Department of Media, Culture, and Communication
MCC-UE.1016
Media Audiences
Course Description
Communication scholars have long concerned themselves with the relationship between various
media/technologies and ‘the audience.’ Different intentions and perspectives inform the discourse and
research on how media and communication technologies and their audiences/users interact. This course
will proceed historically, theoretically, and methodologically, always questioning the construction of
audiences and media users -- constructions that are shaped by commercial, academic, political and
cultural contexts. Students will reflect on some historical analyses of ‘emergent’ audiences and critical
responses to institutional constructions of audiences. Students will critique mass communication
‘positivist’ studies and questions of ‘media effects’ that dominated debates about audiences beginning in
the early twentieth century and still continue today. In addition, students will examine how media and
audiences are both situated in particular multiple contexts
that have a bearing on how media are generated and circulated, and how audiences experience and
make meaning of media/technologies. Methodologically, students will investigate how audiences
are conceptualized and researched by scholars and cultural critics. Throughout the course,
students will explore the thinking and multiple contexts that frame various conceptualizations of
media/technologies and audiences, and how these different approaches inform the concerns,
questions, methods, findings, and implications of audience/user research.
Required Reading
--Course Packet of articles/chapters at Advanced Copies (552 LaGuardia Place) [The packet is
unbound so that you can bring individual readings to class, which is required; additional readings may
be added as the course proceeds, and will be provided by the instructor.
Recommended readings not included in the packet can be searched for by the student, or, provided by the
instructor if not found.
Grading and Assignments (Specific guidelines will be provided)
Attendance and Thoughtful Participation in Class 15% (5%
attendance; 10% participation)
Written Responses to Readings (1-2 pp each) 20%
2 Short Papers (Critical Comparisons of Perspectives,(4-5 pp
each) 40% (20% each)
Final Paper (a Research Proposal based on the readings 12-15
pp) 25%
Attendance and Participation:
Attendance will be taken. A drop in grade will occur for unexcused absences, meaning: absences that
are not explained in writing either before class or after. In class, you must be prepared to discuss
readings and participate in critical discussions; participation is not simply about showing up, but about
being an active, thoughtful, respectful, and collaborative member of the class. Blackboard discussions
can prompt, complement, counter, and augment in-class participation. Office hours can also contribute
to participation.
Format of Written Work
In the upper left corner, include your name, course name, date, assignment heading. All work must be
typed and double spaced with numbered pages; multiple pages should be stapled; double sided- printing
is welcomed, environmentally. Follow a formal writing style manual for guidelines on citations,
quotations, etc., and specify which style manual you use in your reference list in all writing. Make sure
you edit/proof your paper before submitting it via paper copy in class as well as Blackboard discussion
board—Blackboard submission alone is insufficient, you must bring a paper copy to class on the day the
reading response is due. Your grade will be partly based on your ability to follow the norms and
conventions of writing using Standard Written English styles and conventions.
Academic Plagiarism & Dishonesty
Plagiarism/cheating is not tolerated and will result in failure. Consult University rules and guidelines
regarding this serious breach of ethics. Note that
turning in the same or similar papers to this and/or another course without first discussing it with the
instructor(s) is considered plagiarism; in this class, doing this will result in failing the assignment.
Evaluation of Work
A= Excellent
Outstanding work in all respects. This work demonstrates comprehensive and solid understanding
of course material, and presents thoughtful interpretations, well-focused and original insights, and
well-reasoned commentary and analysis. Includes skillful use of source material, illuminating
examples and illustrations, and fluent verbal/written expression. “A” work is coherent, fluent, and
thorough and shows some creative flair.
B= Good
This work demonstrates a complete and accurate understanding of course material, presents a reasonable
degree of insight and broad level of analysis. Work reflects competence, but stays at general or
predictable level of understanding. Source material, along with examples and illustrations, are used
appropriately and articulation/writing is clear. “B” work is reasonable, clear, appropriate and complete.
C= Adequate/Fair
This work demonstrates understanding that covers most or some of the basics but which remains
superficial, incomplete, or expresses some important errors or weaknesses. Source material may be used
inadequately or inappropriately. The work may lack concrete, specific example and illustrations, and
articulation/writing may be vague or hard to follow.
D= Unsatisfactory
This work demonstrates a serious lack of understanding, and fails to express the most rudimentary
aspects of the course. Sources may be used entirely inappropriately or not at all. The work may be
inarticulate or extremely difficult to read.
F= Failed----Nothing submitted.
Plus (+) or minus (-) grades indicate your range with the aforementioned grades.
Schedule
Classes 1&2
Topic/Assignments Due
Overview and introduction/what are the issues?
Historical Analysis: the construction of the audience
Class 3 • Snyder, R.W. (1994) “The vaudeville circuit: A prehistory of the mass audience”. In
Ettema, J.S. & Charles Whitney, D. (Eds) Audiencemaking: how the media create the audience.
Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp.215-231. [Recommended for Classes 3,4, & 5: Butsch, R. (2000).
“Colonial theater, privileged audiences.” The making of American audiences: From stage to
television, 1750-1990. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 20-31.]
Class 4 • Butsch, R. (2000) “Storefronts to theaters: seeking the middle class” The making of
American audiences: From stage to television, 1750-1990. New York: Cambridge University Press,
pp.158-172.
Class 5 •Siefert, M. (1994) “The audience at home: the early recording industry and the marketing of
musical taste.” In Ettema, J.S. & Charles Whitney, D. (Eds) Audiencemaking: how the media create the
audience. Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 186-214.
Class 6
Critical Theory: intellectual responses to audience construction
• Gandy, O. (1990). “Tracking the audience.” In Downing, J. (Ed) Questioning the media – A
critical introduction. Newbury Park: Sage..pp. 166-179
[Recommended: Horkheimer, M. & T. Adorno (2002) “The culture industry: Enlightenment as mass
deception.” In Dialectic of enlightenment. Stanford: Stanford University Press.pp.94-136.]
Academic Positivist Research: studies of effects and uses & gratifications
Looking at short term effects
Class 7 • Blumer, H. (1933). “Adolescents and Imitation” In Movies and Conduct. New York: The
MacMillan Company, pp. 141-213, Chapter 3.
[Recommended: Klapper, Joseph T. (1966) "What We Know about the Effects of Mass Communication:
The Brink of Hope" in Smith, A.G. (Ed.), Communication and Culture, New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston, pp. 535-551, Ch. 49]
Looking at long term effects
Class 8 • Gerbner, G,; Gross, L.; Morgan, M. and Signorielli, N. (1987) "Charting the
Mainstream: Television's Contributions to Political Orientations", in Lazere, D. (Ed.), American
Media and Mass Culture: Left Perspectives. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp.
441-464.
[Recommended: Gerbner, G. et al (1986). “Living with television: The dynamics of the cultivation
process.” In Bryant, J. & Zillman, D. (Eds) Perspectives on media effects. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum, pp.17-39.]
Looking at individual uses
Class 9 • Comstock, G.; Chaffee, S.; Katzman, N.; McCombs, M. and Roberts, D. (1978) "Living With
Television" in Television and Human Behavior. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 141-172, Ch.
4. [other chapters recommended]
Class 10
Review/prep for paper
Class 11
Paper #1 Due
Cultural studies: considering contexts, identities, genres, and lived experience
Changing paradigms, grounded studies
Class 12 •Seiter, E. (1999) “Qualitative Audience Research” In Television and new media audiences.
Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, pp. 9-33.
[Recommended: Hall, S. (2003). Encoding/decoding. In Nightingale, V. & Ross, K. (Eds) Critical
readings: Media and audiences. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press, pp.51-64.]
Situating audiences in everyday life
Class 13 •Radway, J. (1991) “Interpretive Communities and Variable Literacies” In Mukerji, C &
Schudson, M. (Eds.), Rethinking Popular Culture : contemporary perspectives in cultural studies .
Berkeley: University of California Press, pp.465-486.
[Recommended: Morley, D. (1992) “The gendered framework of family viewing” In Television,
Audiences & Cultural Studies, London, UK: Routledge, pp. 139-158.]
Class 14 •Gillespie, M. (1995) "Coming of Age in Southall: TV News Talk." In Television, Ethnicity
and Cultural Change, London: Routledge. (Introduction and other chapters recommended)
[Recommended: McMillin, D. (2007) “Grounding Theory: Audiences and Subjective Agency” In
International Media Studies. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, pp.134-178. & also McMillin, Divya. Mediated
Identities: Youth, Agency, & Globalization. NY: Peter Lang, 2009.]
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Class 15 • Bird, S. E. (2003) “Imagining Indians” in The Audience in Everyday Life: Living in a
Media World, NY: Routledge, pp. 1-20; pp. 86-117; Chapter 4.
[Recommended: Means Coleman, R. African American viewers and the Black situation comedy : situating
racial humor. New York : Garland Pub., 1998.]
Class 16 •Lembo, R. (1997) "Beyond the Text: The Sociality of Image-Based Viewing Practices" In
Cultural Studies: A Research Volume, Vol. 2, JAI Press, Inc. pp. 237-264
[Recommended: Lewis, J. (2004) J. “The meaning of real life” In Murray, S & Ouellette, L. (Eds) Reality
TV: Remaking television culture. New York:
NYU Press, pp.288-302.]
Audiences living with Multiple Media/Convergent Contexts
Class 17 •Wilson, P. (2004) “Jamming Big Brother: Webcasting, audience intervention, and narrative
activism” In Murray, S. & Ouellette, L. (Eds) Reality TV: Remaking television culture. New York: NYU
Press, pp.323-343. (Other chapters rec.)
[Recommended: Murray, S. (1999) “Saving our so-called lives: Girl fandom, adolescent subjectivity and
My So-Called Life” In Kinder, M. (Ed) Kids’media culture. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, pp.221235.]
Class 18
Review/prep for paper
Class 19
Paper #2 Due
Changing Audiences, Expanding
Contexts
Class 20 • Ito, Mizuko, et.al. “Introduction,” “Project Overview,” and “Project Descriptions” in
Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010. (Other chapters recommended)
Class 21 •Seiter, E. (2005) “Children’s Use of Computers at Home and School” & “Children, Politics,
and the Internet.” In The Internet Playground: Children’s Access, Entertainment, and Mis-Education.
NY: Peter Lang, pp. 1- 62 (Other chapters recommended).
Class 22 •Khalili, Laleh. (2005) “Virtual Nation: Palestinian Cyberculture in Lebanese Camps.” In R.
L. Stein and T. Swedenburg, (Eds). Palestine, Israel, and the Politics of Popular Culture. Durham,
SC: Duke University Press, pp.. Class 23 •McMillin, D. (2005)“Teen Crossings: Emerging
Cyberpublics in India.” In S. Mazarella (Ed.) Girl Wide Web: Girls, the Internet, and the Negotiation
of Identity. NY: Peter Lang, pp. 161-178.
[Recommendations for Classes 20-23:
See this link to a series of edited books on young people and new media published 2008, available online:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/browse/browse.asp?btype=6&serid=170
- Clark, L. S. (2005) “The Constant Contact Generation: Exploring Teen Friendship Networks Online.”
In S. Mazarella (Ed.) Girl Wide Web: Girls, the
Internet, and the Negotiation of Identity. NY: Peter Lang, pp. 203-221.
Clark, Lynn Schofield. (2003) “Challenges of Social Good in the World of Grand Theft Auto and Barbie:
a case study of a community computer center for
youth.” New Media and Society, Vol. 5, No1, pp. 95-116,
-Clark, Lynn Schofield. (1999) “Dating on the Net: Teens and the Rise of “Pure” Relationships.” In
Jones, S (Ed.). Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer
Mediated Communication and Community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 159-183.
-Everrett, A. & Watkins, S.C. The Power of Play: The Portrayal and Performance of Race in Video
Games. In K. Salen (Ed.) The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008.
-Holloway, Sarah.L. & Gill Valentine. (2003) Cyberkids. London, UK: Routledge.
-Jenkins, Henry. (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. NY: New York
University Press.
-Kafai, Yasmin. (1999) “Video Game Designs by Girls and Boys: Variability and Consistency of Gender
Differences.” In Kinder, M. (Ed.) Kids¿ Media
Culture. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
-Mazarella, Sharon (Ed.) (2005) Girl Wide Web: Girls, the Internet, and the Negotiation of Identity. NY:
Peter Lang..
-Sefton-Green, (1998) Julian. “Digital Visions: Children's 'Creative' Uses of Multimedia Technologies”.
In Digital Diversions: Youth Culture in the Age of
Multimedia, London: UCL Press/Taylor and Francis Group.
-Stern, Susannah. (2002) “Sexual Selves on the World Wide Web: Adolescent Girls¿ Home Pages as
Sites for Sexual Self Expression.” in Brown, J.D., Steele, J.R., & Walsh-Childers, K. (Eds.) Sexual
Teens, Sexual Media: Investigating Media Influence on Adolescent Sexuality., Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
-Tobin, Joseph. (1998) “An American Otaku (or, A Boy¿s Virtual Life on the Net).” In Sefton-Green, J.
(Ed.) Digital Diversions: Youth Culture in the Age of Multimedia, London: UCL Press/Taylor and
Francis Group.
-Turkle, Sherry. The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit, NY: Touchstone/Simon and Schuster,
1984.]
-Vered, Karen Orr. (2001) “Intermediary Space and media competency: Children’s media play in “Out of
School Hours Care facilities in Australia.”
Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press. Vol.
1, No. 2, May.
-Vered, Karen Orr. (1998) “Blue Group Boys Play Incredible Machine, Girls Play Hopscotch: Social
Discourse and Gendered Play at the Computer.” in
Sefton-Greene, J. (Ed.), Digital Diversions: Youth Culture in the Age of Multimedia, London: UCL
Press/Taylor and Francis Group
-Weber, Sandra & Mitchell, Claudia. (2008) Imaging, Keyboarding, and Posting Identities:
Young People and NewMedia Technologies. In D. Buckingham (ed.) Youth, Identity, and
Digital Media, Cambridge, MA: the MIT Press.
Class 24
Overview and Discussion of Final Paper Assignment
Class 25
Proposal Outline for Final Paper Assignment
Class 26
Feedback on Final Paper Outline
Class 27
tba
Final Paper and Writing Portfolio Due (TBA, MCC office)
Please organize your portfolio to guide my review. It should include ALL writing you have accomplished
for this class (Reading Responses, Short Papers
1&2, Final Paper, Extra Credit…). But NO BINDERS OR HEAVY FOLDERS, I have to carry all these
things home; keep it light. And don’t waste precious earthly resources; so NO PLASTIC--use
biodegradable/recyclable materials. Printing both sides of paper is GREAT if you can manage it.
Indeed, it is best if you hand in the copies of responses and papers you already handed in that have my
comments on them, so that what your portfolio contains is a track record of your work and my feedback.
This way, both you and I can trace your LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT throughout the course. If you
want to get your portfolio back before the next semester, submit a self-addressed envelope big enough to
accommodate the portfolio; otherwise, you can contact me next semester to get it back in person or via
the front desk.