CS206B: ‘Public Communication’
Winter 2016
Day/Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:50 pm
Room: Bricker Academic (BA) 112
Instructor: Dr. Herbert Pimlott
Office: Dr. Alvin Woods Building (DAWB), 3rd floor, Room 3-150
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 4:00 – 5:00 pm; Thursdays 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm;
or by appointment
Telephone: (519) 884-0710, ext. 2522
E-Mail: [email protected]
PLEASE NOTE: This course does not make use of My Learning Space (MLS) for
pedagogical reasons. It is your obligation to ensure that you are familiar with the
information contained in this syllabus.
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
‘Public Communication’ introduces students to key issues and themes that shape the
institutional and organisational production and distribution of political and commercial
messages. The course examines the texts, modes and institutions of public communication:
journalism and news; mass and alternative media; ideology and public opinion; art, culture
and the university; publicity and promotional culture; political parties, think tanks and
advocacy groups; corporations, unions and social movements.
ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION
The emphasis in the course helps us to move beyond the more conventional focus of
introductory Communication Studies courses, which have often limited themselves to the
study of ‘mass media’ or ‘mass communication’, terms that might no longer be as applicable
as they were in the past. So, for example, in this course we include the study of government,
political parties, corporations, and labour, student and social justice movements as
examples of organisations that engage in public communication. The focus on
communicating with publics has become increasingly vital to every group and institution,
no matter how ephemeral. The Occupy Wall Street movement is one such example that we
examine in this course.
Key Concepts
There are a number of key concepts that you are encouraged to keep track of from our
discussions, lectures, videos and readings, which include but are not limited to: Public(s);
Communication; Democracy; Public Sphere; ‘New Public’; Marketplace; Intellectual;
Rhetoric; Propaganda; Journalism; News; Advocacy; Public Relations; Ideology;
Advertising; Think Tank; Public Opinion; Opinion Poll; Sources; Publicity State.
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Objectives:
Through the successful completion of the course, you should have gained an understanding
of the:
• production and distribution of political and commercial messages for/to publics;
• role of journalists, advocates and intellectuals in producing such messages;
• role of media, organizations and institutions (e.g. news media, print, broadcast and
social media, government, business, labour, think tanks, movements) in producing
and circulating messages to influence publics;
• ideology and its circulation through political and commercial messages;
• role of journalism, public relations and advocacy communications in a democracy;
• basic structure and use of news releases and news stories;
• importance of language in public communication;
• rhetorical analysis.
COURSE READINGS
Please note that your readings average barely 40 pages per week, although for some
weeks there will be more reading, while other weeks will require less reading. However, it
is important to remember that some articles require more effort than others. It is best to
have an hour or two of uninterrupted time to read and think about what you are reading.
That is, you need to think about absorbing what you read and that is a very difficult thing to
do if you are constantly interrupting your reading to respond to text messages and so on.
Your readings are available via four (4) formats: (1) Custombook (CB/ENJ); (2) Publicity
and the Canadian State (Kozolanka); (3) Reserve Readings (RR/ARES); and (4)
Handouts.
(1) Custombook (CB) - Excerpts from The New Journalist (2014) Required CB for
course, which is available in the WLU Bookstore. There are two (2) editions of this CB and
the only difference between them is that the first edition has an extra chapter
(‘Interviewing in the Digital Age’ by Jennifer Wilson-Speedy) that is NOT being used in this
version of CS206. Both versions have been reduced to be the same price. You can use old or
second-hand versions (i.e. the first edition).
(2) Kirsten Kozolanka (ed.) Publicity and the Canadian State (2014): Six (6) required
chapters from Kirsten Kozolanka’s collection are available as Reserve Readings (ARES) in
the library, via the Laurier Bookstore OR via direct from the University of Toronto Press,
which offers discounts on paperbacks and e-book formats:
http://www.utppublishing.com/Publicity-and-the-Canadian-State-Critical-CommunicationsPerspectives.html. The retail price for the whole book is cheaper than the anticipated retail
price of the coursepack of just three (3) chapters.
(3) Reserve Readings (RR/ARES) - Although you can access a number of the Reserve
Readings (RR/ARES) via the electronic e-journal system of the PRIMO/TRELLIS system,
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which are indicated by the symbol (T), and all readings marked (RR/ARES) can be
accessed online via the University Library’s Course Reserves.
(4) Handouts - There will be additional handouts given out in class, from time to time,
that will also be part of your required reading and/or part of in-class assignments and/or
workshops.
PLEASE NOTE: It is your responsibility as a student in this course to ensure that you have
permitted yourself sufficient time to check out and read/make notes from any materials for
the assigned readings, and/or to arrange with someone in the class to collect handouts or
other materials that you miss.
ASSESSMENT
The following outline of assessments provide an overview of the different means of
assessment and students should be aware that, as the instructor for this course, I reserve
the right to request an oral examination of any student for any work that they submit in
completion of the requirements for this course.
For all students, you should take note of the services that are on offer to help you with your
studies. I have included a link to the Centre for Student Success with links to ‘Active
Listening’ and ‘Taking Notes’ (which, in turn, has useful links to other sites):
https://legacy.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=1866&p=12597 .
(1) Participation & Responses: 15%
(2) Assignment No.1 - Short: 10%
(3) Assignment No.2 - Rhetorical Analysis: 25%
(4) In-class Test: 15%
(5) Final Exam: 35%
1.) Participation & Responses: 15%
(a) Your ‘participation’ grade is based upon your active participation in in-class
assignments, discussions, presentations and workshops. A loss of possible marks will
depend upon whether you are late or attend for only part of the class; whether there is a
negative impact upon group work, workshops and/or general class dynamics, and/or poor
attitude to in-class work (e.g. lack of preparation); and/or poor attitude to your colleagues
in the classroom; and related types of behaviours and attitudes, including texting or
instant-messaging in class or using any kind of electronic device for any activity other than
taking notes.
Please note you are likely to lose marks for disruptive, disrespectful or impolite behaviour
in class whether towards your peers and/or the instructor (Please refer to website for
further information on WLU’s policy on ‘student conduct’ and on electronic devices.)
(b) Your ‘participation’ includes handing in ‘responses’ from in-class work.
You will be asked to hand in the work that you do during in-class workshops and
discussions, where you will be asked to answer questions and/or engage in other forms of
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group and class participation that requires written work. You will be expected to hand in
your sheet(s) of paper with your name on it to earn part of your participation grade by the
end of the course. THEREFORE, PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU BRING PEN/CIL AND PAPER
TO EVERY CLASS.
In this class, attempting to engage with the discussion and ideas, including demonstrating
knowledge from the assigned readings, on paper and in person will result in a full marks, if
you hand in your contribution at the end of the class. This provides the support for your
‘participation’ grade in the class. Also, if your written work, which is handed in at the end of
a class, shows no real attempt to apply your knowledge and/or to engage with the ideas
and discussion (based upon that week’s readings, workshops, videos and lectures), then it
will mean a loss of marks out of the total of 15%. Marks will also be lost where two or more
responses appear to be more or less plagiarized or copied verbatim.
PLEASE NOTE: You will need to provide proper official documentation for missing any
classes in order to avoid any possible loss of marks for your participation grade.
2.) Assignment No.1: Short (due: promptly at start of class, 04 February 2016): 10%
This assignment’s guidelines will be distributed in class the week before it is due and
students will have the opportunity to work on an example in a workshop during class one
week or so prior to the assignment’s due date. More information will be made available on
the date and explained in class.
3.) Assignment No.2: Rhetorical Analysis (due at start of class 10 March 2016): 25%
This assignment’s guidelines will be provided three weeks prior to its due date. Please note
that this assignment will be a rhetorical analysis of a choice of two or three texts provided
by the professor with the guidelines three weeks before it is due. The rhetorical analysis
will be discussed in class and the reading by Joan Leach (2000)** (see bibliography) on
‘rhetorical analysis’ is the primary reference for analyzing the text for this assignment. This
assignment should be between five (5) and six (6) pages of double-spaced, typed or wordprocessed copy, in 12 point font, with one-inch margins, at approximately 250 words per
page: around 1,200 to (a maximum of) 1,500 words.
4.) In-class Test: 15% (11 February 2016)
This will be a short in-class test held on the Thursday class in Week 6 (i.e. 11 February
2016). It will encompass all the material covered (including in-class videos and
workshops), including all the assigned readings for the class up to AND including the
readings for the week of the exam. It will consist of at least two (2) different types of
questions (e.g. short-answer; identification and definition). More information will be
provided in class.
5.) Final Exam (35%) (Date to be determined at some point on or between 7 and 23
April 2016)
The final exam (2.5 hours in length) is based upon a combination of different types of
questions, such as short answer, plus one (1) essay out of two (2) or three (3) essay
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question. More information will be provided in class. It is worth 35% of your total grade for
this course.
STANDARD POLICY ON LATE ASSIGNMENTS
Unless otherwise noted, all assignments handed in late without the appropriate verifiable,
official documentary justification, as per WLU policy, will have a penalty of 5% deducted from
the grade for every 24-hour period or portion thereof, including weekends and holidays.
No assignment will be accepted after 10 days. No comments will be provided on late
assignments.
E-MAIL ETIQUETTE
You are expected to be checking your official Laurier e-mail account at least twice (2) a
week for messages from this course’s instructor.
(1) I do not accept assignments via email.
(2) I do not respond to “lazy” questions (e.g. answers are already available on the syllabus
or elsewhere in the course material or on the university website).
(3) I do not respond to long questions about assignments or course material via email.
Please make an appointment to see me, if you cannot see me during my regular office
hours.
(4) Please allow at least 24-48 hours for a response to an e-mail question. This does not
include weekends or holidays.
(5) I will not respond to questions about an assignment less than 48 hours prior to that
assignment’s deadline.
(6) When you are sending an email, you must use your official, Laurier email account,
include the course name in the subject line (i.e. CS206B), and include your full name in
the email. Emails received from external accounts (gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc.) are
frequently identified as spam and deleted and, thus, never reach me.
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CS206B Weekly Reading Outline
Week 1
Introduction: Communication & Public(s)
Del Gandio (2008), **Leach (2000) and Searle (2004)
Week 2
Public / Sphere / Communication
Habermas (1974), Peters (2004) and Warner (2002)
05 & 07 January 2016
12 & 14 January 2016
Week 3
Journalism & News
19 & 21 January 2016
Benedetti (2014), Hermida (2014), Ingrams (2014) and Maclean (2014)
Week 4
Business & Labour News
26 & 28 January 2016
Gasher (2014), Horner (2011) and Martin (2003)
*Instructions for Assignment No.1 in-class: Thursday 04 February 2016
Week 5
The ‘New Public’
02 & 04 February 2016
Bernays (1928/2005), Mayhew (1997) and Nesbitt-Larking (2014)
*Assessment: Assignment No.1 Due: Thursday 04 February 2016
Week 6
Ideology
09 & 11 February 2016
Jones (2012) and Williams (2006)
*Assessment: In-Class Test Wednesday 11 February 2016
READING WEEK 15-19 February 2016
Week 7
Intellectuals, Journalists & Think Tanks
23 & 25 February 2016
Benedetti & Kierans (2014), Gutstein (2014) and Misztal (2012)
Week 8
Publicity, State, Communication
Fletcher (2014), Kozolanka (2014) and Rose (2014)
01 & 03 March 2016
Week 10
Advocacy, Media & Social Movements
Pimlott (2011), Radovac (2014) and Smith (2014)
15 & 17 March 2016
Week 9
Universities, Debt, Education
08 & 10 March 2016
Giroux (2013), Hearn (2011), Ross (2014) and Smelzer & Hearn (2015)
**Assessment: Assignment No.2 Due: Thursday 10 March 2016
Week 11
Social/Movement/New/Media
22 & 24 March 2016
Crawford (2009), DeLuca et al. (2012), Lynch (2014) and Srivastava (2014)
Week 12
Forward to the Past or ‘Back to the Future’? 29 & 31 March 2016
Barney (2014), Deseriis (2014) and Pickerill & Krinsky (2012)
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Bibliography
Barney, Darin (2014) ‘Publics without Politics: Surplus Publicity as Depoliticization’, in K.
Kozolanka (ed) Publicity and the Canadian State, Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
pp70-86. (RR/ARES)
Benedetti, Paul (2014) ‘Structure and Story Online’, in Excerpts from the New Journalist,
Custombook.
Benedetti, Paul and Kim Kierans (2014) ‘The Journalist as Critical Thinker’, in Excerpts from
the New Journalist, Custombook.
Bernays (1928/2005) ‘The New Propaganda’, and ‘The Mechanics of Propaganda’, in
Propaganda, New York: Ig Publishing, pp47‐57, 161‐168. (NOTE: If you are using a different
edition, check for the titles of the chapters here and ignore the page numbers.) (RR/ARES)
Crawford, Kate (2009) ‘Listening to Social Media’, Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural
Studies, 23(4): 525-535. (T) (RR/ARES)
Del Gandio, Jason (2008) ‘Public Speaking’ and ‘Writing’, Rhetoric for Radicals: A Handbook
for 21st Century Activists, Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers, pp38-55. (RR/ARES)
DeLuca, K., S. Lawson and Ye Sun (2012) ‘Occupy Wall Street on the Public Screens of Social
Media’, Communication, Culture & Critique, 5: 483-509. (T) (RR/ARES)
Deseriis, Marco (2014) ‘The People’s Mic as a Medium in Its Own Right: A Pharmacological
Reading’, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 11(1): 42-51. (T) (RR/ARES)
Fletcher, Frederick J. (2014) ‘Journalism, Corporate Media, and Democracy in the Digital
Era’, in K. Kozolanka (ed) Publicity and the Canadian State, Toronto: University of Toronto
Press, pp29-50. (RR/ARES)
Gasher, Mike ‘From the Business of Journalism to Journalism as Business: 1990 to the
Present’, in Excerpts from the New Journalist, Custombook.
Giroux, Henri (2013) ‘The Quebec Student Protest Movement in the Age of Neoliberal
Terror’, Social Identities, 19(5): 515-535. (T) (RR/ARES)
Gutstein, Donald (2014) ‘The War on Ideas: From Hayek to Harper’, in K. Kozolanka (ed)
Publicity and the Canadian State, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp93-111.
(RR/ARES)
Habermas, J. (1974) ‘The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article (1964)’, New German
Critique, 3: 49-55. (T) (RR/ARES)
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Hearn, A. (2010) ‘Through the Looking Glass: Promotional University 2.0’, in M. Aronczyk &
D. Powers (eds) Blowing Up the Brand, New York: Peter Lang, pp195-217. (RR/ARES)
Hermida, Alfred (2014) ‘New Challenges for Journalism in the 21st Century’, in Excerpts
from the New Journalist, Custombook.
Horner, J. R. (2011) ‘Clogged Systems and Toxic Assets: News metaphors, neoliberal
ideology, and the United States “Wall Street Bailout” of 2008’, Journal of Language and
Politics, 10(1): 29-49. (T) (RR/ARES)
Ingrams, Mathew (2014) ‘The Journalist and the Audience’, in Excerpts from the New
Journalist, Custombook.
Jones, Jeffrey P. (2012) ‘Fox News and the Performance of Ideology’, Cinema Journal, 51(4):
178-185. (T) (RR/ARES)
Kozolanka, Kirsten (2014) ‘In Whose Interest? Government Communication and Public
Accountability’, in K. Kozolanka (ed) Publicity and the Canadian State, Toronto: University
of Toronto Press, pp49-69. (RR/ARES)
**Leach, J. (2000) ‘Rhetorical Analysis’, in M. W. Bauer and G. Gaskell (eds) Qualitative
Researching with Text, Image and Sound, London & Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp207-225.
(RR/ARES)
Lynch, Lisa (2014) ‘Social Media’, in Excerpts from the New Journalist, Custombook.
MacLean, Rick (2014) ‘Reporting Basics: Accuracy, Precision, and Balance’, in Excerpts from
the New Journalist, Custombook.
Martin, C. R. (2003) ‘The 1997 United Parcel Service Strike: Framing the Story for Popular
Consumption’, Journal of Communication Inquiry, 27(2): 190-210. (T) (RR/ARES)
Mayhew, L. H. (1997) ‘The Emergence of the New Public: Advertising, Market Research and
Public Relations,’ in The New Public: Professional Communication and the Means of Social
Influence, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp189-208. (RR/ARES)
Misztal, Barbara A. (2012) ‘Public Intellectuals and Think Tanks: A Free Market in Ideas?’,
International Journal of Political and Cultural Sociology, 25: 127-141. (T) (RR/ARES)
Nesbitt, Paul (2014) ‘The Politics of Public Opinion’, in K. Kozolanka (ed) Publicity and the
Canadian State, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp112-131. (RR/ARES)
Peters, John Durham (2004) ‘The “Marketplace of Ideas”: History of the Concept’, in A.
Calabrese and C. Sparks (eds) Toward a Political Economy of Culture, Lanham, MD: Rowman
and Littlefield, pp65-82. (RR/ARES)
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Pickerill, J. and J. Krinsky (2012) ‘Why Does Occupy Matter?’, Social Movement Studies,
11(3-4): 279-287. (T) (RR/ARES)
Pimlott, H. (2011) “‘Eternal Ephemera’ or The Durability of ‘Disposable Literature’: The
Power and Persistence of Print in an Electronic World”, Media, Culture & Society, 33(4):
529-544. (T) (RR/ARES)
Radovac, Lilian (2014) ‘Mic Check: Occupy Wall Street and the Space of Audition’,
Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 11(1): 34-41. (T) (RR/ARES)
Rose, Jonathan (2014) ‘Taming the Untameable? Constraints and Limits on Government
Advertising’, in K. Kozolanka (ed) Publicity and the Canadian State, Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, pp134-153. (RR/ARES)
Ross, Andrew (2014) ‘You are Not a Loan: A Debtors Movement’, Culture Unbound, 6: 179188. (T) (RR/ARES)
Searle, John R. (2004) ‘Social Ontology and Free Speech (1)’, The Hedgehog Review, 6(3):
55-66. (T) (RR/ARES)
Smelzer, Sandra and Alison Hearn (2015) “Student Rights in an Age of Austerity? ‘Security’,
Freedom of Expression and the Neoliberal University”, Social Movement Studies, 14(3):
352–358. (T) (RR/ARES)
Smith, Miriam (2014) ‘The Role of Social Movements and Interest Groups’, in K. Kozolanka
(ed) Publicity and the Canadian State, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp262-280.
(RR/ARES)
Srivastava, Vinita (2014) ‘Blog to the Future: Telling Digital Stories in the Post-9/11
Decade’, in Excerpts from the New Journalist, Custombook.
Warner, M. (2002) ‘Publics and Counterpublics (abbreviated version)’, Quarterly Journal of
Speech, 88(4): 413-425. (T) (RR/ARES)
Williams, Jeffrey (2006) ‘Debt Education’, Dissent, 53(3): 53-59. (T) (RR/ARES)
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Notes
1.
Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier's Accessible Learning Office
for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the Calendar
for information regarding all services available on campus.
2.
Students are expected to be aware of and abide by University regulations and policies, as outlined in
the current Undergraduate and Graduate Calendar.
3.
Students must reserve the examination period as stated in the Undergraduate Calendar under Academic
Dates. If you are considering registering for a special examination or event, you should select a time
outside the examination period. Consult with the Undergraduate Calendar for special circumstances
for examination deferral.
(Applicable to Undergraduate students only.)
4.
The penalties for plagiarism or any form of academic misconduct are severe and enforced at all times.
The Student Code of Conduct and Discipline, and the procedures for investigating and determining
appropriate disciplinary measures for breaches of the Code are given in the current Undergraduate and
Graduate Calendar.
Please note: submitting the same work to two different courses, or to different sections of the same
course, is academic misconduct and will be addressed according to the procedures outlined in the
Undergraduate and Graduate Calendar. Students who are repeating a course are not permitted to re-use
essays or assignments from the previous course.
Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for plagiarism. Students may be required to
submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked for plagiarism.
5.
Students are to adhere to the Principles in the Use of Information Technology. These Principles and
resulting actions for breaches are stated in the current Undergraduate and Graduate Calendar.
6.
Students' names may be divulged in the classroom, both orally and in written form, to other members
of the class. Students who are concerned about such disclosures should contact the course instructor to
identify whether there are any possible alternatives to such disclosures. Additional information on the
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act at Laurier is available at the Privacy
Coordinator Office.