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Professor Gary P. Radford Office: The Mansion, Room M34 Course Description "Literary and Communication Theory" is intended as a much needed balance to prevailing American transmission views of communication theory. Modern communication studies has been dominated by Northern American scholarship since the early part of the Twentieth Century. However, the outward flow of American scholarship has not been matched by a flow of European thought back into North America. During the institutional growth of American communication studies in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Americans experienced little loss from this one-way flow of intellectual trade but in more recent years European scholarship has reasserted itself through the resurgence of such traditions as structuralism and semiotics and new bodies of thought, such as the discourse analysis of Michel Foucault, which reflects a distinctively European milieu. When communication research developed in Europe, the tide of American intellectual exporting was at its crest and there was little communication research literature that was not stamped "made in America." In the early 1950s American communication research made deep inroads into Europe and words like "mass," "effects," and "functions," words which signaled American preoccupations, organized the relevant research on both sides of the Atlantic. In more recent years European communication research has turned for inspiration to classical figures in European social thought, to Marxism and phenomenology, to structuralism and to native traditions of literary criticism which derived from and have influenced these larger intellectual movements. Unfortunately, news of these developments in European communication research has filtered only indirectly to the United States. What is called cultural science on the continent and cultural studies in Britain has been generally misunderstood, ignored, or misinterpreted in the United States. "Literary and Communication Theory" considers the contribution and impact of literary theory within contemporary communication studies. The course will examine perspectives such as semiotics, phenomenology, structuralism, and post-structuralism and consider what literary theory contributes to our understanding of human communication processes. Class Texts Radford, Gary P. (2003). On Eco. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. The book is available on Amazon.com. Required Readings Nolan, Christopher (1999). Memento: A Screenplay. Radford, Gary P. (2002). Hermeneutics: An intellectual tradition for communication studies. Radford, Gary P. (2001). Tunnel vision and blind spots. Radford, Gary P. (1994). Overcoming Dewey's "False Psychology:" Reclaiming Communication for Communication Studies. Radford, Gary P. (1992). Scientific knowledge and the twist in the tail: The case of subliminal persuasion. Radford, Gary P. (1988). Toward a structuralist analysis of subliminal persuasion. Recommended Readings Borges, Jorge Luis (1962). The library of Babel (James E. Irby, Trans.). In Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths: Selected stories and other writings (pp. 51-58). Norfolk, CT: New Directions. Deetz, S. A. (1978). Conceptualizing human understanding: Gadamer's hermeneutics and American communication studies. Communication Quarterly, 26(2), 12-23. Deetz, S. A. (1982). Hermeneutics and research in interpersonal communication. In J. J. Pilotta (Ed.), Interpersonal communication: Essays in phenomenology and hermeneutics. Center for Advanced Research in Phenomenology. Eco, U. (1984). Narrative structures in Fleming. In U. Eco, The role of the reader: Explorations in the semiotics of texts. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Foucault, Michel (1972). The archaeology of knowledge (A. M. Sheridan Smith, Trans.) (pp. 210-211). New York, NY: Pantheon Books. Harre, R. (1983). An analysis of social activity. In J. Miller (Ed.), States of mind. New York, NY: Pantheon. Kolak, Daniel (1998). Wittgenstein's Tractatus (Daniel Kolak, Trans.) (pp. 48-49). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield. Ricoeur, P. (1971). The model of the text: Meaningful action considered as text. Social Research, 38(3), 529-562. Guidelines for Writing Conversation Pieces (Knowledge Without Guarantees - Stuart Hall) Conversation Pieces should not exceed 3 pages in length, not including title page and reference page, if any. Conversation Pieces which exceed the 3 page limit will be penalized. Sometimes, when you're doing the readings for a class, or reading a novel, or watching a movie, some quote, scene, idea, verbal exchange, image, etc., will leap out and ignite some spark in your imagination. There is something about it you find especially interesting, fascinating, or problematic. It may make you say "wow!;" it may make you ask "why?;" it may cause you to disagree; it may cause you to associate with something in your own life experience. In the Conversation Pieces required of you this semester, I want you to hang on to that feeling as it arises and attempt to articulate it. I want you to describe and explain why this quote, scene, or image hit you in the head, what reaction it caused, and what, from your life experience would explain that reaction. The method of the Conversation Piece lies in the idea of connections. The Conversation Piece is NOT primarily an informational report on the contents of the readings. Rather, you are being asked to make connections between the readings and anything else to which you see a valid connection. This might be one of the videos we view in class, or a TV show or movie that you have seen, or other readings done in this class, or readings independent of this class (such as readings for other classes, or novels, newspapers, etc.). My goal is that, by articulating connections rather than simply describing what some technical jargon "means," you work with concepts rather than merely repeating them back. The structure of the paper should look something like the following:
The motivation behind the setting of regular Conversation Piece assignments is derived from Jacob Bronowski (Science and human values. New York: Harper and Row, 1956) who writes that: The scientist looks for order in the appearances of nature by exploring...likenesses. For order does not display itself of itself; if it can be said to be there at all, it is not there for the mere looking. There is no way of pointing a finger or a camera at it; order must be discovered and, in a deep sense, it must be created. What we see, as we see it, is mere disorder (p. 24) and also that: the act of creation [lies] in the discovery of a hidden likeness. The scientist or the artist takes two facts or experiences which are separate; he finds in them a likeness which had not been seen before; and he creates a unity by showing the likeness (p. 35). Umberto Eco Meets David Letterman
For your final project, I want you to make a recording of the interview that you can play back to the class. You will need to get some fellow class-mates or other friends to help you. You can do the recording in either video or audio formats. If you have access to a video camera, videotape the interview. Create a stage set. Use appropriate music. Find some friends to act as an audience. Find a friend to act as either the interviewer or the interviewee. Use appropriate props and visual aids, cut-aways, "up-close-and-personal" segments. If a television production is too daunting, record the interview using an audio recorder, as if the interview were being broadcast on the radio. Again, employ appropriate music and sound effects. Persuade a colleague to act as either interviewer or interviewee. All the interviews will be broadcast to the class at the end of the semester. In your term paper, I want you provide me with a transcription of the interview that took place. Tell me what questions you asked and what answers your guest provided. What follow-up questions did you ask? What topics did your guest develop at length? Were there any laughs? Be sure to provide a full bibliography of all sources referred to. The theorists to be considered for the intellectual biographies are:
The paper which describes the transcript of the interview is worth 20% of the final grade. The presentation of the interview (the video or audio production) is worth 10% of the final grade. Evaluation
Allocation of Grades
Rules for Written Work All Conversation Pieces should be written in full and grammatical sentences and have an appropriate introduction, main body, and conclusion. Conversation Pieces should be typed, double-spaced, and have a separate title page with the title of the paper, your name, the name of this class, the name of your professor, and the date the assignment is due by. You should keep a second copy of all written work that you turn in. All written work should be turned in on the date of the deadline contained on the syllabus, not before. Any assignment turned in after the deadline will be assigned a D grade, regardless of its quality (except if it merits a failing grade). Plagiarism Any evidence of plagiarism, the appropriation or imitation of the language, thoughts, or methods of another and representation of them as one's own original work, will automatically result in an F grade for the assignment and possibly an F grade for the course. All sources referred to should be properly cited. Student Agreement Attendance at this class signifies that the student has agreed to abide by and adhere to the policies and regulations specified above. It is understood that the instructor may adapt or change this syllabus and the assignments contained within it according to circumstances that may arise during the course of the class. SYLLABUS 1: Welcome! Introduction to the Course
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This site last updated January 19, 2006. |
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Imagine yourself to be the host of a well-known late-night chat show. You have
interviewed many famous people on your show including personalities from film, sports,
and television. Your next interview will be with a star from the field of Literary and
Communication Theory. Oh boy! In preparation for the interview, you will need to read as
many of the writings of this theorist as you can. You will also need to read what other
people have said about him or her. Using this material, you will come up with a series of
questions you can ask the theorist on your program.
The day of the interview has arrived. The music has played and you have delivered
your usual satirical and hilarious monologue. Your guest has been introduced and is
seated next to you. The interview begins.