COMS Year 2 Week 1 Theories PDF

COMS Year 2 Week 1 Theories Theory: ○ Begins after testing. ○ Helps explain phenomena. ○ Makes predictions about the future. Genre Theory: ○ Repeats certain story aspects to determine how a story is told. Culture Industries:...

COMS Year 2 Week 1 Theories Theory: ○ Begins after testing. ○ Helps explain phenomena. ○ Makes predictions about the future. Genre Theory: ○ Repeats certain story aspects to determine how a story is told. Culture Industries: ○ Media are controlled by powerful corporations to minimise risk. Social Model of Disability: ○ Society is generally disabling and non-inclusive; issues of production/casting may reflect this. Critical Race Theory: ○ Race is socially constructed, and popular culture often reflects majority culture. Feminist Theory: ○ Centers on gender equality and studies inequality based on gender discrimination. Gender Performativity: ○ Gender is a performance based on repeated acts. Regulation Theory: ○ Increasing media conglomeration, digital platforms, media convergence, and transnational corporations present challenges to conventions. Week 2 - Sept 16 Models of Communication and Media Key Questions: ○ What models/definitions of communication and media exist? ○ What assumptions do we have about the purpose and function of communication? John Durham Peters: ○ “The mistake is to think that better communication will solve the problem. Better wiring will not eliminate the ghosts.” (p.9) ○ Communication lacks inherent meaning. Common Models of Communication: ○ Transmission Model. ○ Cultural/Ritual Model (James Carey). The “Problem” of Communication (Peters) Communication involves issues like noise and misunderstanding.  People can be easily persuaded by media. The Dream of Communication Raymond Williams (1983): ○ “Make common to many, to impart” (15th century origin). ○ Involves reciprocity and exchange. ○ Latin: communicare - to share or make common. History of Communication and Media Phaedrus (traced by John Durham Peters): An encounter between Socrates. Hypodermic Needle/Magic Bullet Theory (1930s) Deterministic view: powerful media, passive audience, direct effects. Developed in the 1920s and 1930s; assumes no individual differences. Propaganda Theory (Harold Lasswell, 1920s) Originated from WWI and WWII propaganda. “Propaganda is the management of collective attitudes by manipulating significant symbols” (Lasswell, p.627). Media can corrupt people and influence society based on fears of totalitarianism. Uses “master” symbols that evoke strong emotions. Week 3 Disinformation and Democracy Disinformation: Lies meant to cause harm, intentionally spread. Misinformation Types: Lies, propaganda, election falsehoods, rumors. Contemporary Context: Technology has changed how disinformation spreads. Week 4 Decolonization and Indigenous Media Colonialism/Settler Colonialism: ○ Colonialism: “Foreign power exploiting Indigenous land and resources.” ○ Settler colonialism: “Settlers stay, Indigenous people face elimination or assimilation.” Key Historical Events: ○ Confederation (1867) / Gradual Enfranchisement Act (1869).  ○ Indian Act (1876): Defined "Indian" legal status. ○ 1939 Supreme Court: Determined Inuit as legally "Indian." ○ 1982 Constitution: Recognized Inuit and Métis. Residential Schools (1883–1996). Cultural Appropriation: ○ Settler societies simultaneously seek to destroy and use Indigenous symbols for nation-building. Decolonization: ○ Process of gaining independence. ○ Indigenous assertion of sovereignty: right to self-governance. Barry Barclay on “Fourth Cinema”/Indigenous Film Features: ○ Silence and long takes. ○ Sometimes in Indigenous languages. ○ Community-focused rather than individual. Contested Remediation: ○ Reworking old media to denaturalize content. Week 5 Communication and Media Theory Main Concern: Power over (or effects of) media. Behaviorism All human actions are conditioned responses to external stimuli (Czitrom, p.139). B.F. Skinner: Studied behavior change through reinforcement. ○ Variable rewards create addictive habits. Influences of Behaviorism on Media Studies Propaganda Theory. Payne Fund Studies: Analyzed effects of movies on youth. Market Research: Public opinion and persuasion. Lazarsfeld’s Contribution Emphasized limited effects paradigm: Focus on how people use media, rather than what media does to them. Frankfurt School Critique Empirical approaches fail to study culture comprehensively or historically. Complex cultural issues are not easily isolated for study. Uses and Gratifications (1940s–1970s) Focus on why people use media and what they get out of it. Modern Implications Social Media Models: ○ Profit-driven, focused on user engagement and data commodification. Media Effects on Children: ○ Both the U.S. and Canadian health authorities warn about social media's impact on youth mental health.