Wednesday , March 27 2024

Syllabus for Journalism & Media Studies Courses: Communication and Society (CMS 302)

 

With the unbundling of Mass Communication programme in Nigeria, the face of communication education in the country has changed. The programme has transited into a full college/faculty while individual courses have adapted to the change. While several new courses now exist in the seven new departments, some of the courses you used to know before have also taken a new shape. We have done a thorough research on what these courses offer in universities across the world; and we have provided prototype syllabus for students to study ahead. This is also to assist lecturers who might be facing new challenges with several new courses to have an idea of what the syllabus of each course offers.

 

COURSE COMPACT

Faculty: Communication and Media Studies                                            Department: Journalism & Media Studies

Course Code: CMS 302                                          Unit(s): 2                      Semester: Second

Course Title: Communication and Society

Lecturer:                                                       Programme: B.Sc.

 

(A). BRIEF OVERVIEW OF COURSE

This course is designed to examine the media of communication as social institutions with particular attention to pertinent sociological concepts, themes and problems. It further explores the role of the mass media and their relationship with other major social institutions they in the society. The course focuses on the sociology and professionalism of media communicators, media contents and the issue of cultural imperialism and media dependency. Students will be exposed to the internal dynamics and control of media organizations, including mass communication politics. They will also learn the role of communication in development. This course will enhance students’ understanding of and exposure to dynamics of media technologies, including their implications for individuals, institutions, and society. At the completion of this course, students would have learned basic technical and information literacy skills through hands-on experience with new media technologies. This includes critical thinking and analysis of the impact of media technologies, and  how technologies are meaningful to communication and communicative behavior

(B). COURSE OBJECTIVES/GOALS

By the end of this course, students will have learned:

  1. Meaning of key concepts such communication, society, social institutions, mass media etc.
  2. Sociological concepts, themes and problem in relation to communication and society
  3. Mass media roles in the society
  4. Relationship between mass media and social institutions in the society
  5. Issues of cultural and media dependency
  6. Internal dynamics and control of media organizations in the society
  7. Role of communication in development
  8. Power relationships in the society within the context of mass communication
  9. Dynamics of media technologies, including their implications for individuals, institutions, and society
  10. Basic technical and information literacy skills through hands-on experience with new media technologies;
  11. Critical thinking and analysis of the impact of media technologies, and how technologies are meaningful to communication and communicative behavior

(C). METHOD OF LECTURE DELIVERY

  1. Lectures
  2. Quizzes
  3. Assignments
  4. Practical Classroom Sessions

(D). COURSE OUTLINE

1. Introduction

Meaning of key concepts – communication, mass media, society, communication and culture, media literacy).

Course overview

2. Communication and The Information Society

Meaning of Information Literacy

History of Technology and Information

Information Overload

Communication and Information Infrastructures

History of the Internet

Future of the Internet

Digital Divides

3. Media Literacy

What is media literacy?

What is media education?

Importance of media literacy

Media literacy

Key concepts for understanding media literacy (media are constructions, audiences negotiate meanings, media have commercial, social, and political implications, each medium has a unique aesthetic form)

4. Factors influencing media literacy

Environmental factors (i.e. media availability and media literacy context)

Individual competences (i.e. personal competences)

Social competences (interactions with others)

Gender (male/female)

Timing of media exposure (morning/noon/evening/night)

Area (where audience reside)

Diversification of media use (access and use of various media)

Frequency of media use (how often you use the media);

Media education (learning about media literacy)

5. Concepts, Models, and Theories of Human Communication and the Mass Media

Normative Theories of the press -Authoritarian, Soviet-communist, Social responsibility, Libertarian, Democratic-Participant & Development media theories
Globalization
Global Village

Cultural Imperialism
Technological Determinism
Social Shaping of Technology
Agenda Setting
Gatekeeping
Framing
Public Sphere
Hegemony
Social Learning
Cultivation- Mainstreaming and Synchronization
Aggressive Cues
Carthasis
Propaganda
Dependency
Spiral of Silence
World Systems
Structural Imperialism

6. Role of Communication and the Media in Development of Culture and Society

Conceptualizing key terms (communication, media, development, culture, society)

Evolution of the media
Role of communication and the media in the society

How the media facilitate development of culture and society

Mass media in socialization

Social Inequality and Media Representation
Media content and the real world
Race and media content
Gender and media- workings of communication in creating gender roles and identity in society
Class and the media

7. New Media & Society

Concept of New Media

Kinds of New Media

Internet and society
Social Media and society

Citizen Journalism and society

New media, professionalism and journalism practice

8. Media Effects

Concept of media effects

Understand theories and research about media effects
How media consumption routines affect thinking and behavior

The debate over media effects

Media effects theories
Framing media representations as everyday communication
Issues in Media Effects (violence, identity development, socialization, crime, violence, substance abuse, sexual attitudes and behaviors, marginalization of minority groups, and pathological health practices and other anti-social behaviors).
Images created by the media about the world (race, gender, various continents, ethnic backgrounds, etc.)

9. Class activities and Assignments

 

(E). RECOMMENDED TEXTS

Sparks, G. (2013). Media Effects Research: A Basic Overview, Fourth edition. Boston, USA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Dominick, J. (2012). Dynamics of Mass Communication, 12th Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.

Nwabueze, C. (2014). Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Ecology in the Digital Age. Owerri: Top Shelve.

(E). IMPORTANT LINKS

What is information literacy (by philau.edu)

What is information literacy (by madisoncollege.edu)

What is media literacy, and why is it important?

Media literacy Fundamentals

Importance of Media literacy, and Key Concepts of Media Literacy

Factors affecting media literacy in early teenagers

Geographic media Literacy

 

READ ALSO: Syllabus for Journalism & Media Studies Courses: Intro to Communication I (CMS 101)

READ ALSO: Syllabus for Journalism & Media Studies Courses: Introduction To Communication II (CMS 102)

READ ALSO: Syllabus for Journalism & Media Studies Courses: History of Nigerian Media (CMS 103)

READ ALSO: Syllabus for Journalism & Media Studies Courses: Traditional African Communication Systems (CMS 105)

READ ALSO: Syllabus for Journalism & Media Studies Courses: Editing & Graphics of Communication (CMS 203)

READ ALSO: Syllabus for Journalism & Media Studies Courses: Foundations of Communication Research (CMS 205)

READ ALSO:Syllabus for Journalism & Media Studies Courses: Media Ethics (CMS 402)

About Chinenye Nwabueze

Nwabueze is a writer with passion for cutting-edge news

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