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University Bulletin: Undergraduate Programs 2003-2004 The George Washington University  

 
    
 
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MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

 

Professors C.H. Sterling, J.B. Manheim, S.V. Roberts, R.M. Entman, L. Huebner (Director), F. Sesno, S.L. Livingston, M.G. Freedman

Associate Professors J.E. Steele, L.S. Harvey, A.L. May III, M. Feldstein, P.F. Phalen, S. Aday, R. Russell, K.A. Gross

Assistant Professors S. Keller, N. Seavey (Research), J.M. Shanahan, S. Waisbord

Master of Arts in the field of media and public affairs—Prerequisite: An undergraduate degree in a related field.

Required: the general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and completion of 36 credit hours as follows.

1. SMPA core courses (15 credit hours)—SMPA 202, 203, 205, 210, 241. Students with extraordinary backgrounds can petition for exemption from any of the core courses.

2. Students take five courses (15 credit hours) in an area of specialization, with approval of advisor. Students develop a program of study with the advisor and may take the courses in other GW departments or schools. One of the courses (3 credits) may be a supervised internship with a Washington organization working in areas relevant to the specialization. In all cases, the burden is on students and advisors to choose courses for their coherence and relevance to the specialization.

3. Students complete 6 additional credits in one of the following ways as approved by the advisor: writing a research thesis; writing a supervised in-depth journalism project; writing a supervised strategic communication report addressed to the solution of a client’s communication-related problem; or taking two additional graduate courses coherently related to the specialization (with a minimum grade of B+), followed by a comprehensive examination.

A graduate certificate in documentary filmmaking is offered by the School of Media and Public Affairs. Information is available at www.gwu.edu/doccenter.

With permission of the advisor, a limited number of 100-level undergraduate courses may be taken for graduate credit; additional course work is required.

202 Theories of Mediated Political Communication (3) Aday and Staff
  Institutional functions and individual effects of mediated communication. Impacts of different textual content and format on individual thinking and emotion; forces that shape content production.
203 Comparative Media Systems (3) Waisbord and Staff
  Systematic exploration of the forms of mediated communication across countries and cultures, including their institutional shape and functions; relationships among market pressures, communication policies, political cultures, and party systems; and effects of the media systems on the politics and policies of various countries.
204 Strategic Political Communication (3) Manheim and Staff
  Theory, techniques, and implications of strategic communication as employed by individuals, groups, organizations, and governments to advance their interests; applications to non-electoral politics and policymaking; use of political, psychological, sociological, and other processes; methodological considerations; domestic and international applications.
205 Media and Globalization (3) Huebner, Steele, Waisbord
  Theories of media and globalization. The changing role of communication media, including the Internet and other newer technologies as well as traditional books, film, newspapers, telephone, and satellite in establishing closer relationships and interdependencies among people, their cultures, and their organizations in various countries.
210 Media and Foreign Policy (3) Livingston and Staff
  The effects of U.S. media on U.S. and foreign governments, and of foreign media on the U.S.; effects of other countries’ media on each other; the impact of the Internet, inexpensive global phoning, CNN, al Jazeera, and other newer technologies and networks on the stuff of international relations: diplomacy, military operations, trade negotiations.
230 Principles and Methods of Documentary Filmmaking (3) Seavey
  Analytical and practical exploration of the elements of documentary filmmaking. The genres of nonfiction filmmaking; fundamentals of film conceptualization, documentary screenwriting, story structure, and production theory; and basic practical elements of production. Admission by permission of instructor.
231 Documentary Filmmaking Practicum (6) Seavey
  Intensive practical experience in documentary film production. Students produce a 10—15-minute documentary film on a selected topic. Emphasis on major markers in film production: treatment and script writing, location shooting, Final Cut Pro editing, graphics, music, and final sound mix. Prerequisite: SMPA 230 and permission of instructor.
241 Research Methods (3) Gross and Staff
  Design, applications, and limitations of quantitative research as applied to the field of media and public affairs. Framing of research questions, identification of variables and formulation of hypotheses, measurement, sampling, data gathering techniques, data analysis, and preparation of research reports. Brief exposure to qualitative research. Prerequisite: an undergraduate statistics course.
250 Topics in Media Processes and Institutions (3) Staff
  Topics address such issues as the history of media content, institutions, and process; impact of changing communication technology on culture; history and development of mass-produced culture; and professional ideology and practice of journalism. May be repeated for credit provided the topic differs.
251 Development of American Electronic Media (3) Sterling
  History of the development of radio, television, cable, and newer electronic media services. Examination of changing technologies, industry structures (national and local) and economics, program trends, audience research and impact, and regulation and policy.
252 History of Investigative Journalism (3) Feldstein
  Investigative reporting in the United States from colonial times to the present. What is investigative reporting? How has it evolved over the years? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Why does it matter? Examination of the major issues in contemporary investigative reporting.
260 Topics in Theory and Effects (3) Aday, Phalan, and Staff
  Topics address such issues as the relationship between broadcast content and the construction of social perceptions; anthropology of media; and viewership, readership, and the changing global audience.
270 Topics in Media and Public Affairs (3) Staff
  Topics explore such areas as social theories of public opinion and mass media’s response; and the role of mass media in constructing social perceptions of the scientific process and its relationship to cultural and material life.
271 Media in the Developing World (3) Steele, Waisbord
  Examination of changes in thinking about the role of the press in economic, social, and national development. Topics may include the Cold War model of the press as an agent of modernization, development journalism, post-colonial responses to Western "cultural imperialism," media and Islam, the role of the Internet, and theories of the media and globalization.
272 Media Bias, Power, and Democracy (3) Entman
  Consideration of the available scholarly evidence in order to develop a more sophisticated empirical and theoretical understanding of what constitutes media bias. How do we recognize and measure bias? Are there patterns in decisions about news coverage that indicate bias? Which political parties and economic interests benefit from patterns of news coverage?
273 Race, Media, Politics, and Policy (3) Gross, Entman
  The place of race in American society and politics, with special attention to the role of the media. Drawing on work from a range of disciplines, the course explores communicated images of racial minorities and their impact on public opinion, intergroup relations, and U.S. politics and public policy.
274 Media and War (3) Aday
  Historic and contemporary examination of the media’s role in wartime. Topics include covering war, the role of the media in generating support for foreign intervention, propaganda, effects of war coverage on public opinion, media and genocide, and public diplomacy. Ethical, philosophical and political implications of the media’s role.
280 Topics in Research (3) Staff
  Advanced research methods used in the study of media effects, history, law, and policy. May be repeated for credit with departmental approval. Prerequisite: SMPA 241.
296 Directed Readings and Research (3) Staff
  Independent research with SMPA faculty member. Must be approved in advance by supervising professor and director of graduate studies. May be repeated for credit with departmental approval.
297 Field Experience (1 to 3) Staff
  Students spend 12—20 hours per week in an approved position. Outside reading and/or research under the supervision of an SMPA faculty member. Graded CR/NC only. May be repeated for credit with departmental approval.
298 Independent Study (1 to 3) Staff
  Independent research project conducted with a faculty advisor. Must be approved by director of graduate studies.
299—300 Thesis Research (3—3)  
 

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Information in this bulletin is generally accurate as of fall 2008. The University reserves the right to change courses, programs, fees, and the academic calendar, or to make other changes deemed necessary or desirable, giving advance notice of change when possible.