COMM 1307 • Syllabus
• Introduction to Mass Communications in the Electronic Environment •
Hybrid Section
CRN 74877/ Wednesday, 6-7:30pm, Central campus, FAC 232
• Spring 2014 • 16 Weeks •
Contact Information
Professor Sandra Gin
Email: sandra.gin@hccs.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
Course Description
Credit: 3 (1hour lecture, ½ hour lab including 1 ½ hours hybrid instruction)
Pre-requisites: Students must be placed into college-level reading (or take GUST 0342
as a co-requisite) and be placed into college-level writing (or take ENGL 0310/0349 as a
co-requisite).
In this course students analyze communication theory and mass media in 21 st century
society. Students also survey history, operation, and structure of the American
communication system. They identify major legal, ethical, and socio-cultural issues,
study basic communication theory, and the interrelations between media and the
individual, media and society, and media and the future. Career potential and job
prospects in today’s and tomorrow’s electronic culture are examined. (Houston
Community College System, 2010) This course is the pre-requisite for students
pursuing degrees in communications or journalism.
Course Resources
Required Text: Campbell, R., Martin, C. R., Fabos, B. G. (2013). Media and Culture.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. 9th edition in print or E-book
Electronic Resources
Bookstore: http://hccs.bkstore.com
Companion web site link:
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/mediaculture9e/#t_661902____
NOTE: The electronic version of this book is much cheaper! Feel free to purchase this
rather than the hardcopy.
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Course Goals
Students will be able to articulate the relationships and
influences of culture and the mass media to advance toward
development as professionals in careers related to journalism.
Students will develop an informed critical perspective to
participate in a debate over media culture as a force for both
democracy and consumerism. They will come to know that
part of this perspective entails a concrete understanding of
media history, the structure of media industries, and their
major players. Students will be encouraged to think beyond
the simple facts and consider how the media influence and
are influenced by culture. Students will be asked to become
cultural critics of media, connecting their own consumption of
media to the larger issues of citizenship and democracy.
Student Learning Outcomes
By examining contemporary and historical trends, students
will review mass communication using a critical approach. The
Internet and other new media technologies will also be
studied.
Students will explore the impact of sound recording and
Sounds and
popular music, radio and the origins of broadcasting, the
Images
visual power of television on popular culture, cable
broadcasting, and the motion picture industry.
Students will review the role newspapers have had on the rise
Words and
of modern journalism, the impact of magazines and their
Pictures
survival through specialization, and the power of print through
books.
Students will have an opportunity to analyze the impact of
The Business of
advertising on the commercial culture, methods of framing the
Mass Media
message through public relations, and media economics in
the global marketplace.
Through extended case studies analyzing coverage of a
Democratic
financial crisis, stories of the 2008 Presidential race, and war
Expression and the coverage, students will address the culture of journalism on
Mass Media
values, ethics, and democracy. They will also review media
effects and cultural approaches to research as well as legal
controls on freedom of expression.
Mass Media and
the Cultural
Landscape
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Course Schedule
FOCUS
TITLE, TOPIC, ACTIVITY
WEEK ONE
Jan 15
Syllabus
Chapter 1
Introduction to course, log in to computers
Mass Media and the Cultural Landscape
WEEK TWO
Jan 22
Chapter 2
The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence
*Jan 27
WEEK THREE
Jan 29
Official Date of Record
Chapter 3
Digital Gaming and the Media Playground
*Jan 29
70% Refund
*Feb 4
25% Refund
WEEK FOUR
Feb 5
Chapter 4
Sound Recording and Popular Music
WEEK FIVE
Feb 12
Chapter 5
Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting
WEEK SIX
Feb 19
Chapter 6
Research Projects formed
Television and Cable: The Power of Visual Culture
WEEK SEVEN
Feb 26
Chapter 7
Movies and the Impact of Images
WEEK EIGHT
Mar 5
Chapter 8
Magazines in the Age of Specialization
SPRING BREAK
March 10-16
WEEK NINE
Mar 19
Chapter 9
Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism
WEEK TEN
Mar 26
Chapter 10
Books and the Power of Print
*Mar 31
Last Day for Administrative/Student Withdrawals 4:30pm
WEEK ELEVEN
April 2
Chapter 11
Advertising and Commercial Culture
WEEK TWELVE
April 9
Chapter 12
Research projects due
Public Relations and Framing the Message
WEEK THIRTEEN
April 16
Chapter 13
Media Economics and the Global Marketplace
WEEK FOURTEEN
April 23
Chapter 14
The Culture of Journalism: Values, Ethics, and Democracy
WEEK FIFTEEN
April 30
Chapter 16
Legal Controls and Freedom of Expression
WEEK SIXTEEN
May 7 (no in-class)
Term Paper Due by May 7 to Eagle Online 2.0
*Key Dates to Remember
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Instructional Methods
Through lectures, discussion, chapter reviews, activities, and assessments, students
will be guided through material that will give them a broad overview of various aspects
of mass media’s impact on culture.
Student Assignments
ASSIGNMENT
CATEGORY
Discussion Forum/Activities via EO2
Attendance
Quizzes
Research Project
Term Paper
(Extra Credit)
Total
POSSIBLE
POINTS
30
20
10
20
20
POINTS
EARNED
TBA
100
Scholastic Dishonesty
Students are responsible for conducting themselves with honor and integrity in fulfilling
course requirements. Penalties and/or disciplinary proceedings may be initiated by
College System officials against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty. Scholastic
dishonesty” includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion.
“Cheating” on a test includes copying from another student’s test paper; using
materials during a test that are not authorized by the person giving the test;
collaborating with another student during a test without authority; knowingly using,
buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of a test
not yet administered; and bribing another person to obtain a test that is to be
administered. “Plagiarism” means the appropriation of another’s work and the
unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own written work offered for credit.
“Collusion” means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing
written work offered for credit. Possible punishments for academic dishonesty may
include a grade of zero or “F” on the particular assignment, failure in the course, and/or
recommendation for probation or dismissal from the College System. (2010)
Writing Standards
Students’ writing assignments must conform to college-level grammatical standards
which include complete and concise sentence structures; impeccable spelling, usage,
punctuation, and capitalization; and appropriate paragraphing.
Late Assignments
Late work is not accepted. It is your responsibility take quizzes and to submit
assignments on time. If you did not take a quiz or fail to submit an assignment, you
will receive a “0”. You may not make up quizzes, papers, and/or assignments.
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However, extra credit can be earned by attending various field trips that will be
announced by the instructor.
Discussion Forums
As you probably have noted, the forums and the assignments carry the biggest weight
as far as the grading percentages are concerned. These are generally fairly
straightforward tasks. Follow the directions, and you’ll be fine. However, if you do not
turn in even one of these tasks, it can reduce your grade an entire letter grade. So, be
thorough and careful when navigating through the course and make sure you have
completed all of the necessary tasks.
Once each discussion forum topic is posted, it will remain online for the duration of the
semester (or the designated deadline specified by your instructor). You will be
given a statement, thought, or opinion (this is the discussion forum topic); and, from
that, you will be required to respond with your own idea or opinion (that is, your “best
educated guess” or “best thoughtful insight”). An example topic for the discussion
forum could be: “The media have much control and influence in our society and
our lives.” With this example in mind, you would offer your own idea as a response.
Your grade from the discussion forum will be based from the following:
Proficient = 95 % or ‘A’ : To receive a proficient grade during each discussion forum,
you must deliver a thought and/or individual insight (in other words, your own idea and
not someone else’s) and provide some kind of backup information supporting your
claim. This initial post should be at 100 words. Here is a potential ‘A’ student response
to the example topic mentioned above:
“I agree with the statement, because when the media give us a suggestion, we
do what they tell us to do. For example, when Hurricane Rita hit, everyone left
the city of Houston (due to a suggestion by city officials and the media). This
caused a panic among residents, who clogged the highways in their cars all at
one time heading out of town. My family decided to stay. It was like a ghost
town in H-town with everything closed, no street traffic, grocery stores closed,
and schools shut down. When Hurricane Ike arrived years later, there was less
panic and fewer people evacuated.”
Your responses to another student’s post should be at least 50 words and must
say more than just “I agree.” For instance, to elaborate on the response above, you
could say, “I h a d a s i m i l a r e x p e r i e n c e . I drove from Houston to San
Antonio because the news made it seem like I absolutely had to get out of
Houston. It was worse on I-45 north to Dallas. There was a terrible bus crash
involving elderly patients who evacuated from a Houston nursing home. ”
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Attendance and Participation
Students are expected to be on time for all classes and will sign in at the beginning of
each class. Students will be dropped if they miss more than 12.5% of instruction. In
this class that means missing 3 classes. Tardy means late by more than 10 minutes. 2
tardies count as one absence. Students should come prepared by following the
syllabus and completing reading and practice assignments. Students are also
responsible for material covered during absences.
The student is responsible for dropping a course for non-attendance. Failure to
withdraw officially may result in a letter grade of “F” in the course.
The instructor has the authority to drop students for excessive (maximum of three)
absences. Administrative drops are at the discretion of the instructor. Extra credit will
be earned for perfect attendance.
Students may be dropped from a course after accumulating absences in excess of 12.5
percent of the total hours of instruction (lecture and lab). For a three credit-hour lecture
class meeting three hours per week (48 hours of instruction), students can be dropped
after six hours of absence.
Students with Disabilities
Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision,
hearing, etc) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the
appropriate HCC Disability Support Service (DSS) Counselor at the beginning of each
semester. Faculty is authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the
Disability Support Services Office. Students who are requesting special testing
accommodations must first contact the appropriate (most convenient) DSS office for
assistance. The Disability Support Services Office at Central campus is phone numbers
713-718-5165.
HCC Course Withdrawal Policy
If a student feels that he or she cannot complete this course, withdrawing from the
course prior to the final date of withdrawal is recommended. Texas law limits first time
entering freshmen to no more than six total course withdrawals throughout the
educational career in obtaining a certificate and/or degree.
To help students avoid having to drop/withdraw from any class, HCC has instituted an
Early Alert process by which professors may provide warnings to HCC counselors that
students might fail a class because of excessive absences and/or poor academic
performance. Students are responsible for visiting with professors or counselors to
learn about what HCC interventions might be available (online tutoring, child care,
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financial aid, job placement, etc.) to help them stay in class and improve academic
performance.
Students withdrawing from a class must contact a counselor or professor prior to
withdrawing (dropping) the class for approval and this must be done prior to the
withdrawal deadline to receive a “W” on the transcript. A 24-hour response time is
required when communicating via e-mail or telephone with a professor or counselor.
The student should not submit a request to discuss withdrawal options less than a day
before the deadline. Failure to withdraw before the deadline will result in the student
receiving the grade a letter grade of “F”.
Repeat Course Fee
The State of Texas encourages students to complete college without having to repeat
failed classes. To increase student success, students who repeat the same course
more than twice, are required to pay extra tuition. The purpose of this extra tuition fee is
to encourage students to pass their courses and to graduate. HCC will charge a higher
tuition rate to students registering the third or subsequent time for a course.
Cell Phone Use
All cell phones must be on silent or vibrate. If your phone rings during class you may be
asked to leave. If you are texting during class, I will first ask you to leave the classroom.
Classroom Behavior
According to its policy on student conduct, the Houston Community College views
college-level students as adults who subscribe to a basic standard of conduct which
requires that they not violate any municipal, state, or federal laws. A student’s
membership in the community of scholars is a privilege and carries with it obligations to
participate in and contribute to the educational mission of the College and to avoid any
behavior that is contrary to that mission. Therefore, no student may disrupt or otherwise
interfere with any educational activity being performed by a member of the College
System. In addition, no student may interfere with his/her fellow students’ right to pursue
academic goals to the fullest in an atmosphere appropriate to a community of scholars.
(2009)
Virtual Classroom Conduct
As with on-campus classes, all students in HCC Distance Education courses (including
Hybrid Courses) are required to follow all HCC Policies & Procedures, the Student Code
of Conduct, the Student Handbook, and relevant sections of the Texas Education Code
when interacting and communicating in a virtual classroom with faculty and fellow
students. Students who violate these policies and guidelines will be subject to
disciplinary action that could include denial of access to course-related email,
discussion groups, and chat rooms or being removed from the class.
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Use of Camera and/or Recording Devices
Use of recording devices, including camera phones and tape recorders, is prohibited in
classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, and other locations where instruction, tutoring,
or testing occurs. Students with disabilities who need to use a recording device as a
reasonable accommodation should contact the Office for Students with Disabilities for
information regarding reasonable accommodations.
Instructor Requirements

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Provide the grading scale and detailed grading formula explaining how
student grades are to be derived
Facilitate an effective learning environment through class activities,
discussions, and lectures.
Provide a description of any special projects or assignments.
Inform students of policies such as attendance, withdrawal, tardiness and
make-up.
Provide the course outline and class calendar that will include a description of
any special projects or assignments.
Arrange to meet with individual students before and after class as required.
Student Requirements
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Attend class and participate in class discussions and activities.
Read and comprehend the textbook.
Complete the required assignments and exams.
Ask for help when a question or problem arises.
Keep copies of all paperwork, including this syllabus, handouts and all
assignments.
Establish a reliable e-mail address.
Course and Grading Standards
Students are required to submit assignments electronically on Eagle Online 2.0.
LETTER GRADE
A
B
C
D
F
IP
W
I
8
NUMERICAL SCALE
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
0-59
EVALUATION
Excellent
Good
Fair
Passing
Failing
In Progress
Withdrawn
Incomplete
Introduction to Mass Communications in the Electronic Environment |
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Students may access their grades within one week of the end of the course at
www.hccs.edu (2010).
Drop and Withdrawal Refunds Schedule
Length
16 wks.
Last Day for 100% Refund*
1/29
70%*
1/29
25%* ______
2/4
*A $15.00 Change of Schedule Fee is deducted after computing the percentage refund.
All non-refundable fees (see catalog) will be deducted before the percentage for refund
is applied.
Course Changes
Students will receive notice if either the syllabus or the class assignments change. A
new syllabus or an addendum will be issued electronically.
Incompletes
Students can expect an incomplete, or “I,” to be posted as a grade only in extenuating
circumstances and after discussion with faculty. Student tardiness in submitting
assignments is not a reason for seeking/awarding an “I.”
Computer Assistance and Open Labs
The Communications Department provides computers for student use. Each college
has student labs for supplemental course study and any duly enrolled student with
student ID may use the open computer labs (2010).
Feedback and Confidentiality
Students can expect all work to be graded and returned the week after it is submitted.
Assignments will be returned to the student by the instructor in a timely manner with
specific, objective feedback to facilitate learning. The student may contact the instructor
to discuss concerns or schedule a conference. For the purpose of confidentiality, any
discussion of scores or dispute of grades will take place only between an individual
student and the instructor through a secure electronic method.
Sexual Harassment
For an employee, agent, or student of the College to engage in sexual harassment as
defined in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines is a
violation of HCC policy. Any student who has a complaint concerning this policy has the
opportunity to seek resolution of such a complaint in accordance with procedures set
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forth in the Student Handbook. Report any complaints immediately to College
Administration or call the Institutional Equity & Compliance Office 713-718-8271.
EGLS3: Evaluation for Greater Learning Student Survey
System
At Houston Community College, professors believe that thoughtful student feedback is
necessary to improve teaching and learning. During a designated time, you will be
asked to answer a short online survey of research-based questions related to
instruction. The anonymous results of the survey will be made available to your
professors and division chairs for continual improvement of instruction. Look for the
survey as part of the Houston Community College Student System online near the end
of the term.
Reference
Houston Community College System, (2010). Student Handbook. Houston, TX:
Houston Community College.
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