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Project Assistant Professor: Chuan-wei Hu, chuanweihu@gmail.com
Teaching Assistant: Karen, giraffe2399@hotmail.com
Blogger: Course_Media, Democracy and Global Communication
（包含中文課程摘要）
*News and teaching method
+ 廖柏森，「溝通式教學法(CLT)全英語教學之反思」。
＋2013, 胡全威，〈全英文教學之困境與突破〉，2013卓越教學學術研討會，花蓮東華大學，11月7-8日。
*About accent and pronunciation:
*The aims of the course
The course examines the relationships between media and democracy in the global context. During the history, mass media have played an important role in the process of democratization. Their functions include offering public forum, information, education and surveillance of government. On the flip side, however, media appeals have become standard fare in the contemporary politics. "A vast aspect of our jobs today--outside of the really major decisions, as big as anything else-- is coping with the media, its sheer scale, weight and constant hyperactivity," said Tony Blair, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Further more, manufacturing consent, the manipulation of media tycoons or spin doctors are blamed of media politics. In this course, we will discuss the controversial interaction between media and democracy. Not only focusing on Taiwan's case, but also we will discuss the issues in a global context to argue that the global media, Internet, social media are shaping today's democracy. We live in the regime of democracy or it is the least worse political system. Almost all of our virtues, values, beliefs are based on the principles of democracy. The more we reflect it; the more we understand ourselves.
*Course Outline
Requirements and Grading
l Weekly participation and discussion of assigned reading (20%)
l Midterm Exam/ Final Exam (25%/25%)
l Group presentation (30%)
Topics of Presentation (Any topic related to this course)
For instance:
Ê How does Facebook change your life?
Ê Do you think the Internet promote democracy or not?
Ê Do you agree with the concept of "manufacturing consensus"? if yes, why? if not, why?
Ê Introduce a spin doctor.
Ê Introduce a media tycoon.
Ê What is your favorite mass media? Why?
Ê What are problems of Taiwan’s media?
Ê If you want to introduce Taiwan’ s main newspapers to foreign friends, how will you introduce?
Ê What are problems of Mainland China’s media?
Ê What are advantages and disadvantages of democracy?
Ê What are the relationships between media and democracy in Taiwan?
Ê If you are a Presidential aide, how would you help President to increase his popularity?
Week 1
l Introduction
1. The teacher
2. What is the course about?
How does the mass media influence democracy in a global context?
3. Rules
4. Split into groups: Introduction/ Why
n Assigned reading
n Optional reading
McChesney, Robert Waterman. 2004. The problem of the media : U.S. communication politics in the twenty-first century. New York: Monthly Review Press. Chapter 1. (《問題媒體：二十一世紀美國傳播政治》。羅世宏等合譯。台北：巨流。第一章。)
n Recommended Movie
The Hunger Game (2012)
Please pay more attention to how the protagonists interact with general citizens.
Week 2-3
l Media and democracy: functions
1. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses): Open Yale Course
2. Functions of media in democracy
3. Groups: How to improve English?/ Pros and cons of a class taught in English
n Assigned reading
Plattner,Marc F. 2012. "Media and Democracy: The Long View." Journal ofDemocracy no. 23 (4): 62-73.
Blair, Tony. 2007. "Tony Blair's ‘Media’ Speech: The Prime Minister's Reuters Speech on Public Life." The Political Quarterly no. 78 (4):476-487. (Or “Full text: Blair on the media”)[1]
n Optional reading
Starr, Paul. 2004. The creation of the media: political origins of modern communications. New York: Basic Books.
Hallin, Daniel C., and Paolo Mancini. 2004. Comparing media systems : three models of media and politics, Communication, society, and politics. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Week 4-5
l Tony Blair’s ‘Media’ speech
1. Coursera (https://www.coursera.org)
2. Tony Blair’s comments on the relationships between media and public life
3. What are the problems of Taiwan’ s Media?
n Assigned Reading
Blair, Tony. 2007. "Tony Blair's ‘Media’ Speech: The Prime Minister's Reuters Speech on Public Life." The Political Quarterly no. 78 (4):476-487. (Or “Full text: Blair on the media”)[2]
Blair's Media Speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxXv_KK-AnE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yf9mrV5-P8
n Optional Reading
Downie, Leonard, and Robert G. Kaiser. 2002. The news about the news : American journalism in peril. 1st ed. New York: A.A. Knopf : Distributed by Random House. Chapter 8: News values. （《關於新聞的新聞----美國人和他們的新聞》，第八章）
Week 6-7
l Media and democracy in Taiwan
1. History
2. What are the problems of Taiwan's media?
3. Solution
4. How do you get the news?
n Assigned Reading
Ching-Lung, Huang. 2009. THE CHANGING ROLES OF THE MEDIA IN TAIWAN'S DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2009/7/taiwan%20huang/07_taiwan_huang.pdf. (Esp. pp.15-20)
n Optional Reading
Gary Rawnsley and Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley, 2012, “The media in democratic Taiwan, “ in David Blundell (ed.) , Taiwan Since Martial Law: Society, Culture, Politics, Economy. Berkeley, CA and Taipei: University of California, Berkeley & National Taiwan University Press, pp.395-417.
http://blog.chinatimes.com/mingyeh/archive/2013/01/10/2316480.html
Week 8
l Manufacturing consent
1. TED
2. Manufacturing consent
3. Agenda setting
4. Framing
5. Review
l Optional Reading
Noam Chomsky - "10 strategies of manipulation" by the media
http://parisis.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/noam-chomsky.pdf
Week 9
l Midterm Exam
The test lasts for 90 minutes and contains 20 multiple-choice questions. Only choose one best answer.
Week 10-11
l Spin Doctor
1. Introduction
2. Definition of "Spin doctor"
3. Examples
4. Duties
n Recommended movie
"Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a presidential sex scandal."(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120885/)
n Assigned Reading
Das, Sushi. 2010. Political Spin Undermines Democracy. The Sydney Morning Herald,
Week 12-13
l Media Tycoon
1. Introduction
2. Media Tycoons
3. Anti-media monopoly movement
n Assigned Readin
Ming-yeh Rawnsiey, “Anti-Media Monopoly Policies in Taiwan”, China Policy Blog, 2013
http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/2013/03/25/anti-media-monopoly-policies-in-taiwan/
Week 14-15
l Student Presentation
How does Facebook change your life?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIH-r0wJceU
Edward Snowden and American surveillance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCWmRbSv7OA&feature=youtu.be
How does Facebook change the world?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9b9buEKm4c&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dn9b9buEKm4c&app=desktop
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