University of Toronto
Canadian Studies, University College
Culture and Media in Canada: CDN 221H1-S, Winter 2016
Mondays 2:00 – 4:00pm Rm UC 140
Instructor: Rick Salutin
Email: rsalutin@total.net
Office: UC D304
Office Hours: M, 1:30-2, 4-4:30, or by appointment
TA: Adam Zendel Office:
Office: Room 5029 Sidney Smith Hall
Email: adam.zendel@mail.utoronto.ca Office Hours: Tues. 1-2 or by appointment.
.
If you can’t make it to Adam’s office hour, please send him three times that work for
you. Adam will also be available after lecture on Mondays in the weeks immediately
before essays are due. You will be notified via Blackboard when this occurs
Course Description
This course proceeds in four units. I deals with a theoretical approach to media based
on Canadian media theorist Harold Innis’s views. II deals with mass media such as
newspapers, television, radio, film etc. III deals with ‘new’ media, which basically
means the Internet. IV deals with particular implications for Canada, historically and
in the present.
Course Requirements
Essay 1: Due February 8th
Essay 2: Due April 4th
Final Exam
20%
40%
40%
Required Texts
1. Innis, H. (2008). The Bias of Communication: Second Edition.
2. Flew, T., and Smith, Richard. (2011). New Media: an Introduction, Second Canadian
Edition.
3. Said, E. (1997). Covering Islam.
Assignments
NOTE: For both essays, you may use either a standard academic style or, if you wish, a
more ‘journalistic’ style in which you can write in first person and include your
own opinions. You must however source all references and provide evidence
and arguments for any personal opinions expressed.
Essay 1
2
Innis and the Internet. Harold Innis died in 1952, long before the Internet existed. Yet
many of his ideas about media and communications seem relevant to it. Discuss
some ways that Innis’s concepts about media apply to the Internet. There is no
‘correct’ answer here. Feel free to include your own experience as well as other
sources of evidence or insight. This is a brief essay intended to show your
familiarity with the Innis sections of the course and readings. Maximum 700
words, or approximately two pages in length.
Essay 2
Option 1: A research paper on ‘Terror, Security and the Internet,’ with special attention
to the issues of encryption and privacy. These issues have arisen particularly
with respect to the Paris and San Bernardino attacks of late 2015. . You may also
include for discussion some of the issues raised by the ‘leaks’ and revelations
made by Edward Snowden and Wikileaks.
Option 2: A research paper examining from both individual and social standpoints the
relation between changes in the workplace on one hand, and the Internet on the
other. Focus on the factors like the increasingly ‘precarious’ nature of work, job
security, career prospects and economic inequality.
Option 3: A case study in media. Choose a media figure, institution, text, event or
issue. Almost anything could qualify as a subject but it must be approved by the
instructor in advance.
Maximum 2000 words, or 7-8 pages in length.
Note on Essays and Formatting
You may submit essays either in hard copy or digitally via blackboard. If printing
essays out, please use double-sided.
Each essay should be double-spaced, 12pt font (Times New Roman), 1 inch margins,
title page and page numbers. All quoted material must be in quotation marks and
should have a reference. Paraphrased passages must also reference the source. APA or
MLA referencing is required. Just be sure to be consistent.
Late Penalties
Please note that the essay is subject to a penalty of 1% per day (including weekends).
Exceptions will, of course, be granted in the case of medical or family emergencies
when supporting documentation is submitted.
3
Essay Submission
Essays may be handed in during class time or at University College (UC ) room 173
office BEFORE 5:00 PM on the date on which they are due. Essays must be time
stamped by office staff. Essays will NOT be accepted by email. Late essays will not
receive comments, so please do hand them in on time.
Note on Plagiarism
Plagiarized essays and papers will be graded as F. Plagiarism includes using un-cited
quotations (even a single sentence), and not citing ideas that are not original. Sentences
copied from the web are easily detectable and should be strictly avoided. If you have
any questions about academic/classroom integrity, please consult the website
http://www.utoronto.ca/govcncl/pap/policies/behaveac.pdf
E-mail Policy
Course inquires should be directed towards Rick and Adam. If your query requires
more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response, it would be best to meet in person during office
hours or by appointment.
Other
Notes on material covered in class will be posted weekly on blackboard. However,
students have a responsibility to come prepared to class, participate in class
discussion, take notes, and secure course materials in the event of missing a particular
lecture.
The final day for dropping this course without penalty is March 13.
Course Readings
Jan. 11: Course Overview and Introduction
I. Medium theory: a Canadian Approach to Media/Culture
Jan. 18: Harold Innis, The Bias of Communication: preface (xliii-xliv), pp.3-32, 61-131,
190-195. Salutin on Innis, Queen's Quarterly, available on blackboard
Jan. 25: Innis, The Bias of Communication: pp.132-189, 203-214. Guest: Kevin
Donovan, Investigations editor, Toronto Star
II. Mass Media
Feb. 1: [What are mass media?] New Media: an Intoduction, ch. 2. Salutin:
4
"Assumptions" on blackboard
Feb. 8: : [Critique of mass media] Edward Said, Covering Islam: xlix-lxx; 3-68; 135-173;
xi-xlviii.
Feb. 15: Reading Week, no class.
Feb. 22: [Economics of mass media: public and private ownership models]. Read
Salutin: “The State or the States” on blackboard. Guest: Jarrett Churchill, Tablet
editorial staff, Toronto Star.
III. New Media
Feb. 29: [Intro, approaches] . New Media, ch. 1, 3 .
Guest: Jesse Hirsh (Listen to CBC Radio One 7:55 Monday morning)
Mar. 7: [Social networks, Privacy and surveillance] New Media, ch. 5, 10
March 14: . [Mobiles, gaming] New Media, ch. 4, 6
March 21: [Economics of new media] New Media, chs. 7, 8. [Law, policy, intellectual
property] New Media, ch. 9.
IV. The case of Canada
March 28: Read “NFB: It happened here...” by Rick Salutin on website.
April 4: [Globalization, exam recap] National Cultures in the Age of Globalization: the
case of Canada, by Rick Salutin, on website.