CMNS 308
The City at Night
Fall 2008
Dr. Daniel Makagon
Office: SAC 596
Office Hours: Thursday 9:00-10:00
and by appointment
Phone: (773) 325-7376
e-mail: dmakagon@depaul.edu
home page: http://condor.depaul.edu/~dmakagon
Course Description and
Objectives
"In my head there's a city
at night/Static gauge with the rush and the lights," sings Dan Boeckner of Wolf
Parade in "Soldier's Grin." The lyrics capture the city's
psychogeographical energy, the combination of excitement, fear, and hope that
plays out in the streets at night. It also reflects the transformation of the
city's look and feel once the sun sets.
The city is often discussed in public discourse in terms
of divisions (e.g., wealthy neighborhoods/ghettos and commercial spaces/living
spaces) but one of the most powerful dualisms is day and night. Not only do the
rhythms of the city change with the shift from day to night but also the
representational power of light versus dark infuses our sense of who moves
through the city at nighttime. Although most courses about urban life feature
some discussion of the night, the scheduling of these classes prohibits a
consistent first-hand collective experience and analysis of the city at night.
This class seeks to provide students with an opportunity to study urban
communication and culture in the context of the night. We will pay special
attention to relationships between the ways in which people experience the city
at night and the representations of those experiences through mass media,
public discourse, and everyday talk.
There are two central objectives for this course: (1) to
understand and use a variety of fieldwork methods to help us learn about the
unique cultural practices that take shape in the city at night and (2) to
further develop a critical understanding of urban communication and culture
through course readings and experiential learning.
Required Texts
All course readings are available
on-line. Download and print the files from:
http://condor.depaul.edu/~dmakagon/student
Recommended: Haruki Murakami, After
Dark and Sukhdev Sandhu, Night Haunts
Course Assignments
Class Participation 10% ____(pts.)
X .10 = ______
Mid-term Paper (4-6 pages) 30% ____(pts.)
X .30 = ______
4 Reading Response Papers 30% ____(pts.)
X .30 = ______
Final Paper (4-6 pages) 30% ____(pts.)
X .30 = ______
Final Grade= ____________
You are required to complete the
reading assignments before you attend
class. This will lead to more fruitful discussion and help frame course
excursions.
Reading Response Papers
You will be responsible for 4 reading response papers (dates posted in the course schedule section). These papers should be 5+ paragraphs each and critically engage the reading material(s) noted by date. You want to do more than catalogue what you liked/disliked; rather, these papers should feature a combination of the following: (A) discussion of the central thesis raised in the essay(s), (B) summary of key points raised in the reading(s) that functioned to support and flesh out that thesis, and (C) an assessment of the argument as a whole (i.e., why should we care about the issues raised in this reading more generally and how does the essay allow us to better understand urban communication and culture?).
Mid-term Paper
This
assignment asks you to write an analysis of some key issues raised in course
readings during the first half of the 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 the city at night. In
general, you should develop a thesis that identifies important issues
pertaining to the city at night as raised in course readings. 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. Reading Response
papers turned in during the first half of class can help you in terms of describing
issues, but this paper must be more than pasted entries from your reading
response papers. This paper is due October 16 by 9:00.
Final
This
4-6 page assignment asks you to write an analysis of the city at night based
on the work you've been doing throughout the term. The objective of this paper
is to assess course readings and class excursions with regard to issues of
urban communication and culture. What conclusions have you drawn about the
unique symbolic, material, and psychogeographical features and experiences
of the city at night? In general, you should develop a thesis that considers
these questions: (A) "What are the lessons I've learned this term?"
(B) "What do these lessons tell me about urban communication and culture?"
and (C) "How is the city different at night?"
You want to do more than
catalogue what we did or if you liked/disliked the excursion when writing about
course excursions; rather, your final paper should critically examine the sites
of study, the people who guided us, and the broader meanings of the cultural
practices that were central to these spaces and these people. Focus on the
meaning of the places and the practices relative to the night and critically
examine the problems and/or possibilities of such activities in the city.
This paper requires you provide
more than a description of your experiences. You need to reflect on the experience
of studying the city (how it felt; what you gained from it; what problems
you faced; what you learned about the city, the people who work at night,
and the problems people face at this time) and write an essay that establishes
a claim about the relationship between urban communication and the city at
night. As with your mid-term, Reading Response papers can help you in terms
of describing issues, but this paper must be more than pasted entries from
your reading response papers. The Final paper is due November 20 by 5:00
in the College of Communication office (the office closes at 5pm so make sure
you get there on time). Your paper must be time/date stamped.
All
papers must be typed, paginated, 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.
Contact or visit the Writing
Center for assistance with your writing: 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.
Course Policies
Attendance
and Active Participation are expected and
required. Participation grades are factored by considering how often you
participate in class discussion (both in person and via our on-line discussion
forum) and how that discussion advances our overall learning (i.e., I will
consider how your questions help us understand difficult reading passages, how
your contributions further discussion rather than hinder discussion, how your
comments foster lively debate, how your participation grows from an engagement
with the reading and college experience rather than functioning to advance an
autobiographical tale only). If you miss very few classes and your
participation level is excellent, you can expect an "A" for this portion of
your grade. If you miss very few classes and your participation level is above
average (i.e., you participate every other class rather than every class
session), you can expect a "B" for this portion of your grade. If you miss very
few classes and your participation level is average, you can expect a "C" for
this portion of your grade. If you miss the most possible classes you can miss
without failing the class and your participation level is average, you can
expect a "D" for this portion of your grade.
Promptness is expected as a general rule. If you are consistently
late to class, your grade will be negatively affected.
You are
allowed one excused absence in this class (i.e., you have documentation about a
medical illness, family emergency, legal issue/civic responsibility, or are
missing because of an official DePaul function). If you miss more than one
class session, you will receive an "F' in the class (even if the absences are
excused). Missing more than one class session (20% of the term) undermines the
integrity of the classroom experience. If you miss this much class because of
illness or a family emergency, you should meet with the Dean of Students to
discuss withdrawal options. Leaving early or arriving more than 15 minutes late
is an absence.
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.
Students
with disabilities should provide me with documentation from the Office of
Students with Disabilities.
Cellular
Phones: If you have a cellular phone or
pager, turn it off or set it to vibrate, and keep it in your backpack or purse.
All cell phones must be put away during the class session. I will confiscate
cellular phones for the remainder of the class session if you are sending or
reading text messages or using your phone to check email/surf the Internet.
E-mail: I often send e-mail announcements to the class. You need
to (1) make sure your preferred email address in Campus Connect is the address
you check regularly so messages do not bounce back and (2) make sure my email
address will pass through your spam filter.
Plagiarism
I have
often found that plagiarism becomes tempting if students are feeling pressured.
Remember, when in doubt quote. If you are quoting someone else in your
presentation, you need to clearly identify the information as a quote and the
source. Similarly, when paraphrasing, you should clearly identify your source.
If you are quoting somebody directly in your paper 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/). 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, 90-92 A-, 88-89
B+, 83-87 B, 80-82 B-, 78-79 C+, 73-77 C, 70-72 C-, 60-69 D, 0-59 F