CMST A240: Media Literacy
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Curriculum Committee Approval Date | 02/07/2024 |
| Top Code | 061000 - Mass Communications |
| Units | 3 Total Units |
| Hours | 54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54) |
| Total Outside of Class Hours | 0 |
| Course Credit Status | Credit: Degree Applicable (D) |
| Material Fee | No |
| Basic Skills | Not Basic Skills (N) |
| Repeatable | No |
| Open Entry/Open Exit | No |
| Grading Policy | Standard Letter (S) |
| Associate Arts Local General Education (GE) |
|
| Associate Science Local General Education (GE) |
|
| California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth) |
|
Course Description
An introduction to the critical consumption of media. Focuses on ability to access, analyze, & evaluate media messages, and to construct argumentative and analytical essays. Develop tools to evaluate credibility, truth & accuracy through critical examination of news, opinion, advertising, PR, entertainment, and social media. Explore political/ economic/social contexts of media production & consumption. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC.
Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)
- Recognize and explain the difference between news and opinion, evidence and inference.
- Critically evaluate the quality and credibility of information sources.
- Use inductive and deductive reasoning to evaluate claims.
- Structure and write an argumentative paper demonstrating persuasive reasoning, sound logic and argumentation and appropriate use of evidence.
Course Objectives
- 1. Read, view, listen to, and understand different types of media messages.
- 2. Recognize his/her own blocks to critical thinking.
- 3. Identify claims and arguments.
- 4. Identify evidence that supports claims.
- 5. Evaluate the credibility of information sources.
- 6. Explain and defend appraisals of credibility of media sources.
- 7. Identify fallacious reasoning in persuasive media.
- 8. Recognize and identify bias in news media.
- 9. Evaluate semiotic and symbolic claims using communication theories.
- 10. Research, analyze, and construct written arguments.
- 11. Discuss the impacts of technology on media content, credibility, and accuracy.
- 12. Distinguish between different information neighborhoods.
- 13. Explain the influence of hegemony and ideology on media content.
- 14. Provide ethical feedback to media creators and gatekeepers.
- 15. Recognize differences in media bias and audience bias.
Lecture Content
A. Introduction 1. Definition of terms and concepts a. media b. media literacy c. news d. social media e. news literacy f. reliability of information g. hegemony h. audience 2. History -- technologies impacts on accuracy and credibility a. Print i.books, newspapers, magazines, scientific & academic journals b. Radio i.terrestrial radio, talk radio, satellite radio c. Film d. Television/Cable Networks e. World Wide Web i. news sites, search engines, social media B. Critical thinking skills 1. Observing evidence 2. Developing context skills 3. Discerning relevant evaluation criteria 4. Determining appropriate methods to form judgments helvetica, sans-serif; 5. Knowledge and application of appropriate theories C. Issues in Media Literacy 1. Challenges for news consumers 2. Factors that determine news 3. Media Saturation 4. Balance, Fairness, Bias 5. Digital Competency 6. Metacommunicative competence D. Identifying Fallacies in Media 1. Formal and informal fallacies. a. Types of fallacies 2. Fallacy Hierarchies nt-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; 3. Fallacies' impact on worldviews, framing, and circular reinforcement 4. Uses and Misuses of Statistics E. Media Hegemony and Ideology 1. Narratives 2. Myths 3. Depictions of Gender, race/ethnicity, age, body type, religion, sexual orientation, cultures F. Audience 1. Individual Perspective 2. Industry Perspectives on Audience 3. Children as Special Audience 4. Cognitive Dissonance and Media Consumption G. Arguing Propositions of Fact, Value, and Policy , sans-serif; Identification of proposition types Stock issues for fact, value, policy propositions Outline and essay structure H. Power of Information 1. News drivers 2. Evaluating what news matters 3. Taxonomy of Information Neighborhoods a. promotion, propaganda, entertainment, raw information, 4. Journalism vs. other media b. verification, independence, accountability 5. news vs. commentary I. Semiotics/Analyzing Visual Aspects of Media 1. signs and codes 2. code subsets 3. Peirce s three-part sign model 4. sign modes: symbolic, indexical, iconic 5. Saussure s two-part model 6. structuralism J. International Media 1. Social Media and political protest 2. Propaganda 3. Gobal media models a. bipolar model, compass model, continuum model, change model, subsystem model
Method(s) of Instruction
- Lecture (02)
- DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
- DE Online Lecture (02X)
Instructional Techniques
Instructors may make use of lectures, discussion, and oral and written feedback. Course instruction will include exposure to and discussion of current events and contemporary media topics, written feedback. Students shall revise and receive feedback on at least one extended argument from their instructors.
Reading Assignments
Students will have regular reading assignments in a selected textbook. Students will spend approximatly 2 hours per week.
Writing Assignments
Students will keep a media journal (minimum 750 words) Short-answer essays, articles, or speeches written during class demonstrating critical analysis (minimum 2000 words). Process draft(s) of research paper (minimum 750 words). Term-paper length argumentative research paper (minimum 1500 words). Students will spend approximatly 3 hours per week.
Out-of-class Assignments
Students will be required to consume news/information media each week. Students will spend approximatly 3 hours per week.
Demonstration of Critical Thinking
Students will demonstrate the ability to assess credibility of news sources and articulate reasons for their assessment. Students will be able to discern between relevant and irrelevant information. Students will identify fallacious reasoning. Students will identify and explain instances of media bias and audience bias. Students will be able to identify a media problem and advocate and defend a policy solution.
Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration
Students will select entries from their ongoing media journals for evaluation and written feedback. Student research papers will receive written feedback. Students will create written or mediated feedback for media producers or gatekeepers, in which they will identify one or more ethical, factual, or policy problem(s) and support their viewpoint with logical examples.
Eligible Disciplines
Communication studies (speech communication): Master's degree in speech, speech broadcasting, telecommunications, rhetoric, communication, communication studies, speech communication, or organizational communication OR bachelor's degree in any of the above AND master's degree in drama/ theater arts, mass communication, or English OR the equivalent. Master's degree required.
Textbooks Resources
1. Required Potter, W. J.. Media Literacy, 10 ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2021 2. Required Hobbs, R.. Media Literacy in Action: Questioning the Media, ed. Rowman & Littlefield, 2021 3. Required Keel, G., & Wibke W.. Media Literacy, ed. Nomos, 2021