Graham Law, SILS, Waseda University, Spring 2022
(1) Course Content
With the rapid development of the internet from the turn
of the twenty-first century, today we are living through a
period of major change in media systems. This course will
focus not only on the internet revolution itself but also
on three earlier periods of media transition in the modern
era following the industrial revolution of the late
eighteenth century: the periodical revolution of the
mid-nineteenth century; the phonograph and cinema
revolution from the turn of the twentieth century; and the
broadcasting revolution of the mid-twentieth century. We
will consider not only the technological developments
driving such changes but also the sociological causes
underlying them. Two very different but equally seminal
modern thinkers about media history, Marshall McLuhan and
Jürgen Habermas, will be referred to throughout to help
create an intellectual framework for the course in
general. In addition, while studying each of the four
phases of transition in the modern media, we will attend
to the debates that they aroused in contemporary society.
Based on the instructor's area of expertise, the specific
case studies undertaken will most often be taken from the
British media, but with reference also to Japan, France,
the United States, and other industrial nations, thus
giving a comparative dimension to the course.
(2)
Course Materials
There is no single course text book. Reading and study
materials can be downloaded from the Syllabus table below.
Copies are also available via the Waseda Moodle system.
(3) Course Methods
This class will be conducted entirely in English. Although
the class may be quite large, and probably have to be
conducted in hybrid style (at once face-to-face and
online) I will try to make it as interactive as possible.
Please try to participate actively: attendance, whether in
person or via Zoom will be registered. Unless the
Covid situation changes for the worse, students based in
and around Tokyo are expected to attend the class
regularly in person, unless they have a good reason not to
do so and have the understanding of the instructor.
The two sessions in the first week of classes will be used
for Student Orientation concerning both the Course
Contents and Course Methods. In principle, the same
material will be offered twice. The Tuesday session (April
5th) will be mainly aimed at students taking the class in
person, while the Friday session (April 8th) will be
mainly aimed at students not resident in or around Tokyo,
who will access the class sessions online via Zoom. There
is no need to attend both sessions.
From the second week, the first of the two weekly classes
(on Tuesday) will focus mainly on the material in the
Powerpoint, with the time divided between lecture and
Q&A/group discussion. The second weekly class (on
Friday) will give a good deal of time to the Case Study
material, again with plenty of time for questions and
discussion in groups. The weekly Reading forms the
transition between the two sessions: it will be introduced
by the instructor at the end of the Tuesday class and
discussed in groups at the start of the Friday class, with
students required to complete the reading quiz online in
the period in between.
The final exam focuses principally on the material in the
Powerpoints. Versions of each Powerpoint presentation with
recorded narration in video format will be available on
the Waseda Moodle system at the end of the Friday class
each week for purposes of review.
(4) Detailed Syllabus
WEEK |
DATE |
SECTION |
TOPIC |
READINGS |
POWERPOINTS |
WORKSHEETS |
CASE STUDIES |
||
Week 1 |
4/5 &
4/8 |
Introductions |
Orientation
x2 (Tue: In class / Fri: Online) |
Orientation Materials Discussion Questions |
|||||
Week 2 |
4/12 & 4/15 |
Habermas & McLuhan |
See
worksheet for questionnaire:
|
||||||
Week 3 |
4/19 |
Periodical Revolution |
Newspapers |
||||||
Week 4 |
4/26 |
Magazines |
Dallas-PL1PP.pdf |
VictorianPeriodicals |
|||||
Week 5 |
5/10 |
Periodical Debates |
SteadGBJ.pdf |
|
ONLINE |
||||
Week 6 |
5/17 |
Phonograph & Cinema Revolutions |
Sound Recording |
EarlyRecordings |
|||||
Week 7 |
5/24 |
Moving Pictures |
EarlyMovies |
||||||
Week 8 |
5/31 |
Cinema Debates |
|
ONLINE |
|||||
Week 9 |
6/7 |
Broadcasting Revolution |
Radio |
Radio&War |
|||||
Week 10 |
6/14 |
Television |
TV1950sUSxUK |
||||||
Week 11 |
6/21 |
Broadcasting Debates |
|
ONLINE |
|||||
Week 12 |
6/28 |
Internet Revolution |
Interactivity |
Early
web sites etc (instructions & links in
worksheet) |
|||||
Week 13 |
7/5 |
Mobility |
CFuchsCh9.pdf
|
See worksheet for questionnaire: |
|||||
Week 14 |
7/12 |
Internet Debates |
ONLINE |
||||||
Week 15 |
ol 7/19 7/22 |
**************** Final Exam ********************** |
(5) Further Reading
(6) Course
Requirements
Participants are required
to:
1 attend the course regularly and contribute actively to
discussions;
2 prepare for the class by means of reading and study
assignments (weekly quizzes given);
3 to produce a mid-term writing assignment in English of
at least 1500 words (see the WRITING
ASSIGNMENT print)
4 to take a final examination on the content of the course
(with both multiple-choice and writing sections) via
Waseda Moodle.
Grades will be calculated as follows: Participation & Quizzes
20%; Writing Assignment 40%; Exam 40%
(7) Contacts
Office No: 11-1455
Office Hours: Wednesday 3 & Thursday 3
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright (C) Graham Law, 2011-22. All
rights reserved.
First drafted Mon 12 Sep 2011.
Last revised Sat
4 Jun 2022.
Back to Waseda
University Homepage
Back to SILS
Homepage
Back to
Graham Law Homepage