SOCI 205 | Messages and Media                                                              translate     

  Essay Topics   Value 20%   10-15 pp.   typed/double-spaced   Due: July 27          -back to SOCI 205 weekly-

Please let me know which essay topic you have chosen  by Wednesday, July 9th.  Other essay topics will also be considered up until this date. If you wish to propose an essay topic, submit it to me in writing and include a title and thesis statement.  Your essay research may also be the basis for your presentation, but you may also choose another topic subject to approval.  Your presentation topic, or proposed topic, should be decided and submitted in writing by Wednesday, July 16th. 

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• The interrelationship between art and propaganda is longstanding.  How does propaganda co-opt art for its purposes ?  For example, iconic images from high culture are often incorporated into advertisements to help persuade us to buy consumer products.  Consider an example of high culture being used to promote a product or service.  How does this technique contribute to persuasiveness. 

• To what extent is Canadian nationalism and cultural sovereignty reliant on government funded propaganda ?  Has the implementation of the Canadian Broadcasting Act been a failure or success ? 

• Do Canadian content requirements generate support or resentment ?  Should there be an increase in the freedom of the market to determine what is available to consumers ? 

• How effective is the Canadian magazine industry in capturing and maintaining the public interest about domestic issues ?

• The Canadian government is a major advertiser.  Where does all the money go ?  Discuss whether you think it is well spent and/or what you see as wasted tax dollars.       

• Do you agree with the view that Canada is an advanced underdeveloped society,  i.e. advanced in technological infrastructure but not in terms of culture ?  What do you believe the future holds for Canadian culture over the next decade given current trends in media technology ?  Consider the increasing fragmentation of media audiences and what effect this is likely to have on nation building.  In what ways might a cultural nationalist feel optimistic and/or pessimistic about this trend ?

• Discuss whether Canadian national TV news represents a broader ideological spectrum than large American network(s).  In what ways do U.S. TV news values affect Canadian news programming ?

• Would the availability of Al Jazeera undermine or enhance Canadian democracy ? 

• With reference to programmes such as Corner Gas, Making the Cut,  the Trailer Park Boys, and/or other Canadian shows, discuss whether or not Canadian cultural goals are being achieved.

          

• Are a significant number of Canadian programmes popular because they are knock-offs of American formats ?  Which shows are most similar and which are least similar to those produced south of the border ?  Explain.      

• What resources are available to support the development of new musical artists in Canada and how effective are they ?

• Examine the interplay between the Culture Industry, as understood from the Frankfurt School perspective, and Canadian society.  Do you feel this theory is still relevant in today's mass mediated culture ?  Why ?

                   

• To what degree does advertising cause resentment among CBC television viewers ?  Is it plausible to consider making CBC television non-commercial along the lines of the BBC model ? 

• The emergence of mass society is clearly linked to the history of communication.  Explain in what ways.  Conclude by discussing whether new communication technologies are likely to continue the trend toward the 'mass' or are they likely to create cultural  fragmentation.  

• Do you have faith in the self righting principle in terms of mass media content and effects ?  Why ?

• Which media theories apply to the reading 'Cold War and Communication' ?  Can they also be applied to the so called war on terror and communication.  Discuss

• What issues might people be afraid of speaking out against because they go against the grain of the dominant culture ?  How might one design an effective propaganda campaign to further one of these oppositional viewpoints ?

• To what extent do you agree with the position that Canadian popular culture is nothing more than corporate culture ? 

• How can Canadian cultural policy be enhanced by new media ?  Does a new communications geography work for or against cultural nationalism ?

• Matthew Arnold's definition of culture is "to know the best of what's been thought and said" in order to be able to appreciate the "sweetness and light of culture."  What do you believe Arnold would make of contemporary popular culture as represented by the mainstream mass media ?  Please include examples of what he might view as positive signs.   

  Arnold  1822-88        Leavis  1895-1978

• F.R. Leavis sees popular culture as "largely masturburtory" and characterized by "junkies addicted to substitute living" as a consequence of the "cretinization of taste."  To what extent do you agree with this viewpoint and why ?

• Propaganda is essential to a democracy, but only provided there are sufficient alternate viewpoints expressed and they are accessible.  Given concerns about net neutrality, does the internet adequately support democracy ? 

• What are some of the most common techniques used to make claims to truth ?  How might critical thinking techniques be used  to dissuade critical thinking on the part of the audience ?

Some concepts/terms to consider in essays and presentations might include: 

ideology, technology, power, market economics, fallacies, audience, reception, ownership, culture, identity, socialization, protectionism, nationalism, imperialism, social control, consciousness industry, dependency, cultural hegemony, ideological state apparatus, globalization, professionalism, cultural policy, regulation/deregulation, consumer sovereignty, quality, agenda setting, and emotional transfer.

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