ComS 114: Communication and American Culture
Crime, Entertainment, and American Culture
Professor Jenny Stark E-mail: jenstark@csus.edu
Summer Session B: July 10-Aug 20

Grades:

5 Collaborative in-class group writing 6 pts each 30 pts total (There will be 5 and they can happen on any day--no make-ups)
10 Homework Assignments 2 points each 20 pts total. (Assignments will be completed on Sac Ct)
2 Midterm and Final Exam (non cumulative) 50 pts total

Readings:

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business Neil Postman
Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial

Podcast: Serial Season 1
Various other podcasts and online content

Online readings also posted on syllabus.

All reading assignments should be completed before date on syllabus

Area E: Requirements

• Enhances the student's understanding of the development of the individual as a social being
• Includes a study of how internal and external influences interact in human development
• Promotes critical self-understanding, and accordingly will involve consideration of such topics as individual behavior and the relation of the person to culture

Students will:

• Recognize and critically examine the development of the individual as a member of American culture
• Will recognize and analyze the effects of entertainment and storytelling on individual behavior and its relation to culture
  

Specifically in this course:

• Critical analysis of the ways modern American media interact with the conduct of American life
• Emphasizes the role of commercialism and other aspects of contemporary American capitalism, late capitalism, and neoliberalism
• Examines the problem of personal development and relationships in the context of a commercially dominated media system.
• Understanding of how different forms of media interact with American life
• Understand how the crime narrative shapes our perspective on real-life events
• Explain the role of commerce/entertainment and how it forms the American Identity

Personal development in this context includes:

• Connection to others and the world around us
• The ability to concentrate free of distraction
• Increased awareness of issues that are relevant to our lives
• To communicate clearly and effectively
• Recoginition of the influence of entertainment on all aspects of America culture
• The ability to determine when entertainment is appropriate and when it is inappropriate as a means to communicate-
• The devolopment of a nuanced approach to understanding crime storytelling

Goals:

This course is driven by a central question: How do different media shape, obscure, and influence American Culture? To answer this question, we will be looking at different forms of media:

Non-fiction Television
A Serialized podcast
Comedy

Format:

This course will combine traditional lectures with other formats such as discussion, small group breakout sessions, outside reading and in-class screenings.