Module Syllabus

IAR 500 Module: Media Representations of Asia: Culture, Religion, Nation

• Syllabus
• Term 2, 2012 Winter Session
• 1st Six Weeks, Thursday 4:30 – 6:30 PM, begins January 5th
• Institute of Asian Research, Choi Building, **Room 129**
  
• Instructor: Jessica L. Main

Course Description: This is the module for the MAPPS 500 Core Course, “Media Representations of Asia: Culture, Religion, Nation” stream. Its basic contention is that representations of Asian cultures, religions, and nations are everywhere in traditional and new media, but they are not neutral; they serve political and strategic ends. Media representations are the outcomes of complex socio-economic interactions, both describing and directing popular and public action. Recognizing how these representations are used is crucial to contemporary policy analysis: whether in a content analysis of Chinese new media, describing the political-economy of mainstream English media, or tracking representations of religious and ethnic violence. Students in this stream will learn to recognize and evaluate the impact of these visual, spatial, and textual representations and the particular character of media, old and new. This stream draws from media theory, cultural studies, and policy-relevant religious studies.

Media, broadly understood. This module will focus on how representations are transmitted via “old” (print, film, broadcast), “new” (online, networked, cellular) media, and the considerable crossover in content, production, and consumption between them. Media producers vary widely: from the Chinese state and their official television network, Xinhua, to Christian groups in Indonesia using text messages. Students will become familiar with how representation is affected by the concrete details of the media itself (production, dissemination, finance, control / censorship, audience, impact) and how representation, in turn, affects policy. Students are encouraged to pursue research targeting the Asia Pacific region that links media and its representational content to a specific policy issue.

Students will participate in a course blog, locate and analyze video, image, and print media.

Assignments and forms of writing:

Assignments topics and forms will be given in class. All assignments must be written or performed by the student, avoiding plagiarism or academic misconduct. All sources must be cited and using sources outside of the assigned readings is acceptable (including online sources) as long as these are also scrupulously cited (see the UBC Library’s citation style guides). Students must be careful, critical, and rigorous if they use materials not published in professional, academic, or media outlets: such as blog postings, web sites, discussion forums, memos, reports, photographs, video, and other visual materials–also known as “grey literature.” The responsibility for evaluating the quality of these materials falls on the student.

Academic Form: 12pt font, easily readable serif font, 1 inch margins, header with name, date, and page number (upper right corner) on all pages. Include a word count and reference list at the end of the paper. All annotated bibliography assignments may be single-spaced.

Forms of writing: Assignments are designed to work on critical reading and analysis, as well as to practice writing styles typical of policy studies.

Critical Summaries and Suggested readings (20%):

• 100 words (x 5). A succinct commentary on an article, provided by the instructor or located by you, outlining the main thesis or contribution, including 1-2 key issues or assumptions if possible. These should build towards your academic paper or policy brief, be relevant to the seminar topic, and may relate to your broader research interests.

Examples of media representation (20%):

• One short video (or video portion, 1:00), short text, or image (x 5). These examples must be posted to the blog before class and accompanied by 1-2 sentences summarizing the example’s relevance.

Oral presentation of paper or brief (25%):

• 15 minutes in length (approximately 1,200 to 1,400 words). These presentations allow you to present an early version of your long paper of policy brief to an audience of your peers and instructors.

Long academic paper or Policy brief (35%):

• 2,000 words. The long paper should develop a coherent thesis and argue for that thesis. It should have an introduction, a body that is clear and easy to follow, and a conclusion. It should be directed at an academic audience. The policy brief provides an argument for a particular policy approach to a particular issue. It should be directed at a policy maker who is responsible to act. It is vital to outline a clear and coherent approach, and to provide defenses for any anticipated critiques of the approach. Please use the MAPPS Policy Brief template.

For further information on grading, please review the MAPPS Program Specifics and the UBC standards for graduate academic progress.

Course Policies:

Attendance and participation are very important to the success of a graduate seminar. Attendance in class and completion of assignments are required. Late papers will be scheduled in consultation with the instructor only if a valid reason for absence is provided. Late papers without a valid reason will be docked 5% each day and will be accepted no later than one week after the due date. The final submission date for the last paper will be the last day of the exam period. Appeals of grades must be made within one week of the date when papers are returned to the students.