JAMS 661 Sem. 003 DRAFT SYLLABUS
TR 3:30-4:45 in BOL 581
Prof. Jeff Smith
Fall 2015
SEMINAR IN MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY
War News, Entertainment, and Persuasion
The news, entertainment, and opinion media seek audiences and revenue, but
often deal with sensitive topics. National security issues and the experiences of armed
conflict are typically represented in ways intended to serve the purposes of the
communicator. The meaning making can be analyzed with media studies concepts such
as agenda setting, framing, myth, news management, press freedom, propaganda,
professionalism, public relations, self-censorship, and sensationalism. Students in this
course develop skills in research, discussion, writing, and critical thinking as they
investigate how defense issues relate to cultural values. Course material analyzes
mediated communication with references to concerns such as professional standards,
media industry objectives, laws, public opinion, and military-presidential practices.
Required text: Smith, Jeffery A. War and Press Freedom: The Problem of
Prerogative Power (1999). (Copies will be loaned to students at no cost.)
The class D2L site has the syllabus, weekly lectures, videos, and assignment drop
box. D2L sites are at http://uwm.courses.wisconsin.edu.
My office hours in 538 Bolton Hall are 2:00 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. Appointments can be made for other times. E-mail: jsmith@uwm.edu.
Consider me readily available for consultation and questions.
Grading: The course grade will be based on a research paper (40%), three
assignments (10% each), a final examination (20%), and in-class participation and oral
presentations of assignments and the research paper (10%). The main criteria for grading
written work will be clarity and correctness of writing style, quality and quantity of
primary (documenting information) and secondary (scholarly) sources used, and
soundness and sophistication of understanding and analysis. The main criteria for spoken
contributions will be how logical, informed, and substantial the observations are.
Assignment and course average grades (which are not rounded up) will be: 95-100 A, 9294 A-, 89-91 B+, 86-88 B, 83-85 B-, 80-82 C+, 77-79 C, 74-76 C-, 71-73 D+, 68-70 D,
65-67 D-, below 65 F.
Research papers are expected to expand existing knowledge by providing an
original interpretation of events and trends. In order to understand and write about the
forces at work, scholars need a sufficient number of high-quality primary sources (firsthand material from the time period being examined) and secondary studies (peerreviewed scholarship about the topic). A critical evaluation of previous research will
show the gaps and debates the paper can address. To focus the project, fill in the blanks:
I am studying _______ to discover _______ to understand _______.
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Communication effects are difficult to document, but the analysis of the creation
of media products can include factors such as individual contexts (biography, intellectual
climate, etc.), media practices (branding, framing, and sensationalism, for example),
extra-media occurrences (such as wars), and ideologies (general systems of beliefs and
values such as democracy). Determine the concepts (e.g., professionalism, moral panic,
marketplace of ideas, etc.), criteria (ethical, philosophical, prudential, etc.), and level(s)
of analysis (e.g., individual, group, organization, nation, etc.) to use.
All of the written work for the course is strengthened by solid research. Common
problems with the research paper are 1) a lack of digging into primary sources (including
media content) in order to have something fresh to interpret 2) a failure to cite relevant
secondary sources on the precise topic and/or somewhat larger subjects and 3) research
questions that are too broad, not researchable, or without a problem to solve.
Good places to begin research are Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/),
Google Books (http://books.google.com/), and the UWM library homepage
(http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/) where you can find books (using the “PantherCat”) and
scholarly articles (using the “A-Z databases”). A handy JAMS 661 library research guide
is at: http://guides.library.uwm.edu/JAMS_661-SMITH .
The instructor will suggest sources for each research paper. UWM librarians can
also be helpful. Books and articles not available at UWM can be borrowed by filling out
a form at: http://uwm.edu/libraries/user-services/ill/ . Books will be delivered to the
UWM library circulation desk. (Try the U.W. System search for best and quickest
results.) Articles will be sent by e-mail.
Library databases are helpful for locating scholarship, much of which is available
in full-text versions. Recommended UWM library A-Z databases for articles: Academic
Search (various academic fields), America: History and Life (history), Lexis-Nexis (law
and journalism), Military and Government (defense), and Readers Guide (magazines).
WorldCat is especially helpful for finding scholarly, media, and archival materials.
The Wisconsin Historical Society has one of the nation’s best media history
collections. Materials from those holdings can be delivered to the UWM library archive
room (http://uwm.edu/libraries/archives/) for your use. Search at:
http://arcat.library.wisc.edu/ . For archival sources in Wisconsin, go to:
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/wiarchives/ .
Participants in research seminars such as this one are expected to communicate
the results of their individual inquiries on the general topic. Oral presentations of the
class assignments and of the research papers should provide necessary context and
summarize main points. Brief use of video or Internet material may be possible. Make
clear and concise arguments backed by stated evidence. Avoid simply reading notes.
Five minutes will be allowed for assignments and ten minutes for research papers. Some
additional time will be available for questions or comments.
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Schedule
September 3: Introduction.
Larger issues for discussion: How should we think about war? What purposes
does it have? What do we want to know about the role of the media in war today?
D2L Handouts: SPJ Code of Ethics, Media Studies Concepts, From The Craft of
Research, Research Paper Steps, Sherlock Holmes Methods.
September 8 and 10: Current Coverage of War.
Show-and-tell oral presentations related to a topic you may want to use for a
research paper: Bring a war-related opinion piece, news story, or persuasive message
from the print/online media to describe and critically analyze with criteria (ethical,
conceptual, philosophical, prudential, etc.) you specify. The purpose is to practice using
the kind of interpretive lens you may be using in the first assignment and in your paper.
Plan on three minutes for presentations followed by one or two minutes for discussion.
Please email a link to the media content being analyzed (or the content itself) to the
instructor by noon on Tuesday. The presentation is part of the participation grade, but is
not turned in. Presentations we do not have time for on Tuesday will be made on
Thursday. Note: for our discussions this semester, I recommend obtaining a discounted
subscription to the New York Times at nytimes.com/collegerate .
Larger issue: Should war be a subject of humor?
Discussion: Selecting research topics that are a) researchable in media content,
documents, etc. available to you b) fresh in terms of what scholarly books and articles
already exist, and c) related to your interests and perhaps career plans.
Schedule Assignment 1 presentation dates.
September 15 and 17: Media Performance, Theories, and Concepts.
Assignment 1 presented in class on Tuesday or Thursday and due in the D2L
drop box at 10 p.m. on Friday, September 18. Length: 600 to 750 words. Write a letter
to the editor, op-ed piece, journalism review column, or blog to analyze a specific
example (include a link if possible) of media performance on a war-related subject with
selected ethical criteria (e.g. those found in the SPJ ethics code), philosophical (e.g.,
democratic processes) perspectives, or media studies concepts you state. The subject
may be related to your research paper idea(s). Focus on the work of the media rather than
the topic in the media. Try to use less than 100 words merely describing rather than
analyzing what is in the example. Please email a link to the media content being
analyzed (and a draft of the assignment or a list of main points if you wish) to the
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instructor by noon on the day of your presentation for projection during your
presentation.
Larger issues: Which media studies theories and concepts seem to be the most and
least credible and useful? Why? What monitorial (supplying information), facilitative
(supporting processes), radical (critiquing the status quo), and collaborative (cooperating
with authorities) roles do the media play? See the UWM library database
Communication and Mass Media Complete .
September 22 and 24: Power and Press Freedom in Wartime.
Text reading: Smith, pp. vii-125. Each student is required to bring one discussion
question about the text material this week. The purpose is to practice using critical
thought on one type of defense issue and developing questions for research.
Larger issues: How much power should a president have in wartime? What does
the press clause protect? Is James Madison’s absolutism too radical? How and why is
freedom of expression violated in wartime? What roles do human emotions and political
biases play in wartime suppression? How and why did battlefield censorship arise in
American history?
September 29 and October 1: Power and Press Freedom in Wartime.
Text reading: Smith, pp. 127-228. Each student is required to bring one
discussion question about the text material this week. The purpose is to practice using
critical thought on one type of defense issue and developing questions for research.
Larger issues: How has wartime censorship been bureaucratized and what
techniques have been used? Should military-presidential power be used to decide what
the public should know about armed conflict? What is constitutional, just, and practical?
How do the media frame war? What perspectives are missing from the discussions?
Schedule individual meetings and Assignment 2 presentation times.
Week of October 5-9: Individual meetings on research projects with the
instructor in his 538 Bolton office. No class meetings this week.
October 13 and 15: Analyzing and Advising.
Assignment 2 presented in class on Tuesday or Thursday and due in the D2L
drop box at 10 p.m. on Friday, October 16. Length: 600 to 750 words. Use Chicago
style notes as described later in the syllabus. Please email a one-page summary of your
main points to the instructor by noon on the day of your presentation. Choose one of two
options: 1) Use primary and secondary sources to write a historical case study about a
specific media-related incident involving defense issues (such as propaganda). Critically
analyze, as the War and Press Freedom book does, the reasoning used for the decisions
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and discuss the outcomes. Do not rely solely on information and/or insights in previous
writings by others. 2) Write a briefing paper to advise a policy maker (e.g., an editor or
the president) on a current media policy or practice issue (such as publishing leaked
secrets) in the area of national defense. (You can find topics by examining recent media
stories, journalism reviews, trade journals, and the Web sites of organizations such as
those mentioned in the Introduction and Current Coverage topics on D2L.) The briefing
paper should consist of a) up to 100 words of background information and b) a list of
talking points backed up by facts and logic supporting your position and answering
objections that may arise. Try to make your solutions constitutional, just, and practical.
Your case study or briefing paper could be related to your research paper ideas. The
purpose is to practice doing the kind of research and thinking you will be doing in your
paper.
October 20 and 22: The Safety of Journalists.
Reminder: Each week read the D2L lecture before class and bring questions and
comments for discussion.
Larger issues: What are the dangers in war coverage and what precautions can
reporters take? What reasons do they have for taking dangerous assignments?
Schedule Assignment 3 presentation times.
October 27 and 29: Seeking Solutions.
Assignment 3 presented in class on Tuesday or Thursday and due in the D2L
drop box at 10 p.m. on Friday, October 30. Length: approximately 750 words. Prepare
a prospectus for the course research paper with 1) a title, 2) a bibliographical list of the
main primary (documents, media content, etc.) and secondary (scholarly) sources, 3) a
research question, 4) an interpretive framework, and 5) a brief outline that follows the
paper format shown below at the due date. For the Chicago style bibliography format,
see the JAMS 661 library course guide at http://guides.library.uwm.edu/JAMS_661SMITH. The purpose of Assignment 3 is to assess progress and see what still needs to be
refined. Please email a draft of your prospectus (or a summary) to the instructor by noon
on the day of your presentation. Presentations should be about three minutes.
Larger issues: Can the media contribute to the resolution of armed conflicts?
Recommended reading on D2L: Smith, Jeffery A. “The Media and Moral Force.”
Keynote address, symposium on Media, War, and Terrorism, Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel, May 20, 2002.
Recommend reading on D2L: Smith, Jeffery A. “Power and Freedom,” in
The History of Evil, Volume V: The History of Evil in the Early 20th Century (1900-1950)
ed. Victoria Harrison. Durham, U.K.: Acumen Publishing, forthcoming.
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November 3 and 5: War Photographs and Documentaries.
Larger issues: What “evidence” does photography supply? When should selfcensorship be used on images of war?
November 10 and 12: Wartime Propaganda and Public Relations.
Larger issues: How is wartime propaganda constructed and for what purposes?
November 17 and 19: Hollywood Imagery.
Larger issues: How does the motion picture industry respond to official and
unofficial war-related pressures? How do commercial forces and directors’ objectives
affect the messages?
November 24: Optional individual meetings with the instructor in Bolton 538.
No class meeting.
November 26: Thanksgiving.
December 1 and 3: Militainment and Military Promotions.
Larger issues: How are military goals sold to the public? What persuasion
techniques are being used?
On Thursday (or before) each student may submit a signed proposal for one final
examination question (with correct answer) for 3 extra-credit points on the examination.
Note cards will be supplied for the submissions. Questions selected for use will earn 2
more extra credit points. Selection factors include the need for an exam with questions
that are about each weekly topic, that have a reasonable level of difficulty, and that are a
mix of multiple choice and true-false. Questions are subject to some editing.
Schedule research paper presentation times.
December 8 and 10: Research Paper Presentations.
Research papers summarized in class on Tuesday or Thursday and turned in to the
D2L drop box no later than 10 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16. Presentations are not
just to introduce the topic. They should summarize the larger issue, the existing research,
the research question, the method, the evidence, and the conclusion. Paper length: 2,500
words (about 10 double-spaced pages) not including citations. Analyze a media and war
topic chosen in consultation with the instructor. Use Chicago style notes and the format
described below. At least five scholarly sources and ten primary sources are expected.
Please email a one-to-two-page summary of your main points to the instructor by noon
the day of your presentation. Video, Internet materials, and PowerPoints may be used
only if time allows.
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D2L Handouts: Academic Writing, Common Writing Issues.
The research paper format should be:
1) a title page with your name
2) an introductory section of a paragraph or two to interest the reader in not only
the topic, but also the problem(s), larger issue(s), and criteria (ethical,
prudential, philosophical etc.) or media studies concept(s) the study addresses
3) a paragraph or two critically reviewing previous scholarship on the paper’s
general and/or specific topic and indicating what gaps or debates exist
4) an explicit research question (a thesis statement is acceptable) growing out of
the scholarly literature review
5) a topically or chronologically organized “body” of the paper consisting
mostly of pertinent primary-source evidence (including, for our purposes,
past media content) found in a research institution, government repository,
and/or electronic databases
6) a paragraph or two of conclusion summarizing the findings and their
significance for understanding the historical issues and media concepts or
criteria identified earlier
Chicago humanities style footnotes or endnotes should document your use of
sources beyond your own thought processes. Documentation is not needed for wellknown facts (e.g., terrorist attacks occurred on September 11, 2001), but too much is
better than too little. In Chicago style, any direct quotations (e.g., “Four score and seven
years ago….”) need attribution to the source (e.g., Lincoln said) in the text where the
quotation appears. Commas are used before the conjunction (and, or, etc.) in a series
(e.g., red, white, and blue).
When using notes, you do not document sources with references in parentheses
within the text or use a list of works cited at the end. Clicking “cite” after locating an
article in a specific UWM library database is likely to produce bibliographic list
information rather than the notes you should have. You will need to re-type any
bibliographic citation into a note citation. Chicago Manual of Style bibliographic listings
(i.e., not notes) are used in the syllabus.
Create a note by clicking where the note is needed (usually after the punctuation
and any direct quote mark at the end of a sentence), clicking in the menu (insert for Mac
and reference for PC), and writing. (Example: He said, “I will.”1) Note numbers should
be in Arabic (not Roman) numerals. The numbers of the notes are sequential and not
doubled-up at a location or repeated later in the text. All of the main words of article and
book titles are capitalized in a note. The first names of the authors are first, and commas
are used after author’s names and article titles rather than periods. “Vol.” and “p./pp.”
are not usually needed.
Here are some examples of Chicago style notes:
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BOOKS [First, reprinted, and revised editions]
1. Jeffery A. Smith, War and Press Freedom: The Problem of Prerogative Power
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 91-125; Walter Lippmann, A Preface to
Morals (New York: Macmillan, 1929; New York: Time Inc., 1964), 159-60; Hanno
Hardt, Social Theories of the Press: Constituents of Communication Research, 1840s to
1920s, 2nd ed. (Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2001).
CHAPTER IN AN EDITED COLLECTION
2. Jeffery A. Smith, “The Enticements of Change and America’s Enlightenment
Journalism,” in Media and Revolution: Comparative Perspectives, ed. Jeremy D. Popkin
(Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1995), 74-89. [Popkin edited a book of
chapters by others.]
SCHOLARLY JOURNAL ARTICLE [usually has footnotes and a “peerreviewed” or “academic” designation in a library database]:
3. Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, “Victoria Woodhull, Anthony Comstock, and
Conflict over Sex in the United States in the 1870s,” Journal of American History 87
(September 2000): 403-34. [87 is the volume number.] Note: Issue number may be
given instead of month or season. Example: Journal of American History 87, no. 2
(2000): 403-34.
MAGAZINE ARTICLE:
4. F.B. Sanborn, “Journalism and Journalists,” Atlantic Monthly, July 1874, 5566. [Page numbers are optional.]
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE:
5. Bernard Weinraub, “Loosening a Strict Film Rating for ‘South Park,’” New
York Times, June 29, 1999, national edition. [Page number is usually omitted but the
edition is useful if an issue has different versions.]
MANUSCRIPT LETTER IN ARCHIVE:
6. John Smith to Mary Jones, March 12, 1921 [or 12 March 1921]. John Smith
Papers, Yale University Library [add city and state if archive is not generally known].
INTERVIEWS AND PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS:
7. Mary Jones, interview by John Smith, February 2, 2010, Movie Star Oral
History Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wis.
8. William Johnson, e-mail to the author, January 24, 2011.
DISSERTATION:
9. Linda Kay Bates, “Toward the Heart of Darkness: Benjamin Franklin’s Satires”
(PhD diss., University of California, Davis, 1981), 12.
SHORTENED REFERENCES AFTER INITIAL USE OF SOURCE:
10. Smith, War and Press Freedom, 32.
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11. Smith, “The Enticements of Change,” 75.
12. Horowitz, “Victoria Woodhull,” 404.
13. Ibid., 405. [different page in immediately preceding reference]
14. Jones, interview.
SITE CONTENT [use only if it’s the best possible source!]:
15. Board of Regents, “Rules and Policies,” University of Wisconsin System,
accessed February 15, 2015, [or: last modified September 1, 2014,]
http://www.wisconsin.edu/bor/policies/.
USE ITALIC TYPE for the titles of books, newspapers, magazines, journals,
movies, Web sites, long musical compositions, comic strips, works of art, and radio or
television programs.
USE ROMAN (REGULAR) TYPE AND QUOTATION MARKS for the titles of
articles, chapters, songs, poems, short stories, theses, dissertations, manuscripts in
collections, and speeches that have been printed out.
ABBREVIATING INCLUSIVE PAGE NUMBERS: Use all digits of the second
number when the first number is 1-99 or a multiple of 100 [e.g., 4-10, 83-84, 91-111,
100-103]. For 101-109, 201-209, etc., use only the changed part [e.g., 103-8, 1104-93].
For 110-199, 210-299, etc., use two or more digits as needed [e.g., 231-38, 595-610].
NUMBERS from one through one hundred are spelled out in the text.
STATE names in notes or bibliographies can be either the postal [e.g., WI] or
traditional [e.g., Wis. or Wisc.] as long as the choice is consistent.
For more information, click the Chicago Style tab in our course guide:
http://guides.library.uwm.edu/JAMS_661-SMITH. The UWM Library’s databases (A-Z
databases on the homepage) include (under “C’) the full Chicago Manual of Style, the
humanities style historians generally prefer. Most citation questions are answered in
Chapter 14 (“Documentation I: Notes and Bibliography”) of the 16th edition of the
Chicago style manual in the UWM library’s A-Z databases. However, the ways to cite
some media content, like advertisements, are not described. You will need to improvise a
bit. For an ad, you could simply put something like: Miller Beer advertisement,
Milwaukee Magazine, January 2014.
Other recognized citation styles (not appropriate for this course) are the Modern
Language Association (MLA) which uses a “works cited page” and the American
Psychological Association (APA) which has a “reference list.” For descriptions of all the
common citation styles, see what the UWM library has at:
http://guides.library.uwm.edu/citationstyles .
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An affordable book on scholarly writing and documentation is Diane Hacker’s A
Pocket Style Manual. A good source for writing advice is:
http://www.clearwriter.com/cleartips/edityourself/index.htm
Date TBA: Final examination in our regular classroom. No students will be
admitted ten minutes after the scheduled time. The multiple-choice, true-false
examination will cover only material discussed during class meetings including D2L
material. Students will select 20 of the 25 five-point questions to answer. They may
bring and use one 5” x 8” note card with their notes. Both sides may be used. Note cards
will be supplied in advance. Please return borrowed copies of War and Press Freedom
no later than today.
Course Policies

Attendance at all class meetings and careful reading of course materials is
expected. More than two unexcused absences will affect the participation grade.
Students who are not able to attend regularly should not take the course.

A seminar format should allow students to ask questions, make comments, and
bring in relevant ideas and information on a regular basis. The quality of the
course discussion will depend, to some extent, on the participants’ willingness
and ability to contribute and to be respectful of each other when dealing with
sensitive topics. The atmosphere should be friendly and free for thoughtful,
focused analysis of the subject matter. Some students may have sensitivities
about violent images. Any concerns or desired alternatives should be discussed
with the instructor at the beginning of the course.

Full attention to class discussions is expected. Electronic devices (phones,
laptops, etc.) should only be used for course purposes during the class meetings.

Work turned in late will receive a 10-point penalty plus one point for each hour
unless an exception is made by the instructor, in advance if possible, for
circumstances beyond a student’s control.

The instructor has responsibilities that include understanding students’ needs and
encouraging them to develop their abilities. Any concerns about the course can
be brought up with the instructor or taken to the chair of the JAMS Department.

Incidents of academic misconduct, such as cheating, handing in work to more
than one course without permission, and plagiarism (directly quoting the words of
others without using quotation marks or indented format to identify them, using
sources of information without identifying them, or paraphrasing materials or
ideas of others without identifying the sources) will be handled with UWM
procedures and can result in penalties such as a grade of F for the course. For
explanations of UWM policies and procedures, go to:
http://www4.uwm.edu/acad_aff/policy/academicmisconduct.cfm .
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
For information on academic misconduct that could be considered plagiarism, go
to: http://guides.library.uwm.edu/c.php?g=56454&p=363101

For information on campus policies on disabilities, religious observances, military
duty, incompletes, discriminatory conduct (such as sexual harassment), academic
misconduct, complaints, grade appeals, and final examinations, go to:
http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/SyllabusLinks.pdf

In the event of disruption of normal academic activities, the format for this course
may be modified to enable completion of the course. In that event, you will be
provided an addendum to this syllabus that will supersede this version.
Here are my estimates of how your time will be spent:
Time in the classroom: 45 hours.
Time spent online reading lecture and/or other material: 35 hours.
Time taking exam: 2 hours.
Time completing assignments and research paper: 52 hours.
Time for preparation and study: 10 hours.