teaching: February 2006 Archives

I showed Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room to my mass media class last night. They spoke vigorously among themselves in pairs, but were hesitant to speak to us all - shyness or were they overwhelmed? The emotions named were mad, sad, and scared.

We spent the most time discussing the link between Enron and the (manufactured) California energy "crisis". How deliberate was coordinated planning between Bush's political allies and Enron's economic motivations? Speculation also arose about the timing of September 11. Were the attacks coordinated on purpose to distract the public from the upcoming scandal? I don't personally think so but certainly the media's agenda-setting function kicked right into gear (not to mention the dialectical response of Bush et al which has escalated more tensions than it resolved).

The assault on learning continues. Now, the administrators of Notre Dame University wish to ban events for fear of endorsing "values that conflict with Roman Catholicism."

Contrast that attitude with the Hebrew-Christian collaboration between two colleges in Massachusetts. The partnership assumes "interrelation with others is a source of enrichment that expands us rather than threatens."

Meanwhile, McCarthiesque efforts to shut down so-called "liberal" professors continue throughout the US.

Careers for Communication Majors Ref P916.3...

Career Opportunities in Advertising and Public Relations Ref HF5828.4 F54 2002

Occupational Outlook Handbook Ref HF5381 U62

Just peeking at the introduction to a collection of essays, The Grammar of Politics, which attempts to apply Wittgenstein's reputedly conservative politics to more radical practices.

A quote from his later work speaks to my writing students and to my own linguistic evolution (if I can be so bold as to hope certain changes are an improvement).

"But how many kinds of sentences are there? . . . There are countless kinds. . . . And this multiplicity is not something fixed, given once and for all; but new types of language, new language-games, as we may say, come into existence, and others become obsolete and forgotten. . . . Here the term 'language-game' is meant to bring into prominence the fact that the speaking of language is part of an activity, or of a form of life. (PI $ 23)" (p 5-6).

A bit later, the term "moral imagination" (coined by Sabina Lovibond) is introduced to describe a commitment "for creating and sustaining immanent yet sometimes oppositional political languages" (6-7). Indeed (referencing James Tully's Political Philosophy as Critical Activity, and aligning with Quentin Skinner, Charles Taylor, Jonathan Havercroft, & David Owen), "This approach starts from the rough ground of practice rather than theory: from political language games that are experienced as problematic and are called into question to become the site of struggle" (8).

The goal of such engagement (genealogical in some respects) is "to change our conventional way of looking at problems in which we are entangled and to enable us to think differently about them" (9).

A resource on New book on evidence-based media regulation in a converged world was posted to the AoIR list today by David.

It looks especially useful for folks interested in regulation.

I assigned this essay by Ted Koppel, And Now, A Word for our Demographic, to the writing class. We discussed it yesterday, and today a student in the Intro to Mass Media class posted a link to this sharp article, ACCESS TO THE DEBATE: PUBLIC EDUCATION IN A POST-POST COLD WAR WORLD by Robert Nolan. The opening paragraph reads:

"SINCE THE EVENTS OF September 11, 2001 ushered in a "second" post cold war period, Americans have failed to reengage with the world at a level sufficient to maintain its role as a leader of democratic states. As potentially dangerous doctrines are put to the test with a largely consensual and uninformed pubic, it is imperative that educators and concerned citizens examine the role of the media, think tanks and the academy itself in shaping public attitudes towards America’s role in the world. Only by creating a richer, more accessible and more internationalist vernacular that draws on common values can the United States continue to lead the increasingly globalized and democratic world it is largely responsible for creating."

Koppel's main point is that journalism is supposed to tell us "what is important", not cater to the whims of consumerist/profitistic desire. Interestingly, he concedes that the most practical strategy might be to use the economic power of the largest demographic, e.g., to work within the paradigm because "That's the way it is." Yet, the title of his piece suggests a more subversive motive. What "word" is he trying to spread?

making the comment about Strom Thurmond that became the historical moment of blogs challenging traditional journalism. I found a blog reference with the offending quote from December 2002.

I also found a story citing a study of blogger's role in Lott's resignation as the US Senate Majority Leader. "The report does not portray the blogs as lead actor, but as intelligent reactor to an event of neglect (similar to an act of omission) within professional newsrooms, where the story of Lott’s remarks languished and nearly died. The case study is largely about herd thinking in the press, and the illusion that “news” jumps out at everyone simultaneously."

David sends neural.it, a McDonald's videogame.

Here's something that could be fun, Jon Stewart hosting the Oscars.