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Steve Stein: Media Design Foundations


Master of Science & Lecturer in Digital Media
>> Classes

Media and Communications

Course Description

     This course introduces the student to the history, philosophy, epistemology and analysis of media and mass communication. The class covers social, cultural, and political changes triggered by new media and communication technologies and presents current theory and research models. Students will specifically focus on the implications of the phonetic alphabet, the invention of the printing press, television, and cyberspace and will participate in a mixture of lectures, readings, discussions, experiments and projects.

Course Objectives

     After completing this course, students will have a basic understanding of media and communications and will be prepared for further studies in this field. Participants will know about the major schools of communication theory and will be able to apply these models to past and current changes in public sphere, society, perception and communication.

     All students will also gain familiarity with the Internet and find additional, valuable reference and software materials online.

Appointments

     Students are encouraged to use office hours to discuss the assignments and/or course topics. Additional appointments and consultations can be scheduled via E-Mail.

Course Format

     The class will consist of a mix of lecture, discussion, online participation and in-class "critique" sessions. A small set of readings are required to prepare for class and discussion, and an additional reading list will be provided to help student research as they work on their assignments. Throughout the course, students will iteratively critique each other's assignments, ideas, comments, and works. Eventually there will be guest lecturers.

Prerequisites

     Familiarity with the Internet.

Lectures

     Within the approximatly 14 weeks of the course the following lectures will be held:

Course Readings

Marshall McLuhan. The Medium is the Message. Marshall McLuhan. War and Peace in the Global Village.
Herbert Marshall McLuhan. Understanding Media. Marshall McLuhan. The Gutenberg Galaxy.
Marshall McLuhan. The mechanical Bride. Jürgen Habermas. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (1992).
Neil Postman. The Disappeareance of Childhood (1994). Neil Postman. Technopoly (1993).
Neil Postman. Conscientious Objections. Neil Postman. Amusing Ourselves to Death.
Bruce Sterling. The Hacker Crackdown (1993). Neal Stephenson. Cryptonomicon (2002).
Kahn, David. The Codebreakers (1997). Kahn, David. Seizing the Enigma (1996).
Steven Levy. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution (2001). Noam Chomsky. Media Control (1997).
John R. MacArthur. Second Front (1993). Ben Bagdikian. The Media Monopoly (1993).
Lewis Mumford. Technics and Civilization (1963). James W. Carey. Communication as Culture (2008).
Harold Innes. Empire and Communications (2007). Subcomandante Marcos. Our Word is Our Weapon (2002).
Donna Haraway. A Cyborg Manifesto (1991). William Gibson. Neuromancer (1986).