2009 Summer Session Course Listings
Note: Northwestern day school students need permission from the dean of their school to enroll in School of Continuing Studies courses. SCS courses are indicated by a -CN after the course number (example: ACCOUNT 204-CN Sec. 28). The majority of Summer Session courses do not need dean approval.
American Studies
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
AMER ST 310-0 Sec. 26 
Cancelled
Studies in American Culture: Bad News
6 weeks,
EVAN,
6/23 - 7/30
TuTh 6:30 - 9pm
Lawrence Stuelpnagel
This course will be held in Kresge Hall room 4435.
Bad News. That is what Americans and the news industry are experiencing as a result of the corporate media mergers that took place in the closing years of the last century. Today six major companies control much of what people read, hear and see: AOL-Time Warner, General Electric, Walt Disney, News Corporation, Viacom/CBS, and Bertelsman. Now, the pressure for profit from Wall Street has led to cutbacks in the size of the firm's news divisions and a softening of the types of news that people see on television. These changes have not improved the viability of the industry; rather newspapers like The Chicago Tribune have filed for bankruptcy and others have been on the sales block for months. This course begins with an examination of the monetary forces that are driving the industry away from its primary mission of information. We will examine whether the drive for increasing profits is at the expense of both the quality and quantity of news that appear on television and radio, newspapers and magazines, and the Internet. The ever-diminishing number of news providers is also threatening democracy by limiting the number of voices that can be heard in our society.We will examine the impact of these mergers on several areas of news coverage and public discussion:1.Privacy and scandal, particularly the stories about President Bill Clinton. 2. The transformation of war coverage from Vietnam to the new Gulf War. 3. Race. We will examine how the press has covered the issue of race in America and how the press deals with the issue in its own newsrooms.4. Politics. Reporting of scandals and personality has replaced critical evaluations of policy. We will examine the phenomenon through the lens of the 2000 and 2004 presidential races.5. Internet Impact. How the Internet is changing the news and the promise and peril of it.Evaluation: Your grade will be determined in the following way; 25% for an OP-Ed piece on a subject of your choice that is germane to the class and approved by the professor; 35% for a 10-15 page term paper; 25% take home examination; 15% class participation. No P/N. I do not grant extensions for any written assignments. They are due at the beginning of the class as noted on the syllabus. Failure to make the deadline will result in a lower grade for that assignment.
Indicates an Evening Course.
Indicates a Study Abroad Course.
|
|
