Introduction To Communication And Media Theory PDF

Prof Dr. Miranda J. Brady {she/her} ([email protected]) W1: Introduction TA Wagner Filho {he/him} ([email protected]) 2024-09-09 8:22 AM Tory Building 210 Currently Reading: N/A Reading for Next Week: - Williams, Raymon...

Prof Dr. Miranda J. Brady {she/her} ([email protected]) W1: Introduction TA Wagner Filho {he/him} ([email protected]) 2024-09-09 8:22 AM Tory Building 210 Currently Reading: N/A Reading for Next Week: - Williams, Raymond. “Communication,” “Media,” and “Mediation” Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, Oxford University Press, 1976, pp. 52, 143-146. - Peters, John Durham. “Introduction: The Problem of Communication” Speaking into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication, U of Chicago Press, 1999, pp. 1-31. - Baran, Stanley J.; Davis, Dennis K. (2006). Mass communication theory: foundations, ferment, and future. Excerpts from Chapter 11: Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message; Harold Innis: The Bias of Communication; and McLuhan: Understanding Media, pgs. 302-307. Introduction to Communication and Media Theory Key Terms - Communication and Media (next week) - What is Theory? ○ An idea or belief of how things work ○ Asking questions and research ○ Explanations for phenomena → Oxford English Dictionary Online (2024), Theory is: - "An explanation of a phenomenon arrived at through examination and contemplation of the relevant facts; a statement of one or more laws and principles…" → Cambridge Dictionary Online (2024): - "A formal statement of the rules on which a subject of study is based or of ideas that are suggested to explain a fact or event or, more generally, an opinion or explanation." Theory - Not just a guess or ad hoc!! - Theories are based on the study of past events and provide an explanation of why events happened and therefore help us predict future events. - In Science, theories develop only after testing. In Social Science/Humanities, there is debate about whether/ how much empirical research should be done before a theory becomes a theory (but some say you can't really do empirical research without a theory first). In the Sciences, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Theories Help Us To… - Explain the phenomena that we observe and why they happen. - Make predictions about what will happen in the future. - Put us in conversation with other thinkers studying similar phenomena. Theories Inform Research - Theory/Theoretical Framework -> Research Questions -> Methods -> Findings (Check back against Theories) Wide Range of Influences - Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy, Political Science, Film Studies, Law, Information Technology, Political Economy, Cultural Studies, etc. - The Encyclopedia of Communication Theory, Sage (2009) - While the field is relatively new, communications theory can be traced back to "Classical rhetorical theory" and philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and many non-Western traditions. - This class will focus on Western contexts, however will attempt to pull from non-western ideas to decolonize the field. Different Schools of Thought - Toronto (Media Theory) - Chicago (Democratic Theory/Social Science) - Frankfurt (Critical/Political Economy) - Birmingham (Critical/Cultural approaches) Some Different Approaches Within COMS - Production, Medium/Media Theory, Content/Text, Audiences/Audience Reception, Infrastructure and Networks, Political Economy, Law, Media Effects/Behavioral Theory Applying Theory: Just a Few Examples Production - How do the conditions of production shape the content, meaning, and form? - For example, how do the conditions of production for K-drama (Hallyuwood) vary from the conditions of production in Hollywood? - Crash Landing On You (2019) and No Hard Feelings (2023) ○ What sort of images, thoughts and stereotypes are portrayed? ○ What are the cultural, economic, political influences on the media? ○ Where in the world are these pieces of media being consumed the most? ○ Who is involved in the production of the media and how does that effect who consumes it? Questions of Funding? - Genre Theory: repeat certain conventions, and that partly determines how a story gets told. - Culture Industries: Media are controlled by powerful corporations which try to minimize risk and maximize profits. - In general, the same kinds of shows get made depending on if it is predicted they will be profitable, for example sell internationally and have wide audience appeal. - RQ: Are there similar genre conventions that shape these shows despite the fact that they originate in different countries? Is it likely the decision to make these kinds of films was partly based on predictions about conventions and wide/internationally audience appeal? Theories of Transnational Cinema - People are linked across the world through a number of forces including film industries. Through globalization capital, people, and cultural goods circulate. Hollywood dominates the film industry, but there are also a number of other growing film industries may reflect both the values of Hollywood (dominant flows) but also contraflow or subaltern flows (e.g. East to West rather than West to East). Other Considerations in Production Studies: Casting Decisions - Social Model of Disability: Society is generally disabling and non-inclusive, and issues of production/casting may reflect this. Does the casting reflect the social model of disability? Was production accessible? How was that reflected in the film? - Critical Race Theory: Race is socially constructed and a lot of what we see and hear in pop culture reflects the values of the majority culture and in the process excludes and exploits people of color. Does the casting reflect some of the principles of CRT? What is the racial composition of the cast? Medium - How does the medium shape the meaning and how it is understood? (e.g. Marshall McLuhan's "The medium is the message" in Understanding Media). - E.g. 1960 Nixon vs. JFK Debate: Radio vs. Broadcast Television Context/Media Text - What does the content of Hacks tell us about gender? - Feminist Theory: centers on gender equality and studies inequality based on gender discrimination - Gender Performativity: Gender is a performance - based on repeated acts - Hacks plays with ideas of acceptable gender performance and conventions amongst different generations of women. How is gender performance reflected by different characters in the show? Audiences/Audience Reception - How did audiences respond to Taylor Swift's most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department? Was reception different amongst different audiences, for example, critics, fans, different generations, or when it was reported? Culture/Media Industries - Several news outlets focused on an apparent conflict between Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner in Summer 2024. What do these stories tell us about the use of attention economy of pop culture? Political Economy (Media Ownership and Control) - US Judge finds that Google has an illegal monopoly on search query. Regulation Theory - Increasing media conglomerations, digital media platforms, media convergence, and transnational corporations present challenges to conventional regulatory bodies; therefore, there is a greater need for media regulation. Political Economy or Surveillance Studies - A majority of TikTok is owned by Chinese company, ByteDance, which officials worry may be controlled by the CCP and used for surveillance; therefore the Canadian Gov. banned all government employees from having TikTok on their work phones. Algorithms/Artificial Intelligence/Networks - How might our algorithms shape our perceptions of the world? Homophily and Network Science - People gravitate to each other through common beliefs; people are grouped together by algorithms through digital profiles, which may impact what they hear/see and therefore their view of the world. Breakdown of Course Outline/Syllabus {No Notes} Summary Key Topics - Different Schools of Thought → Toronto (Media Theory) → Chicago (Democratic Theory/Social Science) → Frankfurt (Critical/Political Economy) - Culture industries, ownership and control of media and how that shapes how we see the world, German philosophers, critical of pop culture and media in the Western context. → Birmingham (Critical/Cultural approaches) - Critical of culture approaches, shaped by European theory. - Applying Theory → Production → Medium → Political Economy → Algorithms Key Words & Definitions - Theory → Oxford English Dictionary Online (2024), Theory is: - "An explanation of a phenomenon arrived at through examination and contemplation of the relevant facts; a statement of one or more laws and principles…" - Cambridge Dictionary Online (2024): - "A formal statement of the rules on which a subject of study is based or of ideas that are suggested to explain a fact or event or, more generally, an opinion or explanation." Off Topic Takeaways - This class will focus on Western contexts, however will attempt to pull from non-Western ideas to decolonize the field.