ASSIGNMENTS

Late Assignments:  
As a general rule, late assignments will NOT be accepted.  Exceptions may be made in extraordinary circumstances and when there is an excused absence. (See Syllabus.) Assignments submitted in a timely manner via email will be accepted if a hard-copy is also subsequently submitted. 

Written Assignments: 
All written out-of-class assignments are to be done in a standard font, double spaced, and with one inch margins. Any stated length requirements (which are not sacrosanct) are for the primary text itself.  Use footnotes or endnotes to cite the sources of materials used when applicable. 

Miscellaneous Assignments:
In addition to various graded assignments that will be announced in class or via email, students are responsible for the following which will each comprise 5% of the final course grade:

I.  Watch one of the listed movies or an approved alternative.  Write a 2 page paper briefly describing the movie and state what the movie - implicitly and/or explicitly - tells us about media.  Be prepared to make an oral presentation to the class regarding this. The paper is due by November 18^th (the Wednesday prior to Fall Recess).

II.  Engage in a significant campus or community activity which would realize the University-Wide Learning Outcome of Practicing Citizenship. (See Course Objectives.)  Submit a 1 page paper which describes the fundamental facts (who, what, when, where) of the activity and clearly states how it realized the University-Wide Learning Outcome goal of Practicing Citizenship, i.e., how it applied one of the listed principles and a service-oriented commitment to advance or sustain local or global communities.  The activity should impact people outside your own immediate social network (sorority, dorm, church, etc.).

The paper must be submitted within 1 week of the underlying activity and is due at the latest by October 30^th.

Submissions that do not strictly adhere to these instructions will be given no credit!

III.  Participation in the CIRP survey distributed by the Core.

Paper Assignment:
The U.S. has one of the freest presses in the world, i.e., it is a press that operates with little or no governmental control.  Despite this, many critics maintain that frequently the actual content of the news that emanates from the U.S. commercial media differs little from what one would expect from a state-controlled media.  Using materials developed and/or assigned in this class, explain why this may be true. 

Note that while you should identify the forces or factors that would contribute to the critic’s alleged result, you are not being asked to argue whether or not the critics are correct. The paper, in other words, is to be purely speculative and theoretical.  Note also that sources other than those used in class are not to be used.

Although not required, it is STRONGLY suggested that students meet with me individually during office hours after completing an initial outline in order to ensure that the assigned topic is being addressed appropriately.  Note, however, that I will not confer with students on this matter anytime within 1 week of the paper's due date.

The final paper should be approximately 5-6 pages in length. It is due by the end of class on December 4, 2009.