Syllabus

Spring 1999

Tues Thurs 8:30-10:15	Professor: Barbara Allen
Library 344	Office: Willis 408 Phone: Ext. 4084
	Office Hours

 The Course

In this course we will study how media influence elections, governing, and citizenship in America. Various concepts from public opinion analysis and the fields of political behavior and political psychology will be used to understand the role news and entertainment media in a self-governing society. Our discussions will also compare and contrast various research methods used in the study of media and politics. Students must have access to a television and radio for nightly analysis of campaign new and will be required to subscribe to the New York Times.

Readings

The following books have been ordered for the course:

• Dean E. Alger, 1996. The Media and Politics 2nd edition, New York:Wadsworth Publishing, 0534-23694-4. (Media)
• Dean E. Alger, 1998. Megamedia. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. 0-8476-8389-3. (Megamedia)
• Stephen Ansolabehere and Shanto Iyengar, Going Negative, 1995. New York: The Free Press, 0684-82284-9
• Timothy E. Cook, 1998. Governing with the News. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 0-226-11500-3.
• James S. Fishkin, 1995. The Voice of the People: Public Opinion and Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press, 0300-06556-6.
• Doris Graber, 1988. Processing the News, 2nd ed. New York: Longman.
• Shanto Iyengar, 1987. Is Anyone Responsible? Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 0226-38854-9.
• Shanto Iyengar and Donald Kinder, 1987. News That Matters, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 0226-38857-3
• Marion Just, et. al. 1996 Crosstalk: Citizens, Candidates, and Media in a Presidential Campaign, Chicago: Univeristy of Chicago Press, 0226-42021-3.
• James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, 1789. New York: Modern Library, 394-30961-8.

On reserve are:

• Barbara Allen, "The Spiral of Silence and Institutional Design: Tocqueville's analysis of public opinion and democracy." Polity, 24:2 (winter), 1991, 243-267.
• Barbara Allen, "Using Film And Television in the Classroom to Explore the Nexus of Sexual and Political Violence" paper presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, August 28- Sept 1, 1996.
• Barbara Allen, Paula O'Laughlin, Amy Jasperson, and John L. Sullivan"The Media and the Gulf War: Framing, Priming, and the Spiral of Silence," Polity, 27: 2 (winter) 1994, 255-284.
• Exerpts from The Work of Film Production
• Marilyn Fife, 1987. "Promoting racial diversity in US broadcasting: federal policies versus social realities," Media, Culture and Society, 9: 481-504
• Lynda Lee Kaid, et al. 1986. New Perspectives on Political Advertising, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. 0-8093-1264-6 (The chapters that we are using)
• James Madison, John Jay, and Alexader Hamilton, The Federalist, 1789. New York: Modern Library, 394-30961-8.
• Shanto Iyengar, et al. "Running as a Woman: Gender Stereotyping in Women's Campaigns," in Pippa Norris, ed. Women Media and Politics, 1997. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 77-98
• Montague Kern and Marion Just, "A Gender Gap Among Viewers," In Norris, op. cit, Pp. 99-112.
• Andrew Kohut and Kimberly Parker, "Talk Radio and Gender Politics," In Norris, op. cit. Pp. 221-234.
• Kathleen Knight and David Barker, "'Talk Radio Turns the Tide'? The Limbaugh Effect: 1993-1995."
• James M. Carlson and Rebecca Trichtinger, "Perspectives on Entertainment Television's Portrayal of a Racial Incident."

Course Requirements

Below are the readings and general topics for each of our meetings. In addition to coming to class prepared to discuss the readings you will take three exams on the dates shown below. Questions for the take-home exams will be available one week prior to the due date. No late exams will be accepted. In the case of a verified family crisis or your own incapacitating illness, you must notify me in writing (a letter delivered to my office) or by voice mail before the exam is due so that I can arrange a make-up exam with you. An email message does not constitute notification. Make-up exams will cover the same material as in the take-home, but they will be timed tests, taken under my supervision and given only when warrented by an extreme emergency. Late exams will otherwise receive a grade of zero.

Grades will be computed as:

Exam 1	35%
Exam 2	30%
Exam 3	35%
Total	100%

Topics for Discussion and Reading Assignments:

Tues Mar 30 Self-Government and Democracy

Read: Iyengar, Is Anyone, intro,

Fishkin Ch 1, Review Federalist 1; 6-10 and 15-17

Thurs Apr 1 Participation and Representation

Read: Fishkin Ch 2; Alger Media Ch 1 and 15

Tues Apr 6 Representation and Responsibility

Read: Iyengar Is Anyone Ch 1, Review Federalist 21-24 and 45-51

Thurs Ap 8 Public Opinion 1: Definitions and Measurement

Read: Alger Media Ch 2; Iyengar and Kinder News Ch 1, 2

Tues Apr 13 Public Opinion 2: Political Participation

Read: B. Allen "Tocqueville and Spiral of Silence" (on reserve); Fiskin Ch 5.

Thurs Apr 15 Public Opinion 3: Narrative and Symbolism in News Reporting

Read: Alger Media Ch 3; Iyengar and Kinder News Ch 7-10; and Iyengar Is Anyone Ch 2

Tues Apr 20 Public Opinion 4: Agenda Setting

Iyengar and Kinder News Ch 3-6

Cook Ch 4, 5

Thurs Apr 22 Public Opinion 5: Information Processing Models and Political Socialization

Graber Ch 1, 5, 7

Tues Apr 27 Public Opinion 6: Assessing Content

Read: Iyengar Is Anyone Ch 3 and 5;

B. Allen et.al "Media and the Gulf War" (on reserve)

Thurs Apr 29 The Structure of News Organization and The Voices of Citizens

Political Communication and Participation

Read Fishkin Ch 5, Fife, "Racial Diversity" (on reserve), and Alger Media Ch 4 recommended

Alger Megamedia Ch 2, 3, 4

Tues May 4 Government - Media Links

Read Alger Media Ch 8 and 9 recommended

View Advise and Consent

Alger Megamedia Ch 6, 8, 9

Thurs May 6 TV: racial attitudes and gender gap

Read: Carlson and Trichtinger, "Perspectives on Entertainment"

Kern and Just, "A Gender Gap Among Viewers," (both on reserve)

View All the President's Men

Tues May 11 Two Topics: 1. Talk Radio and Film Analysis

Read: Kohut and Parker, "Talk Radio and Gender Politics"

Knight and Barker, "'Talk Radio Turns the Tide'?"

"Exerpts from The Work of Film Production"

Allen, "Using Film"

View Manchurian Candidate

**************************** First Exam Due in Class **********************

Thurs May 13 Campaigns and Parties

Read: Kaid Ch 3, (Kolar "Fighting Back: American Political Parties Take to the Airwaves")

and Ansolabehere and Iyengar Negative Ch 1, 2

Just, Ch 1,2

View War Room

Cook Ch 6

Tues May 18 Primaries, Conventions and General Elections

Covering Candidates and Campaigns

Read: Alger Media Ch 10, 11, 290-324; 334-338

Just, Ch 3-6; Iyengar, et al. "Running as a Woman" (on reserve)

View Primary

Thurs May 20 Candidate Information 1: Speeches and Debates

Read: Alger Media Ch 12, 338-353

********************* Second Exam Due in Class **********************

Tues May 25 Candidate Information 2: Campaign Advertising and Coverage

Read: Alger Media Ch 11 324-334, Kaid, Ch 1

(Jamieson, "The Evolution of Political Advertising in America,")

Ansolabehere and Iyengar Negative Ch 3

Just 7-9

Thurs May 27 Candidate Information 3: Campaign Advertising, Analysis and Effects

Read: Alger Media Ch 12, 353-378 and Ch 13

Kaid, Ch 2 (Devlin, "An Analysis of Presidential Television Commercials 1952-1982)

and Ch 7 (Kaid and Davidson, "Elements of Videostyle")

Ansolabehere and Iyengar Negative Ch 4, 5

Cook Ch 8

Kaid Ch 7 recommended and Ch 8 recommended

Tues June 1 Discourse and Decisions, Prospects for Change

Ansolabehere and Iyengar Negative Ch 6, 7

Just Ch 10

Cook Ch 8 recommended

******************** Third Exam Due in Class *********************