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INSTRUCTOR: |
Michael Korolenko |
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PHONE: |
425-564-4109 |
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OFFICE HOURS: |
by appointment |
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TEXTBOOKS: |
PERSUASION - Reception and Responsibility AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH |
COURSE
DESCRIPTION:
This
course focuses on the technological and communicative techniques of film and
video that allow information to be targeted at specific individuals and groups,
to create opinions, generate sales, develop propaganda, and other goals of
media persuasion. It is the goals to: 1) increase student awareness of media
persuasion by examining a variety of historical and current media campaigns; 2)
demonstrate the techniques and technologies of media-based persuasion; 3) give
students the opportunity to test and validate persuasion techniques with simple
media presentations; and 4) assist in the development of critical analysis
skills as applied to the production of media messages. This will be
accomplished through online "lectures", discussions, written
assignments, and a variety of film and video clips.
THE ONLINE
COURSE
will be presented in the form of a museum or World’s Fair exhibit dealing
with the technology of persuasion and propaganda. Each area will contain
different forms of propaganda: print, television, etc. as well as the types of
propaganda and persuasion we face in our technological society: political,
product-oriented, philosophically oriented, etc.
COURSE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon
completion of the class, the student will be able to:
1. define the
terms: media, persuasion, propaganda, technology application, symbol, metaphor,
"yellow journalism," editorial, sound bite, manipulation, soft sell,
motivation, instructional training, education, hands-on, virtual reality,
educational television, documentary film/video, docudrama, advertising,
infomercial.
2. list and
explain the significance of five or more historical examples of media
persuasion and propaganda between 1600 and 1990.
3. list and
discuss five or more criteria that are indicative of a media propaganda
campaign.
4. compare and
contrast the American political left and American political right in their
approaches to televised media messages from 1939 to the present.
5. explain the
development of the use of media by grass-roots organizations and trace the
impact of its use from 1960 to the present.
6. compare and
contrast the technology utilized in creating documentaries, instructional
videos, infomercials, local and network news programs, and subjective
propaganda messages.
7. compare and
contrast the persuasion techniques utilized in creating documentaries,
instructional videos, infomercials, local and network news programs, and
subjective propaganda messages, based on the source and destination of the
intended message.
8. list and
explain five or more symbols that have been used to persuade, sell, or
influence public opinion during the Twentieth Century.
9. analyze and
explain the role of audience analysis and goals and objectives in the
development of persuasion materials.
10.
list and explain the application of camera and model
placement, light and shadow, color, and editing techniques in media production
and explain their effect on the audience's point of view.
11.
list and explain five or more critical viewing skills that
allow a media consumer to analyze a video news broadcast for fairness and
objectivity.
12.
list and explain five or more critical viewing skills that
allow a media consumer to analyze a commercial, infomercial, or other
product-related media production for accuracy and truthfulness.
13.
list and explain five or more instructional tools utilized
in educational and industrial training film/video that can (or cannot) assist
in the persuasion and motivation of learners.
14.
analyze five or more applications of persuasion in the
"emerging technologies" and explain their possible effects on the
present and future users of these technologies.
15.
apply, as part of a production team, the techniques and
concepts presented in the class in production of persuasive ad campaign.
MAJOR
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Each student
will develop case studies which demonstrate their ability to analyze a
one-sided media campaign or advertisement and present both the pros and cons of
the issue, subject, or product that is presented.
2. Throughout the
course, there will also be a series of short essay assignments, some embedded
in the material available online.
3. To search out
a specific propagandistic site on the web and do a detailed critique noting
what types of persuasive techniques are utilized, who the site would appeal to,
etc.
4. Students are also required to put at least two postings on
the Bulletin Board each week: one being your opinion concerning the particular
week's material, the other being a response to a posting made by another member
of the class. If a student fails to meet this requirement, his or her grade will
drop a full grade point at the end of the quarter - in other words, if you earn
a "B+" and do not post to the BB at least twice a week, the grade you
receive will be a "C+".
GRADING
will be as follows: To figure out your grade, simply add your grades together
and divide by the number of assignments there are (for example: if there are
four assignments, you add the four grades together and divide the sum by four).
WEEKLY TOPICS
AND DISCUSSIONS:
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Week 1
INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW |
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Read chapters 1 and 2 in PERSUASION ASSIGNMENT FOR MID WEEK: Read chapters 5 and 6 in PERSUASION, chapter 9 in AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH. Research the variety of propaganda techniques utilized by the Allies and the Axis during World War II. |
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Week 1 Part II
- AMERICAN PROPAGANDA: LEFT AND RIGHT |
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Persuasion and the use
of symbols and metaphors ASSIGNMENT DUE ASSIGNMENT: Read chapter 12 in PERSUASION CASE STUDY 1 - TYPE A CONCISE OPINION PIECE ON "THE PROPAGANDA BATTLE" WAGED DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR - DUE SUNDAY BEGINNING WEEK 2. No more than 2 pages |
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Week 2 - MODERN
MEDIA AND PERSUASION |
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From McLuhan to the
Information Infrastructure ASSIGNMENT: Read chapters 10 and 11 in PERSUASION/ chapter 7 in
AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH - |
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Week 2 Part II
- FILM AND VIDEO TECHNIQUES |
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Editing to persuade
and/or inform (CASE STUDY 2 DUE) See
Calendar and Assignment page Write an essay on which one of the GUN CONTROL
articles in the Gallery is the most persuasive and why and which is the least
persuasive and why. |
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Week 3 - NEWS
AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE |
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The change in the newsroom: new rules, new
technologies |
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Week 4 -
EDUCATIONAL FILMS & VIDEOS: PERSUASION AS EDUCATION AND TRAINING |
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How does instructional
media really work? ASSIGNMENT: Read chapter 10 in AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH OPTIONAL - View "60 Minutes" segment on propaganda in schools ONE OPINION ESSAY DUE: Creationism vs. Evolution (see this Week's exhibits). Also - post on BB - do you think political correctness can be seen as a form of propaganda? Why or why not? |
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Week 4 Part II
- TEACHING AS AN AMUSING ACTIVITY |
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Educational technology today and in the future - Is it necessary for education to be "fun"? |
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Week 5 - THE
ART OF THE DOCUMENTARY |
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Brief history of the
documentary film/video ASSIGNMENT: Optional - View "THE WAR GAME" - on reserve at Library Media Center - also available in Seattle through Scarecrow Video CASE STUDY 3 WILL BE DUE SUNDAY Either View "The Atomic Cafe" (on reserve at the Library Media Center) or Research U.S. Atomic Policy for Civilians during the 1950s - Write and email a ONE PARAGRAPH OPINION PIECE ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU THINK OUR GOVERNMENT WAS ENGAGED IN PROPAGANDA CONCERNING ATOMIC POLICY/WHY OR WHY NOT OR WHETHER "THE WAR GAME" CAN BE VIEWED AS PROPAGANDA |
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Week 6 -
ADVERTISING: TURNING FANTASY INTO REALITY |
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Print advertising vs.
television advertising Read chapter 14 in
PERSUASION/chapter 11 in AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH - OPTIONAL - View
Bill Moyers' "Consuming Images" and tape on Advertisements FINAL CASE STUDY DUE |
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Week 7 - FINAL
QUOTE CHOSEN AND DISCUSSED |
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Review: Who was right - Orwell or Huxley? choose quotes from this week's material |
ESSAYS
When composing
your essays, remember that you will be graded on the following:
1) Organization/Focus: Do you provide a clear focus and point of view? Do your
ideas make sense, and are they logically presented? 2) Observations: Do you
have an interesting or original point of view? 3) Writing style: Read your
essay out loud. Does it flow well, or is it awkward to read? 4) Details: Are
there spelling or grammatical errors? 5) References: If you use statistical or
factual information, do you include your sources? These can be provided as an
online reference, Web link, or footnote.
HOW
PRESENTATIONS AND CASE STUDIES ARE GRADED:
20%
- Grammar and Spelling
20% - Look of the Piece
40% - Content and Understanding
20% - Organization
100% - TOTAL
ONLINE
ETIQUETTE
Just as in a
classroom, disruptions and impoliteness are not tolerated, neither will they be
tolerated within the confines of our online "classroom." Students are
to show respect towards each other and their instructor, which includes respect
and tolerance for each others ideas. Any sort of disrespect will, at the very
least, impact negatively on your class participation grade.
ADDITIONAL
REFERENCES:
Thirty Seconds
Michael Arlen, Penguin Books, Ltd.
The Glass Teat
Harlan Ellison, Ace Books
The Selling of
the President, 1968
Joe McGinnes, Pocket Books