Schedules and Readings

We had a really excellent presentation day today. I see that all the groups are skilled in identifying key concepts and applying them to their case studies. I hope that the audience studies groups do just as well, or even better, when they present on the 13th of August.

Next week, the 6th of August, we have Abby Yao (MA, University of London) and Jason Cabanes (ARI Fellow, NUSingapore) presenting their research on Filipino/a bloggers in London and Singapore and how they perform their identities online. I hope that you come to class ready to ask them challenging questions about their research.

The recommended reading is Mirca Madianou's "Contested Communicative Spaces" article from the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. This is an excellent, easy-to-read study of how Turkish speakers in Greece negotiate their identities in their consumption of television news. However, you have the option to read the guest presenters' articles if you wish.

Here are the links below.
Madianou's "Contested Communicative Spaces" HERE.
Yao's "Pinay Brit Blogger" HERE.
Cabanes' "Pinoy Postings" HERE.

Please remember also that you should start thinking about your final papers and creative projects. Email me at jo296@cam.ac.uk or bertiebott@hotmail.com to schedule consultation. Have a good weekend!

Quiz 1 Hall of Fame

I'm posting here Thibaut's winning answer to our first quiz. Everyone else, who got 9.5 and above, please post your answers here.

Announcement

We will resume classes on Wednesday, 30 July.

We will have the following groups do their textual analysis presentations:
1) Sam, Bea, Guia
2) Xela, Sylvain and Thibaut
3) Nyko and Martin
4) Karen and Avery
5) Don and Gia

I will also have a former MAG student present her final paper so that you get an idea about the quality of work that I'm expecting. The last hour will also be devoted to consultations for your final papers and creative projects.

See you then!

Announcement

Hi. We will NOT hold classes tomorrow, 23 July. Your trusty lecturer is ill. :(

Let's do online discussions for this week instead. Please check this board tomorrow for updates.

Also, you guys should start discussing ideas for your final papers and presentations already. Feel free to email me!

Lecture 6: Being and Becoming

HERE are the lecture slides for Being and Becoming: Audience Studies in the context of globalization.

HERE are the lecture slides on Us and Them: Representations of the Other.

I encourage you to begin consulting with me with regard to your final papers. If you also need help with your quiz-presentations in the coming weeks, I am available for consultation. Just drop me a line at jo296@cam.ac.uk or bertiebott@hotmail.com.

Final Paper Topics

Hi. Here are the Final Paper topics.

You have about three weeks to finalize your specific research question and approach. I encourage you to do some audience studies (so far, a lot of you are choosing representations studies). But I hope the lecture next week will get you interested in audiences too! :)

1) Mediation of Hate: The CounterNarratives of ChikaTime, PerezHilton, and Other Vicious Blogs
2) Compassion Fatigue or Media Fatigue? Mediated Suffering and Audience Responses
3) Observing OFWs: Changing Representations of Filipina Migrants in the Media
4) The Exploding Other: When Enemies Appear in the Media Space
5) Dreams and Nightmares in the Global Village: Representations of Technology in the Media
6) Reflexive Journalism: Ethics, Compassion, and Politics in Journalists’ Memoirs
7) Dialogues with the Dead: Photographs of Mourning
8) Notoriety and Filipino-ness: Janina San Miguel, Dancing Prisoners, and Other Pseudo-Celebs and Discourses about the Nation
9) Them Reporting Us: The Reporting of Local Events by International News
10) Discourses of Dialogue and Dissemination: When Do We Favor One Over the Other?
11) Media and Morality: What Philosophical Tradition Should We Use in Prescribing a Moral Media?

Lecture 5: Us and Them

I have given up on Sendspace and now using MediaFire. Tell me if it's any better.

HERE are the lecture slides for Us and Them: Representations of the Other.

Next week, we'll have a 10-point quiz that covers the past five lectures ('global media, mediated globe' up to 'us and them') plus the reading by Gillespie on Media Audiences. Not only is this reading particularly well written and accessible, it is also extremely useful for our research paper in class AND your other classes. It discusses theories on media audiences as well as case studies that use them.

The following week (23 July), we'll have a presentation day where the following groups are to do a 20-minute maximum presentation, wherein they present a case study using textual/image analyses of representations of the Other. You can select any media text (newspaper article, movie, tv show, blog) and identify how the text (or texts) construct(s) the Other using particular codes, conventions, and narrative styles. I'll be grading you not so much on creativity of presentation but more on your critical thinking and ability to apply concepts that you have learned in class (e.g., Orientalism, agency, demonization, typology of suffering). As this is a class on globalization, we highlight of course the Other in terms of nation or race. But you can also link nation or race with gender, sexuality, social class, etc. The 20-minute time limit includes the time that you're spending to show the class the video clip or photographs or text. You are encouraged to use Powerpoint and present: a) context/background, b) key concepts or analytical tools used, c) findings and arguments, and d) conclusion.
1) Sam and Bea
2) Xela, Sylvain and Thibaut
3) Nyko and Martin
4) Karen and Avery
5) Don and Gia

I'll leave the choice of topic up to you. Some examples though: a) black culture in Kanye West's music videos, b) representations of non-Manilenyos in the Philippines in GMA sitcoms, c) 'Lost' castaways and their 'Others', d) typology of Philippine news about tragedies.

This counts as your second 10-point quiz.

The other groups are presenting case studies on media audiences in a later week. But perhaps you can already think about which group of people you want to interview and what tv show or movie or text you wish to discuss with them. I only ask you to conduct around 3 interviews/ casual chats and present your findings.
6) Julia and Savan
7) Mikey, Candice and Meggie
8) Paolo and Portia
9) Margie and Jowee
10) James and Bam

Some possible topics: a) Filipina mothers and Sex and the City: Negotiating Filipina femininity, b) children's responses to American Idol Gives Back, c) Public school students' responses to Gossip Girl: Dreams, Luxury, and Success, and d) fans of Ugly Betty vs Betty La Fea.

Again, you are free to consult me regarding any of your upcoming requirements. Have a good weekend ahead!

Announcement

Please bring the Time magazine article to class on Wednesday.

Lecture 4: Reflections and Representations

HERE are the lecture slides for download.

Feel free to raise any questions or comments on today's lecture.

Also, I'd like to hear from you as regards the "Made in China: The Growing Dangers of the China Trade" Time magazine article. What might a discourse analysis of the text reveal?

Take note that this is a business article in Time magazine. The storytelling is supposed to be 'objective' and economics-oriented. However, we argue, from a constructivist viewpoint, that a particular story is being told about China and, at the same time, the West (i.e., America). And this story is using a kind of symbolic violence in that it favors ONE way of understanding China while excluding other narratives. And so, what are the 'regimes of truth' that can be gleaned from the text in terms of: a) nation and national identity, b) danger and safety, c) progress and modernization, d) East and West, e) imperialism, and others?

Some guide questions to help you:
1) Why the focus on pet food, toothpaste, toys and tires? What is the significance of these products?
2) How does the article talk about 'us' and 'them'? What words or phrases are used to construct or position the reader?
3) What is the significance of the 'seal of approval' by the US Department of Agriculture? What does it represent?
4) Imagine that the story is about the dangers of trading with the United States, and NOT with China. What kinds of words or phrases would have to be changed because these are not 'acceptable' or commonplace terms of describing America, or the West in general?
5) How does the article link with the larger discourse about the 'rise' of China as a superpower?

I think that this is a very good exercise in which we get to practice our textual analysis skills. Can we count this as a 5-point quiz? :)

Also, HERE are the possible topics for your final paper assignment. These are in no way final, etched-in-stone topics and you are free to play around with them. While the paper won't be due for another 3 months, it's good to start thinking about what you want to do. Feel free to email me at jo296@cam.ac.uk to set appointments for consultation.