COM 200: Communication Theory & Practice

COM 200
Communication Theory & Practice
Fall 2017

Instructor Information

Dr. Steven Hammer
301 Bronstein Hall
shammer@sju.edu
office hours: 12-3pm, Tuesday, or by appointment
for appointments: hammer.youcanbook.me

Catalog Description

This introduction to communication and digital media studies focuses on various ways people employ language, image, and more cinematic means for communicative purposes. Through a series of hands-on projects students learn to research and analyze contemporary issues and trends in the field of communications, with an emphasis on digital media. In doing so, students examine how communication technologies are impacting the relationship between media audiences, producers, and content.

Learning Objectives

In this course, students will:

• create and maintain a personal website/portfolio;
• learn to create multimedia content in a collaborative context;
• learn and apply media theory.

Required Materials

• 8GB or higher SD Card compatible with Zoom H4N
• Reclaim web hosting ($25/year)
• Audacity

Equipment

COM Gear Room Policies & Procedures

Policies

Academic Honesty
Please familiarize yourself with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.

Accessibility and Disability Support
If you have any concerns as we begin–or throughout–the semester in regard to the accessibility of course materials or presentation, please contact me as soon as possible.

In accordance with state and federal laws, the University will make reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. For those who have or think that you may have a disability requiring an accommodation (learning, physical, psychological) should contact Services for Students with Disabilities, Room G10, Bellarmine, 610-660-1774 (voice) or 610-660-1620 (TTY) as early as possible in the semester for additional information and so that an accommodation, if appropriate, can be made in a timely manner. You will be required to provide current (within 3 years) documentation of the disability. For a more detailed explanation of the University’s accommodation process, as well as the programs and services offered to students with disabilities, please see the Student Resources Page. If you have any difficulty accessing the information on-line, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities at the telephone numbers above.

Collaborative Work
This course is highly collaborative in order to simulate professional production situations you may encounter after the semester. Sometimes, part of that experience is frustration, conflict, and/or unequal workloads. If you experience conflicts you are unable to resolve by communicating with one another directly, please contact me.

Attendance
Attendance (being in class, on time) and participation (engaging with us while you’re in class) are vital to your success in this course. You are allowed three for the semester without penalty, so use them wisely. If you miss four to five classes, your final grade will be lowered by 10%. If you miss six to eight classes, 15%. If you miss nine, you will automatically fail the course. If you do miss class, you are responsible for the content you’ve missed (please don’t email to ask me if we did anything in class on the day you missed). If you miss days in which your group requires you, your grade for that project will likely suffer.

Assignments & Evaluation

There are 100 points available to earn this semester. You will have an opportunity to revise all of your assignments once.

Final grades will be determined using the following scale:

A: 94-100; A-: 90-93
B+: 87-89; B: 84-86; B-: 80-83
C+: 77-79; C: 74-76; C-: 70-73
D+: 67-69; D: 64-66; D-: 60-63
F: 0-59

Theory Reading Responses/Discussion Participation: 25%

For each day a reading is required and has an asterisk* on the schedule (below), you will complete an entry in a GoogleDoc for that reading that includes:

• A summary of the piece’s big idea/argument in your own words;
• Three points or questions for discussion in class; and
• An application of that reading to another topic (not discussed in the reading).

You will complete a total of 8 responses, each of which should be around 200 words. You will be evaluated on completion of the three criteria above, thoughtfulness, depth, and participation in class discussion (aloud in class and/or on Twitter during class using the hashtag #sjucom200). Each entry will be worth 3 points:

• 0 points: Incomplete
• 1 point: Minimal engagement/completion, little evidence of comprehension or engagement
• 2 points: Strong engagement in either written response or discussion.
• 3 points: Outstanding, deep engagement in both written response and discussion. Strong evidence of understanding and application.

Hawk cHill: 40%

The major project in this course involves producing and publishing content for Hawk cHill, an online publication maintained by all sections of COM 200. This project is not only collaborative across five sections of the course, but also within our class. Each week, you will work in teams to produce a story for a given section of the site (which is available in our schedule below). On Mondays, you will bring story ideas for critique/development. Throughout the week, your team (comprised of a writer, editor, social media manager, and supporting content producer, roles that will revolve each week) will work on the approved story. Friday, you will bring completed drafts for critique, editing, and revisions. You will publish your stories by Saturday at 5:00pm Eastern time. Deadlines are non-negotiable; late posts will result in an automatic grade reduction of one point or more. You will post ten times throughout the semester, and each post is worth 4 points. Each group will receive the same grade each week.

Team Roles/Responsibilities:

• Editor: Generate the big idea and direction of the post, lead and coordinate team members to create a cohesive post with multiple elements, proofread and make suggestions for edits to all content, fact-check content, publish story accurately and on time.
• Writer: Plan with editor and write textual elements of post, interview/field report, work with team members to generate supporting content and social media, deliver initial and final drafts to editor on time.
• Supporting Content Producer: Work with Editor and Writer to produce original, supporting content (audio, video, photographs, etc.) that supports and significantly adds to post, accompany writer to interviews/field reports to capture content, deliver and edit content for editor on time.
• Social Media Manager: Work with team to produce social media content that both promotes and adds value to post, gather content from team throughout production, promote post in conjunction with publication schedule, assist team members when necessary.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Topic: timely, audience-centered, and well-researched
• Writing: clear, error-free, stylistically consistent
• Supporting Content: well-produced, supports story meaningfully
• Social Media: promotes and adds significant value to story
• Production: consistent quality of all elements, attention to detail, on-time publication on site and social media, accuracy

*all content must be original work, including supporting media

• 0 points: Work is incomplete.
• 1 point: Some criteria met minimally.
• 2 points: All criteria met minimally.
• 3 points: All criteria met, two or more criteria met with excellence.
• 4 points: All criteria met with excellence.

On Fridays, I will provide feedback to you based on these evaluative criteria so that you will have an opportunity to revise your work.

Taste (Instagram) – music, food, art, theatre etc. What we like.
School (Twitter)– Classes, studying, exams, departments, programs and other stuff related to the academic part of college.
People (Instagram) – Humans of St. Joe’s
Self (SnapChat) – Health etc. Emotional, physical, nutrition, etc.
Study Break (FaceBook) – Non-academic stuff of college life, including stuff off-campus.

Website/Portfolio: 25%

This project involves purchasing your own domain and web hosting service and designing a WordPress site. This site will be used for your work this semester and serve as an online portfolio as you continue through your major/minor. You will learn effective principles of web design, hosting and design processes, and ways to frame your digital self in relation to digital communities. You will design your site, populate it with your work and information, and write a design philosophy/artist statement articulating your choices.

Requirements

• Acquire web domain and hosting service
• Design a website using WordPress
  • About: Bio, Image
  • Professional information: Resume/CV
  • Sample work/media
• Write a 500-word design philosophy

Evaluation Criteria

• URL, meta-framing
• WordPress: Use of available features, widgets, plugins
• Design: attention to site structure, visual design, media
• Effective Content: about, bio, sample work/portfolio
• Networked: Categories, tags, external & internal searchability, link to other profiles

Design Philosophy: clear, specific, illustrative, explicit description of your choices, process, intentions, and justifications. Attention to audience, purpose.

Final Exam: 10%

Your final exam will cover the same readings required for your responses (marked with an asterisk* in the schedule). I will ask you to apply those readings to a contemporary issue in an essay. I will provide more specific direction during our final exam review session.

(Tentative) Schedule

WeekOne: Intro to Production

AUG28
Introductions, what makes a good story?

AUG30
Read: Story Ideas, Writing for the Web
Writing for the Web: Stories, Ideas, Audience

SEPT1
Read: How to Write Short, 5 Principles of Web Writing
Writing for the Web: Tone, Style

WeekTwo: Intro to Production, cont.

SEPT4
LaborDay Break, no class.

SEPT6
Read: Photo Guide, Finding Images
Writing with Images: Framing, Editing

SEPT8
Read: Yale Film Analysis Guide, Section 3: Cinematography, Beginner’s Guide to DSLR Video
Writing with Video: Hardware/Techniques

WeekThree: Intro to Production, cont.

SEPT11
Writing with Video: Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro
Download these files: Audio, Video, Image

SEPT13
Read: Write How You Talk 1
Writing with Sound: Recording Hardware/Techniques

SEPT15
Read: Audacity Basics, Edit with your Ears
Writing with Sound: Editing

WeekFour: HawkcHill Production Begins

SEPT18
Production Meeting Day: Group Story Pitches, Planning
11:15: People/Instagram
1:25: Self/Snapchat

SEPT20
*Read: Marshall McLuhan, “The Medium is the Message”

SEPT22
Production Day

WeekFive

SEPT25
Production Meeting Day: Group Story Pitches, Planning
11:15: Self (Snapchat)
1:25: Study Break (Facebook)

SEPT27
*Read: N. Katherine Hayles, “Hyper and Deep Attention: The Generational Divide in Cognitive Modes”

SEPT29
Production Day

WeekSix

OCT2
Production Meeting Day: Group Story Pitches, Planning
11:15: Study Break (Facebook)
1:25: Taste (Instagram)

OCT4
*Read:  Chris Anderson, “The Long Tail”

OCT6
Production Day

WeekSeven

OCT9
FallBreak, no class

OCT11
Production Meeting Day: Group Story Pitches, Planning
11:15: Taste (Instagram)
1:25: School (Twitter)

OCT13
Production Day

WeekEight

OCT16
Production Meeting Day: Group Story Pitches, Planning
11:15: School (Twitter)
1:25: People (Instagram)

OCT18
*Read: Fake Media, Fake News, #PostTruth

OCT20
Production Day

WeekNine

OCT23
Production Meeting Day: Group Story Pitches, Planning
11:15: People (Instagram)
1:25: Self (Snapchat)

OCT25
*Read/Watch: Zuckerman, Pariser

OCT27
Production Day

WeekTen

OCT30
*Read: Tedesco, Unit One of this course, GoogleaDay Puzzles daily Sat, Sun, Mon before class

NOV1
Production Meeting Day: Group Story Pitches, Planning
11:15: Self (Snapchat)
1:25: Study Break (Facebook)

NOV3
Production Day

WeekEleven

NOV6
Production Meeting Day: Group Story Pitches, Planning
11:15: Study Break (Facebook)
1:25: Taste (Instagram)

NOV8
*Read: Hawisher and Selfe, “The Rhetoric of Technology and the Electronic Writing Class”

NOV10
Production Day

WeekTwelve

NOV13
Production Meeting Day: Group Story Pitches, Planning
11:15: Taste (Instagram)
1:25: School (Twitter)

NOV15
*Read: Rosa Menkman, “Glitch Studies Manifesto”

NOV17
Production Day

WeekThirteen-Final Week of HawkcHill Production

NOV20
Production Meeting Day: Group Story Pitches, Planning
11:15: School (Twitter)
1:25: People (Instagram)

NOV22
ThanksgivingBreak

NOV24
ThanksgivingBreak

WeekFourteen-Portfolio Work Begins

NOV27
Read/Refer: WordPress/Reclaim Resources
Wordpress, Reclaim. Naming, intro to design.

NOV29
Read: Choosing Themes
Website Design

DEC1
Advanced WordPress features: widgets, tools, analytics, etc.

WeekFifteen

DEC4
Portfolio Studio/Workshop/Critique

DEC6
Portfolio Studio/Workshop/Critique

DEC8
Portfolio Studio/Workshop/Critique

WeekSixteen

DEC11
Final Exam Review Session

DEC13-19 final exams (see schedule here)