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COMMUNICATIONS 1500 COURSE SYLLABUS

Understanding Mass Media (3 units)
Fall 2015
Instructor: Brad Van Alstyne

Office: Angelico 119

Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 8:00am-9:00am or by appointment..
Phone: office 415-485-3293, cell 415-203-4905
E-mail: bradley.vanalstyne@dominican.edu

Note: this syllabus is subject to change during the semester. If any changes are made,
students will be notified.
Survey course designed to examine the role of print and electronic media in
dissemination of information to present an overview of the various fields that make up
the study of human communication. This study reveals how a wide spectrum of media
influences, shapes and presents how we see the world and how our world is in turn
shaped by the types of media we use. Topics include the various types of mass media,
role of mass media in manipulating political elections, freedom of speech, how media
sways how one thinks, and the responsibility each individual has in filtering mass media.
Fall Semesters.
Program student learning outcomes
Students will
1. Apply and evaluate communication research methods at the
introductory level.
2. Write clearly, accurately and effectively in genres appropriate for the
intended audience.
3. Synthesize information to support a cogent oral argument suitable to
the topic, purpose and audience.
4. Critically evaluate a communication text or artifact
5. Create media that brings academic knowledge and skills into practice
6. Make moral arguments that demonstrate awareness of and
sensitivity to differing values and ethical perspectives.

7. Apply current tools and technologies appropriate for communication

professions.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will be able to name and the various forms of electronic
and print media as well as the goals and focus of each.
2. Students will be able to state and define the various theories of
mass media and mass media consumption.
3. Students will demonstrate the ability to present two college level
speeches regarding the medias portrayal of a current event.
4. Students will demonstrate the ability to write two college level
papers regarding the medias portrayal of a current event.

Text: Mass Communication: living in a Media World, 4th Edition. Hanson, Ralph, E..
ISBN: 978-0-87289-484-6

Course Policies

Attendance: To get the most out of this course it is important that you attend
regularly for your own good as well as the good of your classmates. Not only
will you learn through experience but each one of you will also play an
important role in the growth of your classmates through feedback (verbal and
written) as well as group exercises and projects.

Participation: Your final grade will include a participation mark, which will
account for 10% (100pts) of your overall grade. This grade is based solely
on attendance. As this course is a very interactive experience, on the days
you are here I can guarantee that you will participate in some manner. If you
miss a class, you will lose your allotted participation points for that evening.
During most class sessions we will also do a variety of group exercises for
which you will also receive points towards your final grade. These exercises
may not be made up without a valid excuse or prior notice of your absence.
You will be allowed to make up one quiz.

Make up and late assignments: Each class session your assignment is late,
you will lose 5 points of the overall point value of that assignment. If you fail
to give a speech on the night you have been scheduled, your grade for that
speech will automatically drop 10% per night until it is given. You are allowed
to make up one quiz during the course of the semester.

References: it is essential that you cite any sources during the course of
verbal or written work that you have used in your research. For written work
MLA or APA is acceptable. Doing so will help you establish credibility both as
a speaker and as a writer and help you avoid plagiarism.

Academic Honesty Honor Code

Dominican University of California is rooted in the Dominican ideals of love of truth,
beauty, and the life of the mind, combined with a deep respect for the dignity and worth
of the individual. In the spirit of this philosophy, all members of the University
community have the responsibility to protect and maintain an academic climate in which
the fundamental freedom to learn and grow can be enjoyed by all its members.
Faculty, administration, staff, and students are expected to demonstrate standards of
conduct, personal honor, regard for the rights of others, and respect for order, which are
essential for good citizenship and appropriate to the pursuit of academic goals. In
becoming a member of this academic community, one accepts the right and responsibility
to abide by standards of intellectual integrity and standards for conduct. The Honor Code
depends upon the willingness of members of the campus community, individually and
collectively, to maintain and perpetuate standards of the Honor Code. When one becomes
aware of a violation of this principle, he/she is bound by honor to take some action.
He/she may report the violation, speak personally to the individual involved, or do
whatever is appropriate under the circumstances. If one stands by and does nothing, both
the spirit and the operation of the principle of honor are threatened.

Academic Honor
Dominican University of California is an academic community. All of our community
members are expected to abide by ethical standards both in their conduct and in their
exercise of responsibilities toward other members of the community. Students, faculty
members, administrators, and staff are expected to adopt standards of behavior that place
a high value on respecting the ideas of others. All intellectual accomplishments
examinations, papers, lectures, experiments, and other projects should adhere to the
highest standards of academic integrity and ethics.
The faculty, administration, and staff recognize their obligation to provide continuing
guidance as to what constitutes academic honesty and to promote procedures and
circumstances that will reinforce the principle of academic honor.
Fundamental to the principle of independent learning is the requirement of honesty and
integrity in the performance of academic assignments, both in the classroom and outside.
Students should avoid academic dishonesty in all of its forms, including plagiarism,
cheating, and other forms of academic misconduct.

The University reserves the right to determine, in any given instance, what action
constitutes a violation of academic honesty and integrity.
Please see the Dominican University of California Course Catalogue for the
specific policies and penalties regarding academic honesty.

Diversity Declaration
Dominican University of California declares that its commitment to diversity and the
fulfillment of its educational mission is best achieved when every member of the
University community upholds in thought, word, and deed:
"E Pluribus Unum; Ut Unum Sint* Two profound visions ? our American civic
tradition and our Catholic religious heritage ? inform Dominican University of
California?s commitment to the principle of pluralism and to the dream of a reconciled
community. Faithful to these birthrights, Dominican seeks to nurture attitudes and
behaviors that promote global awareness, inclusive sensibilities, and respect for the
dignity of each individual regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, age, socio-economic status, culture, political conviction, or disability ? all in
the light of the Truth that breathes forth love and in the hope of a common life that
transforms the world."

*Out of many, one; that all may be one?

Consistent with the above declaration and Dominican ideals, the University recommends
that every member of the community support and express his or her active commitment
to diversity utilizing the guiding principles stated below:

All members of the University community are collectively responsible for enabling and institutionalizing
diversity throughout the University
All members of the University community consider diversity constructively in all planning, policy, decisionmaking, procedural, academic and administrative operations throughout the University

All members of the University community refuse to accept any behavior or action that is diversity
intolerant, insensitive, and or discriminatory

All members of the University community promote an on-campus environment that values equity and
access of opportunity for all of its participants irrespective of background, nationality, culture, religion,
class, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, and disability

Course Assignments/Points

Media Analysis Critique/Presentations (2)

100pts

Media piece projects (book covers, front page newspapers, magazine ads)
200pts
Midterm

100pts

Final

100pts

Quizzes
Participation

300pts
100pts

Outside Projects (TBA)

In Class/Group Exercises

100pts
200pts

Papers (1 and 2)

100pts

Speech 1 and 2

100pts

Course Total

1400pts

Tentative Course Schedule

Week One: Intro to course, student introductions.
Week Two: Intro to Mass Media, group exercises.
Week Three: The print media, exercises.
Week Four: Recordings and movies.
Week Five: Radio and television.
Week Six, The web, midterm review
Week Seven: midterm.
Week Eight: Mass Messages: news, and public relations.
Week Nine: Mass Messages: advertising and media research.
Week Ten: Mass media issues: mass communication and media effects.
Week Eleven: Mass media issues: social and global effects, ethics.
Week Twelve: Mass media issues: visual messages, politics.
Week Thirteen: Human communication theory.
Week Fourteen: Business and communication, final review.
Week Fifteen: Business and communication continued, final

Papers:
Students will write a 3-5 double spaced paper in APA style on a current issue
within the mass media. All papers are required to have a bibliography of at
least 5 sources and the last page of the paper should be the transcript of an
interview of an individual currently working in the field who has an expertise
in the area the student has chosen to write about. Please see the attached
writing rubric for grading standards.

Speeches:
Both speeches will be informative in nature and focus on any aspect of mass
media. All speeches will be 4-6 minutes in length, require at least one visual
aid, one typed outline and 3-5 sources which must be cited during the
speech. Please see the attached speech rubric for grading standards.

Grading:
These are the standards used to evaluate the quality of papers, projects and participation.
Familiarize yourself with them so that you know precisely what is valued in your work.
"A" work Outstanding, exceptional work, demonstrating extra effort and going beyond
the basic requirements of the assignment. Responds to the assignment topic with concise
and comprehensive information that demonstrates critical and imaginative thinking about
the issues
Provides convincing supporting arguments, evidence, examples, and factual detail
Demonstrates a thorough familiarity with the subject and extensive research
Is clear, well organized, free of grammatical errors & clichs, and has correct
spelling throughout
"B" work Good, solid and competent work, fulfilling the requirements of the
assignment in terms of content and length
Responds to the topic and presents the facts logically with adequate supporting
evidence and research
Is somewhat imaginative in presentation and exhibits a good level of research of
the subject in discussion
Very few errors in grammar, spelling, and/or trite phrases
Addresses most of the issues required to answer the question or topic.
"C" work Fair, average work that meets the minimal requirements of the assignment in
terms of content and length, but is in lacking in some important respect
Shows that some effort was put forth toward responding to the topic and
organizing your presentation logically
Demonstrates some if perhaps limited evidence of research and effective
argument
Has no major errors of fact
More than a few grammatical or spelling errors
May overlook some of the pertinent issues about the topic

"D" work Below average work that exhibits marginal effort, with serious shortcomings
in terms of content, organization and/or length
Manages to address only a few of the issues concerning the topic
Clear inadequacies in research, organization and/or logical thinking
Many errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, or facts
Reads like an unedited first draft of a paper
"F" work Poor, completely inadequate work in terms of content, research and/or
length
Fails to address the subject or topic
Little or no evidence of research doesnt go beyond personal opinion
Serious lack of organization or logical thinking
Exhibits plagiarism or violates Dominican ethical standards
Rubric for Public Speaking
(100 points)

Students Name_____________________________________ Date _____________

Course name and number _________________________________ ______________

Assignment:

Instructor:

Circle one number (1-5) for each category. Add the total and divide by ten
for an average. A score of 1 is low, 3 is average and 5 is high. You may also
see these as 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D and 1=F.

Clarity

1
2
3
4

States the purpose clearly.

5
Content is organized
5
Incorporates stories and/or examples
5
Supports ideas
1

Summarizes the main idea(s)

5

2
2
1

3
3
2

4
4
3

5
5
4

2
1

3
2

4
3

5
4

2
1

3
2

4
3

5
4

2
1

3
2

4
3

5
4

Authority

1
2
3
4
5

Uses tone, speed and volume as tools. 1

Vocabulary is appropriate
1
Appears confident and comfortable
5
Uses eye contact
1
Proper speaking posture/gestures
5

Research

1
2
3
4
5

Research is thorough/accurate
Research is applicable
5
Sources are appropriate
Sources are cited correctly
5
Sources are cited clearly

Interview
1
2
3
4
5

Interviewee is appropriate
5
Interview questions are applicable
5
Interview is thorough
5
Interview questions are thoughtful
5
Responses are stated clearly
5

Rubric for Writing Assignments

(100 points)

Students Name_____________________________________ Date _____________

Course name and number _________________________________ ______________

Assignment:

Instructor:

Circle one number (1-5) for each category. Add the total and divide by ten
for an average. A score of 1 is low, 3 is average and 5 is high. You may also
see these as 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D and 1=F.

Clarity

Thesis is clearly stated

Content is organized
5
8 Incorporates stories and/or examples
5
9 Supports ideas
1
10 Summarizes the main idea(s)
5

2
1

3
2

4
3

5
4

1
1
1

2
2
2
1

3
3
3
2

4
4
4
3

5
5
5
4

Authority

Writes with authority/confidence.

5
7 Vocabulary is appropriate
8 Argument flows clearly
9 Uses personal experience
10 Arguments follow logically
5
Research

Research is thorough/accurate

Research is applicable
5
8 Sources are appropriate
9 Sources are cited correctly
5
10 Sources are cited clearly

2
1

3
2

4
3

5
4

Interview
6

Interviewee is appropriate
5
7 Interview questions are applicable
5
8 Interview is thorough
5
9 Interview questions are thoughtful
5
10 Responses are stated clearly
5