, Research Paper
Essay 1 – GSC2411 (Theories of Mass Communication unit, Monash University, Australia)
This is NOT an essay – it is a collection of notes which are the foundation of an 800 word comparison of two articles regarding the place of humanities in university studies, and the roles of mass communication.
Part 1 (800 words – 30%)
You will be given two short readings by the end of Week 3 of the Semester. Identify the approach or approaches used in each, and with reference to the features and examples of the identified approaches as presented in Subject materials, justify your answer.
Andrew Riemer’s article, “Cannon or Fodder?” (The Weekend Australian, 16-17 November 1996) can be identified as having both Idealist and Leavisite approaches within the text. This is indicated in several passages of the text:
“My colleagues in the Department of English were irresponsible?They were trivialising the discipline?by allowing undergraduates to sidestep the so-called canonical writers?in favour of whatever transient phenomenon or writer of small talent happened to be their latest obsession.”
“They were reprehensible ? in encouraging their students to impose simple sub-Marxist, sub-feminist templates on complex and mysterious works of literature ? Milton’s Eve reduced to a mere victim of the patriarchy.”
“Alluring though it might be, we cannot recover intellectual integrity by turning back the clock.”
“Cannon or Fodder?” (The Weekend Australian, 16-17 November 1996)
When looking at the approaches as they are presented in the Subject Materials, one is able to identify them as clearly being both Idealistic and Leavisite. Our Subject Book indicates that the Idealistic view of culture has been “conceived in the humanities and in journalism and popular social commentary ? a realm of moral, spiritual and aesthetic values which exist largely independent and above society”. Further, this view states
Culture was isolated from society – autonomous because it had to be abstracted from one way of life (pre-industrial) and then transmitted and extended to another (allegedly inferior) way of life to ’save’ that society.
The Leavisite concept of culture is still common and is firmly bound up in the theory of mass society and mass culture.
Mass communications are seen to hold a crucial and privileged place in mass society, taking over the role of creating and distributing the values and information common to a society.
Mass culture, unlike high culture, is unable to transcend its time and place and offer any kind of lasting truth to its audiences and, at worst, positively damages them.
Critics of Leavis have questioned the narrowing of ‘culture’ to literature.
?idealist concept of culture, synonymous with ‘high’ culture, it carries with it its implied opposite – the denigrated ‘mass’ culture.
?a central assumption of the approach is that there exists a natural hierarchy of high culture and mass culture. This is how the idealist approach deals with differences.
“Media vs. Humanities” Simon During The Australian
Identified approaches: materialist/Frankfurt School
The mainstream perception ? is that universities produce and teach truth through research ? while the media produce and communicate quickly consumable information and opinion.
The weird, ill-judged consensus that the culture is “dumbing down”, which the media itself has helped to forge, is an important expression of this belief assuming as it does that the media breeds stupidity.
?the notion that the media is shallow and deals in opinion while the universities deal in depth and truth is misguided (though by no means simply false). The media are in unacknowledged competition with the humanities.
?in the interest of truth rather than ideology, they have also undercut the western classics claim on transcendental value to which the mainstream still genuflects.
The humanities’ old ethical project has been marginalised first by the democratisation of cultural and media consumption, second by the commercialisation of leisure pursuits, and last, by the segmentation of culture into market niches.
Reader
The central materialist assumption is that it is the material conditions of physical, historical and social being or existence which determine what counts as consciousness.
Marx and Engels argued ? that social problems were political and needed solutions that put social interests ahead of private interests.
“in direct opposition to idealism”
The Frankfurt School’s “critical theory”, as it is known, consisted of investigations into sociology, ideology and philosophy in which their aim was a Marxist analysis of contemporary society.
Другие работы по теме:
Historical Notes In The Handmaid
’s Tale Essay, Research Paper Historical Notes on The Handmaid?s Tale? The Handmaid?s Tale by Margaret Atwood is an intriguing look into a darker one of infinite possibilities that our future as a country offers. The
The Catholic Mass How I Understood It
In My Faith Journey. Essay, Research Paper THE MASS: How I experienced and understood the Mass in my faith journey. I have been going to church every Sunday since I could remember. Every Mass that I attend throughout my life I have felt that I have been getting closer to God. I sometimes look forward to attend Mass and sometimes I do not.
Mass Spectrometer Essay Research Paper Mass SpectrometerA
Mass Spectrometer Essay, Research Paper Mass Spectrometer A mass spectrometer produces charged particles (ions) from the chemical substances that are to be analyzed. The mass spectrometer then uses electric and magnetic fields to measure the mass (weight) of the charged particles. There are many different kinds of mass spectrometers, but all use magnetic and/or electric fields to exert forces on the charged particles produced from the chemicals to be analyzed.
Mass Extinctions On The Earth Essay Research
Paper Mass Extinctions on the Earth Intro: Sixty-five million years ago, some phenomenon triggered mass extinctions on the lands and in the oceans so profound that they define the geological boundary between the older Mesozoic Era, often
The Cave Essay Research Paper Notes on
The Cave Essay, Research Paper Notes on ?The Cave? author- Jean McCord George- Bum who lived in a cave and made statues Charles- Main char. Charles was running when he saw a cave. He stopped and
Black Holes Essay Research Paper In our
Black Holes Essay, Research Paper In our galaxy, there are millions of stars. In our universe, there are millions of galaxies. Humans have known about stars since the beginning of our existence. What we think of these mysterious things have changed over time. Even in periods as short as a lifetime our ideas have changed.
Laheys Teaching Technique Essay Research Paper Essay
Laheys Teaching Technique Essay, Research Paper Essay on Lahey? Introductory Notes After reading the introductory notes, I believe that the most important point that was presented in the notes was the definition of psychology. In order to understand the different causes and effects of psychology, you must first be able to know and understand the definition of it.
Totalitarianism Essay Research Paper I IntroductionPrint sectionTotalitarianism
Totalitarianism Essay, Research Paper I. Introduction Print section Totalitarianism, in political science, system of government and ideology in which all social, political, economic, intellectual, cultural, and spiritual activities are subordinated to the purposes of the rulers of a state. Several important features distinguish totalitarianism, a form of autocracy peculiar to the 20th century, from such older forms as despotism, absolutism, and tyranny.
Personality Essay Research Paper Freud Piaget Erikson
Personality Essay, Research Paper Freud, Piaget, Erikson, and Maslow are the last name of prominent psychologists. They have all gone to great lengths to develop their own unique theories. The theories that they have created, pertaining to personality, happen to be the four best-known theories of personality growth.
Mass Volume And Density Lab Essay Research
Paper Mass, Volume, and Density LabThe purpose of this lab was is to find the mass and volume of an object. Then to find the density of the object using the measurements of the mass and volume.
Systems And Theories Essay Research Paper Many
Systems And Theories Essay, Research Paper Many times we look to past decades in our lives or either in television series with a nostalgic outlook. Looking to the past with a nostalgia outlook is not always healthy for a person. When a person looks to another time in a nostalgic way people see things the way that things used to be and this can affect the outlook they have on society today.
Gum Essay Research Paper In this experiment
Gum Essay, Research Paper In this experiment the independent variable was the amount of mass lost by the gum, the dependant variable was the time the gum was chewed. The controls were how much time was spent chewing, and how each was weighed. In the experiment first each member of the group took a different piece of gum and wrote down what kind it was.
Fusion Heat Essay Research Paper The objective
Fusion Heat Essay, Research Paper The objective of this experiment is to find the heat of fusion of water by using a calorimeter. The calorimeter will be used to melt ice in water to find the
Crucible Lying Essay Research Paper Notes for
Crucible Lying Essay, Research Paper Notes for an essay on human weaknesses that are prominent in the Crucible Lying (pg. 10 – Abigail Williams) Abigail lied to Parris when he asked if she had
Serial Killer Fascination Essay Research Paper Ultimate
Serial Killer Fascination Essay, Research Paper Ultimate Evil Serial killer, mass murderer, and psychopath are three words that should send people running in the other direction. Simply saying these words, people are immediately linking viscous acts with an ultimately evil person committing these crimes.
Where Are They In The Periodic Table
? Essay, Research Paper Thanks to Doc Brown of ChemHelp.Net for these great chemistry revision notes. Check out his site for more! Selected Elements of The Periodic Table (name, symbol and atomic numbers 1-38 &
Cosmological Argument Essay Research Paper Cosmology has
Cosmological Argument Essay, Research Paper Cosmology has always been an interesting area of study for me. For as long as I can remember, every time I look up at the night sky, a million questions pop into my head. Questions such as Is there an intelligent life out there? How large is space, does it expand infinitely, if it does, what does it expand into? These and many other questions still plague my mind.
The Role Of Computers In Chemistry Essay
, Research Paper The Role of Computers in Chemistry Over the last few decades, the technology of computers has improved in leaps and bounds. Computers have become faster and easier to use, taking milliseconds to do the calculations which once had to be done by hand. There are several areas of chemistry where computers have played a significant role, a few of them I will discuss.
Counselors Essay Research Paper Counselors
Counselors Essay, Research Paper Counselors Clients often come to counselors to change their lives in some way, such as to become more assertive. As likely, clients seek counseling as a result of
Deviance Essay Research Paper Theories of Deviant
Deviance Essay, Research Paper Theories of Deviant Behavior examines various theories and perspectives on conforming and deviant behavior which are products of Western scholarly thought: anomie, functionalism, social disorganization, social conflict, social control, psychoanalysis, status politics, differential association, labeling theory, etc.
Personal ObservationAnalysis Essay Research Paper Before I
Personal Observation/Analysis Essay, Research Paper Before I began my collegiate career, my parents or other authoritative figures basically gave me everything that was crucial to my upbringing. Life seemed simple because all the information I needed in order to advance was spoon fed to me. My parents were always there to guide me through life and correct me whenever I made mistakes.
Juvenile Justice Essay Research Paper There are
Juvenile Justice Essay, Research Paper There are many theories of why juveniles become delinquent. Some theories that relate to Gloria are the Biosocial, Choice, Psychological, Social Structure Theories. The first theory that can apply to Gloria is neurological a Biosocial theory. This states that juveniles become delinquent due to learning disabilities such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder.
Pluralism Essay Research Paper PLURALISM AS THE
Pluralism Essay, Research Paper PLURALISM AS THE MOST DESCRIPTIVE THEORY OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENTThere are several different theories as to the question of how America is governed. Thereare those who still espouse the civics book theory, in which the individual is representedby his vote; those who advocate various elitist theories, claiming that we as individualshave no voice, and are merely pawns in some larger game, and there are those others whosupport what is known as the pluralist theory.
Media Influences Essay Research Paper Before the
Media Influences Essay, Research Paper Before the late 19th century, there was only the printed word to convey information to the masses. Since then, the, the world has seen and embraced new technology, which not only enhanced society communication but mass media itself as well. We use mass media mainly to entertain, communicate and persuade these three factors are the motives that help influence society.
Media Influence Essay Research Paper MEDIA INFLUENCE
Media Influence Essay, Research Paper MEDIA INFLUENCE The media play an important role in our lives and influence us in our choices and things we value in life. We definitely live in an information society, large groups of people receive information and store it. There are many opinions about the mass media of communications served as a vehicle for rational discussion featuring the range of political and cultural perspective.
Dreams Essay Research Paper DREAMSDreams are an
Dreams Essay, Research Paper DREAMS Dreams are an essential part of our lives. It is the most important part of the sleep that people need in order to function. In order to understand dreams, one must understand the importance and function of dreams and the different theories surrounding dreams. I have several thoughts and opinions on the widely popularized theories, as well as well as ideas of my own.
Myths Essay Research Paper Is Information Technology
Myths Essay, Research Paper Is Information Technology a good thing? With the invention of the silicon chip, fiber optic cable and satellite communications the information superhighway is real. This global network of computers makes it possible to move massive amounts of information virtually anyplace.
Big Bang Essay Research Paper Before The
Big Bang Essay, Research Paper Before The Big Bang Every since scientists came up with an idea of how the universe started and was created, through the Big Bang, there has always been discussion and questioning on what the universe was, before it was created. Was there nothing because there was no time and no God, or was there something we haven t discovered yet.
Political Power Essay Research Paper Political power
Political Power Political power can simply be defined as the power to influence. The power to influence is essentially the power to control. When pertaining to political matters, the most influential people in any form of government have the most power. The underlying argument is between who has the most influence.
Grand Unified Theory Essay Research Paper Final
Grand Unified Theory Essay, Research Paper Final essay 7 Essay 7 There are many laws to help us understand motion and the way things move and work. Most of the modern excepted theories were either thought up by Sir Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein, and Greene?s theory tried to tie them all together.