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Arceneaux / JMS 492 Syllabus / Spring 2015
JMS 492 – Fall 2014
Creative Uses of Emerging Media
M-W 9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
(Friday class sessions replaced by online activities)
COM 105
“Media Studies is an Education – Not Job Training”
Instructor: Noah Arceneaux, Ph.D.
Email: noah.arceneaux@sdsu.edu
Phone: 619-594-3236
Office/Hours: PSFA 334, Tuesdays 10:30am – 12:30pm
(additional times by appointment)
Course Description: New and often unexpected convergence of media institutions, technology,
and content. New economic and social alliances, uses, and effects.
Expanded Description: This course is structured around answering one question, “What is
technology?”
All of the media industries are adjusting their practices due to the rapid, and seemingly endless,
diffusion of new technologies. Over the course of the semester, we will examine some of these
industries in detail, with a particular emphasis on studying the ways in which media practitioners
are dealing with these technological changes.
In looking at these issues, we will also explore broader, more conceptual issues regarding
technology and its relationship to society. In this regard, we will address such questions as:
 Are technical innovations simply tools that allow us to extend our already existing
practices, or do they make possible entirely new ways of thinking and behaving?
 What is the influence of commercialization upon the innovation and diffusion of new
media technologies?
 How do technologies interact with such issues as race, gender, and class?
Objectives: By the end of this course, you will be able to  Explain the major theories regarding technology and its relationship to society.
 Identify some of the specific challenges facing the media industries due to emerging
technologies.
 Formulate an argument in a logical and coherent manner.
Required Readings:
Bill Wasik, And Then There’s This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture (Penguin
Books, 2009)
JMS 492 Course Reader 2013 (Note: Make sure you have a current version. The
authors in the reader are – as listed on the Table of Contents, in the following order –
MacKenzie & Wajcman, McLuhan, Meyrowitz, Mosco, and Stubbs)
Media Studies Requirements: Students must have completed JMS 408 and JMS 412, and
earned at least a C in each class. For students pursuing a Media Studies major, they must earn
at least a C in this class as well.
If my official class roster does not indicate that you have met this pre-req, I will email you and ask
that you bring an unofficial copy of your class transcript to the next class meeting.
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Policies:
 Prior to each lecture, I will post a Word document with lecture notes on BlackBoard.
These notes are not intended to be a substitute for attending class, though I do believe
that they make taking in-class notes easier. (Note: These notes include only the text from
my PowerPoint presentations, as I found from past experience that posting the entire
PowerPoint files is time-consuming and less helpful.)
 Students are responsible for all material presented in class, on BlackBoard, and in the
readings. Material on the exams will be drawn from all of these sources. (So simply
reading the lecture notes will not be sufficient.)
 Throughout the semester, I will use the class BlackBoard site to post announcements,
reminders, and other material relating to the course. If an item is particularly important, I
will make sure that the information is emailed to everyone enrolled in the class. It is your
responsibility to keep up with this information and regularly check the email address that
is associated with your name.
 Hotmail accounts have been known to filter out BlackBoard announcements as spam.
 The lectures last only 50 minutes. It is assumed that during this brief amount of time,
you will refrain from reading the newspaper, texting, personal grooming, and any other
activity that might distract your classmates.
 If your mobile phone rings more than once during the semester, I reserve the right to
deduct points from your final grade.
Academic Dishonesty - Plagiarism and Cheating
The University adheres to a strict policy regarding cheating and plagiarism. These activities will not be
tolerated in this class. Become familiar with the policy (http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/conduct1.html). Any
cheating or plagiarism will result in failing this class and a disciplinary review by Student Affairs.
Examples of Plagiarism include but are not limited to:

Using sources verbatim or paraphrasing without giving proper attribution (this can include
phrases, sentences, paragraphs and/or pages of work)

Copying and pasting work from a online or offline source directly and calling it your own

Using information you find from an online or offline source without giving the author credit

Replacing words or phrases from another source and inserting your own words or
phrases

Submitting a piece of work you did for one class to another class
If you have questions on what is plagiarism, please consult this helpful guide from the Library:
http://library.sdsu.edu/guides/tutorial.php?id=28&pid=138
Disability
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is
your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in
the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as soon as
possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that accommodations based
upon disability cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an
accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Grading:
Your final grade will be based on 400 points. However, the instructor has the final authority on all
grades, and reserves the right to deviate from the various point values listed below when
appropriate.
Exam #1 (Wed Feb 25)
Exam #2 (Wed April 22)
Exam #3 (Wed May 6)
Wiki Assignments (10 total)
Paper #1: Media History (Friday Feb 27)
30
30
40
100
70
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Viral Video Assignment (in class screening May 6)
Viral Video Analysis Paper (May 1)
Paper #2: Final Project (Wed May 13)
20
10
100
Total
400 points
At the end of the semester, I will take your total number of points and divide by 4. I will then use
the standard SDSU grading scale to determine a specific letter grade. This grading scale is
included below.
Exams:
These exams will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer.
I will only give make-up exams for valid reasons, and will require proof of your excuse.
Oversleeping, the inability to find a parking spot, a previously scheduled vacation, getting a DUI,
or other similar reasons are not valid reasons. If you have an issue or conflict with any of these
dates, I will be much more understanding if you contact me BEFORE the exam in question.
Research Papers:
You will write two papers for this class. The first paper is an exploration into media history,
looking at the public response to the innovation of a new form of electronic communication. This
paper, dubbed the “Media History Paper,” is due on Friday Feb 27, at noon.
Detailed instruction are posted on BlackBoard.
Final Paper:
For the Final Paper for this class, I would like each and every one of you to come with your own
project. On BlackBoard, I have posted different options as to the kind of Final Paper that you can
write, though I am also open to some other suggestion that you may have. The ultimate goal is for
you to write, create, or otherwise produce something that is relevant to your own interests and
aspirations. I expect this paper to be the best thing that you have ever written in your
college career.
The Final Paper is due on Monday at Midnight, though you may submit it to BB at any point prior
to this time. You do not have to wait until the last possible moment. The Final Paper is worth 100
points toward you final grade.
Group Wiki:
The class Wiki project is divided into 10 smaller assignments. Five of the assignments are
Updates and five of the assignments are classified as Analysis. Each of these assignments is
worth 10 points towards your final grade, or 100 points for this entire project. If I feel that your
contribution is not relevant to the class, or indicates something that was done in haste, I reserve
the right to award you less than the full 10 points.
During the first week of class, each of you will be assigned to a particular media industry. First,
we as a group, will determine which media industries will be included in the final list. The list of
potential industries is as follows:
Film
Social Media
Television/Video
Mobile Media
Magazine/E-Publishing
Radio
Newspapers
Live Theatre
Sports Media
Search Engines
Video Games
Music Industry
After we narrow down the above list, I will create a blank Wiki template, within BlackBoard, for
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each media industry. You are required to post some new material to your Wiki page five times
during the semester. This material can be a link to a news story, a video clip, a podcast, or
something else that you feel is relevant. Given that the focus of this class is a critical interrogation
of technologies and their relationship to society, you should look for material that pertains to
changes in production, economic, distribution, or consumption practices as related to
technological innovations.
You must include some brief explanation as to why or how you feel this item that you have posted
is important. It is also your responsibility to credit your contribution on the Group Wiki, so that I
can keep track that you have completed this assignment.
Important Note: This is the first time that I am using BlackBoard to carry out this assignment. In
the past, we have used Wikispaces. Given this change, there may be some bumps in the process
that we will resolve along the way. It is imperative that you keep track of your own contributions
and save your own copies (especially of anything you write). There is a reasonable chance that
some student’s work will be accidentally deleted at some point.
Here’s how things looked in the past:
http://jms492-spr11-sect1.wikispaces.com/Mobile+Media
You must add some new material before this date. EACH GROUP MEMBER is responsible for
posting new material to the Wiki by the dates listed below.
Group Wiki Updates, Due Dates:
Friday Jan 30 (noon)
Wiki Update #1
Friday Feb 13 (noon) Wiki Update #2
Friday March 6 (noon) Wiki Update #3
Friday March 20 (noon) Wiki Update #4
Friday April 10 (noon) Wiki Update #5
The Analysis assignments are related to the Updates. For these assignments, I will post some
instructions on Monday morning on BB, in the Assignment area. These instructions will direct you
to a particular Group’s Wiki page, and ask that you discuss the trends, innovations, or
developments in that media industry in relation to a particular topic. (For example, “How is the
music industry trying to commercialize user-generated content?” or “How does the new revenue
scheme in Industry X relate to the funding of the TransAtlantic Cable?”)
You will submit your observations through Turnitin in the Assignment area of BB. No hard copy
submission of this material is accepted. I will not grade these short writing assignments on
grammar, though I do expect you to devote serious thought to the task. You must write at least
250 words to get the full 10 points. (This is approximately one page of text, double-spaced.)
Wiki Analysis assignments, Due Dates:
Friday Feb. 6 (noon)
Wiki Analysis #1
Friday Feb. 20 (noon) Wiki Analysis #2
Friday March 13 (noon) Wiki Analysis #3
Friday March 27 (noon) Wiki Analysis #4
Friday April 24 (noon) Wiki Analysis #5
This entire assignment is worth a total of 100 points, (or 10 points for each update completed by
the appropriate deadline, and 10 points for each analysis.)
Viral Video Project
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See complete instructions posted on BlackBoard. The video for this assignment may be created
by a group (2 – 4 students), though the written portion of the assignment is done individually.
Everyone in the class will complete a short paper that corresponds to this assignment.
We will be watching these videos in class on Wednesday May 6.
.
Grade Breakdown:
100 – 93
92.9 – 90
89.9 – 87
86.9 – 83
82.9 – 80
79.9 – 77
76.9 – 70
69.9 – 67
66.9 – 63
62.9 – 0
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
D+
D
F
Note: If you for any reason you are unable to meet the basic course requirements or require
special accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.
Semester Outline/Schedule:
This outline is subject to revision as the semester progresses. You will receive ample
warning of any significant deviation from this schedule.
Wed Jan 21: Introduction to Class
Friday Jan 23: Online Activity TBD
Monday Jan 26: Formation of groups (Wiki & Viral Video)
Wed Jan 28: Theories of Technology, Part 1
See the MacKenzie & Wajcman essay in Course Reader
Friday Jan 30: Wiki Update #1
Monday Feb 2: Theories of Technology, Part 2
See McLuhan and Meyrowitz in Course Reader
Wed Feb 4: History of the Telegraph
See Mosco in Course Reader
Friday Feb 6: Wiki Analysis #1
Monday Feb 9: Telegraphy’s Corporeal Fiction
See Stubbs in Course Reader
Wed Feb 11: Telegraph and the Civil War
Friday Feb 13: Wiki Update #2
Monday Feb 16: Guest Lecture, Journalism & New Media
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Wed Feb 18: Discussion of the Wasik Book
Friday Feb 20: Wiki Analysis #2
Monday Feb 23: Review for Exam #1
Wed Feb 25: Exam #1
Friday Feb 27: Media History Paper Due
Monday March 2: No regular class, Meetings with Professor, Final Project Part One
Tuesday March 3: Meetings with Professor
Wed March 4: No regular class, Meetings with Professor, Final Project Part One
Friday March 6: Wiki Update #3
Monday March 9: The Web is Evil
Wed March 11: In-Class Entrepreneur Project
Friday March 13: Wiki Analysis #3
Monday March 16: Interactivity & Technology
Wed March 18: Trends in TV
Friday March 20: Wiki Update #4
Monday March 23: Music/Radio & Technology
Wed March 25: Guest Lecture, Radio Industry
Friday March 27: Wiki Analysis # 4
Monday March 30: Spring Break
Wed April 1: Spring Break
Friday April 3: Spring Break
Monday April 6: Interface
Wed April 8: Mobile Media
Friday April 10: Wiki Update #5
Monday April 13: No class, instructor at conference
Wed April 15: No class, instructor at conference
Friday April 17: Progress Report on Final Project Due Online
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Monday April 20: Exam #2 Review
Wed April 22: Exam #2
Friday April 24: Wiki Analysis #5
Monday April 27: No regular class meeting, Follow Up Meetings with Professor
Wed April 29: No regular class meeting, Follow Up Meetings with Professor
Friday May 1: Viral Video Paper Due, Online Activity
Monday May 4: Screening of Viral Videos
Wed May 6: Final Exam
Wed May 13 – final project due, 5:00pm, submit via Turnitin on BB
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