must have the ability to control their focus and attention for things like reading and watching a television program or film.  None of the reading is at a difficult level for the age of the students taking the class, but the critical thinking done on the reading is quite complex at times.
• Students must be motivated to consume media throughout the semester.  In other words, they should be going to and renting movies, watching television (including the news) and reading papers and magazines.  The more “plugged in” to media a student is willing to be, the more successful he/she is.
• Students have to be adaptable to project work, a big portion of the assessment work in the course.  Some projects are individual, others in groups. 
• Students are always expected to share thoughts, questions and especially opinions.  The success of the course often depends on the willingness of its students to discuss and debate.

What makes this course different from other companion courses? 
The class most closely associated with Mass Media is probably Film Composition and Analysis, which is a very different class.  Mass Media is designed to increase media literacy and is a survey of all major categories of media where a person might look for information: radio, television, film, the internet, print media (magazines, newspapers, books), photography and advertising.  It is designed with the mindset that our students will be using media outlets for information throughout their adult lives regardless of their love for reading and need to be literate in all ways.

Any other relevant and important course related information:   
Students should know that they will be expected to consume media with regularity outside of class and that their success in the class is dependent upon their ability to react and respond with opinions and anecdotes about the personal effects that media has on them.