JO319 Media and American
Politics, Spring 2004
Section A: WF 10am-11:15am / Section B: WF 1pm-2:15pm
Dr.
David T. Z. Mindich
Tel:
654-2637; E-mail: dmindich@smcvt.edu
Office
hours in Bergeron 108: T-F 10am-4pm, except during lunch and class; other times
by appt.
Goal
This course will explore
the confluence of media and politics in our democratic society. Through
readings, class discussions, and a field trip to New Hampshire (make sure you're
free January 24th), we will learn about and analyze how politicians work to get
out their messages to the media world, how the media interprets (and
misinterprets) these messages, and your place within this mélange.
Your responsibilities
I
expect you to attend every class, to show up on time, and to read (and reread)
the assignments. Completion of this course entails completion of all work.
Beyond that, of course, I look forward to a lively exchange of ideas in your
papers and in our discussions.
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Written Work,
Memorization, and Tests
I will ask you to
lead a discussion about one of the readings (see “designated reader”),
contact a candidate and write something about your candidate, write a
letter to an editor, write a short working paper on a book, produce a
teamed oral report, write a term paper, write an op-ed, and complete a
final examination. Extensions must be requested prior to due dates;
without an extension, late work will be penalized a full letter grade
per day. You should also inform me of legitimate medical excuses (in
the form of a Dean’s note), special learning needs, or schedule
conflicts of a religious nature. Your grade will be based on your
essay, the final exam, responses to readings, quizzes, and your
fulfillment of your other responsibilities, as outlined above and
below. |
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*Designated reader/short
response
Once during the semester,
you will help lead a brief discussion of an assigned reading. You are expected
to come to class prepared to engage your classmates with questions and comments
about the assigned reading. You should read the text very carefully and push
your classmates to think in new ways about it. Included in this assignment is a
one-paragraph summary, and a one-paragraph analysis. In the
latter paragraph, you should briefly put forth your critique of the author’s
thoughts. At the bottom of the page, include two questions
about the readings that you might ask your classmates.
Date
when you’re the designated reader:
*Contact a candidate
All students will be asked
to interview a “minor candidate” and write an article about him or her. The
article should be 600-900 words. At the end, you should include an appendix
discussing exactly what you did to get your information. In this appendix,
include phone numbers of anyone you called.
*Letter to the editor
No length requirement, no
topic requirement.
*Four-page paper on
Tuned Out
This paper critically
examines an aspect of Tuned Out, my book on why most young people don’t
follow the news.
Read the plagiarism handout
carefully. The bottom line is that you must take care not to use the words or
ideas of others without giving them proper credit. That includes (but is not
limited to) using the Internet, or other work, without citing them as sources.
Plagiarism is surprisingly easy to detect; if you plagiarize, you'll fail this
course and could be expelled from St. Michael’s. Plagiarism is wrong, but
learning about it need not be fraught with anxiety; I am happy to
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answer your
questions about what is and is not plagiarism.
Feel free to stop
by to discuss an outline or draft before the due date.
*Oral report
All students will
participate in teamed oral reports during the second half of the course.
*Term Paper
The final
assignment of the course will be a five-page essay (typed and
double-spaced) on a topic I will discuss later in the semester. Please
see the above notes about plagiarism.
*Quizzes and
tests
Quizzes are of the
“pop” variety; quizzes and tests are closed-book but open-note. Please
remember to check the |
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New York Times
every day to keep up with the news.
I
don’t bite!
I
encourage you to stop by during office hours or to phone if you wish to discuss
any aspect of the course, including how it might be improved. It has been my
experience that some of the best learning happens in small groups or in
one-on-one conversations outside of class.
Readings:
1.
Tuned Out: Why Young People Don't Follow the News (Oxford University Press,
2004)
2.
Handouts (see syllabus)
3.
Web-based readings: if a particular reading has an asterisk (*), please download
it from the syllabi section of my Web page, http://academics.smcvt.edu/dmindich
4. The
New York Times (get a Monday-to-Friday subscription at the bookstore)
Your Final Grade
I will discuss grading
later in the semester. However, the following may help you to understand my
grading system:
20% Quizzes and small
assignments
10% Minor candidate report
15% Letter, Op-Ed
15% Tuned Paper
10% Oral project
20% Term paper
10% Final exam
This equals 100% of your
preliminary grade. Then I look at participation, improvement, attendance,
and other factors. Your final grade will suffer if you have multiple unexcused
absences. Also, you will be marked absent if your cell phone rings
during class. If you answer the call, you will be marked down for three
absences.
Media and American
Politics—Schedule
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Date |
In class |
Due |
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Wed., 1/14 |
Introduction |
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Fri., 1/16 |
Cutting Through the Noise
I |
*Mindich,
"Agran";
*Broder, “No
Way to
Choose a President.”
Also, make sure you keep
up with the news
throughout the semester by
reading the
New York Times,
especially the articles
about national politics;
make sure you read the
editorials and op-ed
pieces, too.
Pop quizzes will include
questions about the news,
particularly news about
the U.S. Presidential
election.
Finally, you’ll need to
check the online syllabus
regularly to get updates
and last-minute additional
reading. Please note the
key dates on page 4 of
this syllabus. |
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Wed., 1/21 |
Cutting Through the Noise
II: Bird-dogging |
*Singer, “Running on
Instinct: Profile of
Howard Dean.” *Broder,
"Dean:
Dominator or Detonator?" |
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Cutting Through the Noise
III |
First Assignment due:
minor candidate report
(see all the candidates at
the
New Hampshire Secretary of
State's Site. |
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Saturday 1/24 |
All-day trip to New
Hampshire
(In lieu of 2/6, below) |
Road trip movies:
The War Room
Primary
Colors |
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Wed., 1/28 |
Cutting Through the
Noise IV |
*Klein,
"The
Long War of John Kerry"
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Fri., 1/30 |
The campaign I |
Sabato,
Feeding Frenzy, Chapter 1. |
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Wed., 2/4 |
The campaign II |
What's
wrong with Bush? Check out
what the Democrats have to
say on the presidential
candidates' web sites.
Check
out the ads on
Moveon.org
Read
Hertzberg on
Bush
Read
the photocopy of the
Hertzberg article I gave
you last week. |
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No class (see 1/24, above) |
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Wed., 2/11 |
The Campaign III |
Unprecedented,
Letter to the Editor is
Due
(250-word maximum) |
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Fri., 2/13 |
The Campaign IV |
Auletta, "Fortress
Bush" |
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Wed., 2/18 |
Who’s Watching? I |
Mindich, Tuned Out: Why
Young People Don't Follow
the News,
Introduction, chaps. 1 and
2
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Fri., 2/20 |
Who’s Watching? II |
Mindich, Tuned Out,
chaps. 3 and 4 |
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Wed., 2/25 |
Who’s Watching? III |
Mindich, Tuned Out
(finish) |
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Fri., 2/27 |
Who’s Watching? IV
Film: Bulworth |
Due: Four-page paper on
Tuned Out |
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Wed., 3/3 |
Journalism’s political
coverage I
Nonpartisanship |
*Broder,
"Bush's
Minimalist Mantra," and
Breslin, "A
Fate Sealed Under Secrecy." |
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Fri., 3/5 |
Journalism’s political
coverage II: bias
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Coulter, Goldberg, and
Franken |
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Wed., 3/10 |
Journalism’s political
coverage III: bias
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Fri., 3/12 |
Journalism’s mission IV:
Horse race |
Reading: TBA |
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3/13-3/21 |
Spring break |
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Wed., 3/24 |
Typology |
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Fri., 3/26 |
Group projects |
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Wed., 3/31 |
Group projects |
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Fri., 4/2 |
Op-Eds |
Op-Ed Assignment
First,
please read an
op-ed about op-eds,
from the New York Times
op-ed editor.
Second,
please read the
following op-ed pages of
the New York Times:
Wednesday, March 31
Thursday, April 1
Friday, April 2.
Third, please read the following
three
pieces
(the first two of which are
satirical) by
Saunders, Mindich, and
Quindlen.
For
all of these op-eds
(except Shipley's) please
answer the following
questions
and be prepared to discuss
them in
class:
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Can the writer’s views
here be classified as
conservative or liberal?
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How closely does the
piece connect with a
current news topic?
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What is the writer
trying to convince us to
believe?
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What are some of the
strategies the writer
employs to convince a
reasonable centrist?
-
Did the piece change
your mind? How so or
Why not?
In class:
video of civil union
debate |
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Wed., 4/7 |
Op-Ed
discussion |
Read
all the daily op-eds in
the New York Times for
Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday
Ideas workshop for op-eds |
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Fri., 4/9 |
Easter (No class) |
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Wed., 4/14 |
Short class
to discuss papers
assignment;
optional conferences |
Op-Ed
is due |
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Fri., 4/16 |
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3-sentence paper proposal
to
dmindich@smcvt.edu
Ideas
workshop for term paper |
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Wed., 4/21 |
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Paper Workshop |
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Fri., 4/23 |
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Term paper is due (include
worksheet, drafts). |
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Wed., 4/28 |
Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington
(Evening) |
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Fri., 4/30 |
Conclusion |
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Final
Exam |
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Section A |
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Tuesday, May 4 |
9:00 - 11:30am |
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Section B |
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Wednesday, May 5 |
3:00-5:30pm |
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