CMN 307
Urban
Communication
Winter 2006
Dr.
Daniel Makagon
Office:
SAC 596
Office
Hours: Monday 1:00-2:00 and by appointment
Phone:
(773) 325-7376
e-mail:
dmakagon@depaul.edu
home
page: http://condor.depaul.edu/~dmakagon/
Course
Objectives
The rise of the
metropolis has been one of the most important and engaging stories in the
twentieth century and into the new millennium. Great hopes and fears are mapped
onto the city. These hopes and fears are reflected in cinematic, photographic,
and televisual images of the city; songs about urban life; talk about the
metropolis; and cultural practices that take shape in urban neighborhoods. The
city is ultimately understood via a complex mix of everyday cultural
experiences, Intercultural interactions, and engagement with symbols (verbal
and mediated). We will pay special attention to relationships between the
material (land, labor, and capital) and the symbolic in an effort to more fully
understand the city as a site of communication. Further, we will focus on the
construction of public spaces that facilitate a more active and engaged public
life.
Required
Texts
Daniel
Makagon, Where the Ball Drops: Days and Nights in Times Square
Richard
Sennett, The Conscience of the Eye
All
other course readings are available on-line. Download and print the files.
http://condor.depaul.edu/~dmakagon/student
Course
Assignments
Class
participation 10%
Quizzes 30%
Mid-term
Paper (4-6 pages) 30%
Final
Group Project 30%
You
are required to complete the reading assignments before you attend class. This will
lead to more fruitful discussion.
Mid-term
Paper
This
assignment asks you to write an analysis of some key issues raised in the first
half of this class (likely 2-3 issues given the paper length). The objective of
this paper is to assess the ways in which communication allows us to more fully
understand contemporary urban life. In general, you should develop a thesis
that identifies important issues pertaining to urban life, as raised in course
materials. The body of your paper should (A) describe the issues, (B) flesh out
the reasons why those issues are important, and (C) discuss how viewing those
issues through a communication lens helps us understand the issues better.
Your
paper should be 4-6 double-spaced pages in length, and you must advance an
argument. Merely summarizing a reading or stating that a reading is correct (or
incorrect) because it speaks (or doesn't speak) to your own personal experience
is not an argument. Further, this paper requires you provide more than a
description of your experiences. You need to write an essay that establishes a
claim about the relationship between urban culture and communication and then
develop support for that claim. This paper is due February 13th.
All
papers must be typed, double-spaced throughout the entire essay, and use a
consistent style (e.g., Chicago, MLA, or APA). Use one-inch margins and
12-point font. Do not send me electronic copies of your work. See the syllabus addendum
(available in the folder that contains pdfs for this class) for a description
of my grading policies and expectations as well as further details on written
assignments.
For assistance
with your writing contact or visit the Writing Center: Lincoln Park at 802
W. Belden, 150 McGaw Hall, 773-325-4272. The Loop at 25 E. Jackson, 1620 Lewis
Center, 312-362-6726. wcenter@depaul.edu.
Final
Group Presentation
You
and your group will be responsible for one group project and presentation
during the semester. This project will focus on the design of public space.
These projects will be presented in class. (A description of the assignment
details and rationale is available in the folder that contains pdfs for this
class.)
Pop
Quizzes
Quizzes
will be short answer and will allow me to gauge how well you understand the
arguments made in the readings. Unlike your papers and class discussion, where
I am interested in your opinions about the issues and the strength of the
writer's argument(s), the quizzes are designed for you to state the author's
argument only. In other words, I am not striving to understand what you think
about the issues; rather, I am interested in how well you understand the
construction of the author's argument. If we do not understand what s/he's
saying then our critique of her/his work will not be properly grounded.
Possible points for each quiz question will be listed after the question
(usually 10 or 20 points per question and usually 1-3 questions per quiz).
Answers will be graded based on your ability to clearly summarize the author's
argument(s) and use examples from the reading to support your answer(s).
Course
Policies
Attendance
and Active Participation are expected and required. Excessive absences will result in a
lower final grade.
Promptness is expected as a general rule.
If you are consistently late to class, your grade will be negatively affected.
All
assignments are due on assigned days. There will be NO MAKE UPS. Documented illnesses or
documented emergencies are the only exception to this policy. Changes in work
schedules, personal celebrations (e.g., birthdays), or vacations are NOT
considered to be legitimate reasons for missing assignment deadlines or class
meetings. If you miss a quiz and have documentation for your absence then you
will take the quiz on the next date you attend class. Similarly, if you have an
excused absence for a class session when you would turn in a paper then you can
give me the paper on the next date you attend class. (Note: If you will be
missing a class because of a religious holiday, let me know in writing at least
two weeks before the holiday so we can make arrangements to make up missed
work.)
If you
have a cellular phone or pager, turn it off or set it to vibrate. Plagiarism
will be discussed below but for now you should note that all cell phones must
be put away during quizzes and you should not be sending or reading text
messages during class sessions.
Plagiarism
I have
often found that plagiarism becomes tempting if students are feeling pressured.
Remember, when in doubt quote. If you are quoting somebody directly then you
need to list the information within quotation marks and cite a page number.
If you are paraphrasing then you need to cite the person and a page number.
Never copy and paste entire documents into your paper and do not quote others
to the point where your ideas become indistinguishable from your source's
ideas. There is no reason to plagiarize given the resources available to you
(e.g., opportunities to meet with me; coaches in the writing center; my handout
on writing for the class; and DePaul's policy on academic integrity, which
can be found at http://studentaffairs.depaul.edu/handbook/code16.html).
If you do plagiarize, you will automatically receive a grade of "F" in this
class. Moreover, the Academic Affairs office will be contacted.
Grade
Scale
93-100 A 78-79 C+
90-92 A-
73-77 C
88-89 B+ 70-72 C-
83-87
B 60-69
D
80-82 B- 0-59 F