Mass Media in Asia
Bac Ninh, 2016
Institution code: COMM2379 (RMIT University - Vietnam campus)
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Teaching period: Trimester 3/2017
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Role: Course Coordinator & Lecturer
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Curriculum innovation:
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I taught and substantially revised this course so that it would (1) be distinctive enough as a unit in comparison with other courses offered within the same Contextual studies strand, (2) include a substantive component on fake news, a topic en vogue in 2017, (3) align with the course learning objectives set by the university.
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Innovations within this course include:
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1. Elevating the rigour of academic content assigned for this course, as this course is pitched at the second-year level. Course readings feature classic media & communication theories overlooked elsewhere in the program curriculum, such as Marshall McLuhan, Chomky’s Manufacturing consent, and Hallin & Mancini’s comparative media framework.
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2. Cementing academic literacy through diversifying assessment. Course assessments include (1) a weekly inter-teaching and peer-learning exercise, (2) an audience research report, and (3) a video essay investigating fake news in Asia.
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3. Implementation of a wide range of in-class and after-class activities that facilitate independent learning. Examples of these include the flexible use of multimedia illustrations during lecture, screening of technological science fiction during tutorials as starting points of discussions.
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Syllabus:
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Week 1: Introduction to mass media in Asia
Week 2: Normative theories of mass media: Four theories of the press & beyond
Week 3: Understanding media in context: Media systems beyond the Western world
Week 4: Media & the nation building project in Asia
Week 5: Political economy of mass media: 'Manufacturing consent'
Week 6: Is the mass audience dead? Fragmentation, customisation, and the active audience
Week 7: Basic research design for audience research (Independent learning week)
Week 8: The global mass media landscape: Media imperialism
Week 9: The medium is the message? Marshall McLuhan and the Toronto school
Week 10: Fake news (1): What's in a name? Disinformation, misinformation, and other lies
Week 11: Fake news (2): The curious case of Internet hoaxes. Post-truth politics in Asia
Week 12: Screening & Discussion of student video essays
