Course Description
This research oriented course is designed to 1) examine the historical context surrounding selected current events 2) analyze the media systems through which so many of our perceptions of the world are formed 3) demonstrate how to establish firm connections between the past and the present 4) utilize mass communications technology such as the radio or internet to convey historical information to the general public. During the course of the semester, we will study the historical development of several news stories occurring around the world; and we will search for the historical connections that exist among what may only appear to be independent events. We will utilize world-historical and comparative methodologies in our search for past and present connections. Chronologically this course will focus on the twentieth/twenty-first centuries, and primarily on the last fifty years. But, we will extend our study backwards as far as is necessary. The underlying assumption of this course is that a basic working knowledge of the historical context surrounding contemporary events and an understanding of how media systems function as information providers are necessary conceptual tools for grasping the complexities of the interdependent world in which we live. Prerequisite: ENGL 102 & completion of Social Science core.

Objectives/Goals
It is my intention that you leave this course with an intellectual tool that you can utilize (and customize) to better understand the dynamics of the world around you. By the end of this course you will strengthen/develop your ability to:

• educate yourself
• formulate relevant and productive questions relating to the world around you
• independently research topics of interest/concern to you
• analyze information presented to you in written, oral, and visual forms
• identify the strengths/weaknesses of an argument and its supporting sources
• write brief analytical essays
• formally and informally present your ideas orally
• lead intellectual discussions
• support your ideas with evidence
• engage in informed debate
• understand how to approach issues from from multiple perspectives
• apply historical knowledge to better understand the present
• understand of the importance of using global and comparative approaches to historical problems
• convey the relevance of the history behind the daily news to each other and the general public orally, in writing, and in a digital format
  
  

Required Readings

- Something New Under the Sun, J.R. McNeill (Norton: 2000)
- Killing Hope, William Blum. (Common Courage Press: 1995)
- The New York Times (Hardcopy or Online)
- One foreign internet newspaper of relevance to your project.
- Articles and Individual Chapters on Reserve in the Library
- See the following link for a basic Turabian Style Guide.

Additional Resources

• Producing Historical Documentaries for Radio an amazing course syllabus by Prof. Gerald Zahavi in the Department. of History at the University at Albany-SUNY
• Talking History is based at the University at Albany, State University of New York and according to its missions statement "is a production, distribution, and instructional center for all forms of "aural" history. Our mission is to provide teachers, students, researchers and the general public with as broad and outstanding a collection of audio documentaries, speeches, debates, oral histories, conference sessions, commentaries, archival audio sources, and other aural history resources as is available anywhere."
• History News Service
• History News Network
  

Grading and Evaluation

I. Class Participation 20%;
II. Projects and Short Writing Assignments 40%

- 15 min. Something New Under the Sun chapter presentation
- 4 page Something New Under the Sun book analysis*
- 3 page review of a radio documentary
- Short formal outline of tranforming an academic artilce to a radio documentary
- Recording of a short interview relevant to your project
- 2 page script and recording of a short historical feature documentary

III. 20-minute History Behind the News Radio Project 40%; including script (footnoted and with a bibliography), and recording of the final production.

[The standard grading scale will be used in this course. 90 and above = A: Excellent Work; 80-89 = B: Above Average Work; 70-79 = C: Average Work; 60-69 = D: Below Average Work; 59 and below = F: Fail. +'s and -'s will also be used. - = _0-_2, + = _7-_9]

Schedule

The schedule is subject to change.

Week One (1/16; 1/18):

(T) Syllabus online; Exploration/Evaluation of the History Behind the News Site

(TH) Sign up for NY Times online; Take a look at Internet newspaper sites; Sign up for H-World; Discussion of the Radio Projects

• Project Assignment Listen to Bill Moyers, winner of more than 30 Emmy Awards, address the National Conference on Media Reform. On Democray Now. Come to class with a set of notes on his talk -- What seems to be the major issue(s) he is concerned about? What are his proposed solutions? What questions do you have relating to his talk?

Week Two (1/23; 1/25)

(T) Video: "The Myth of the Liberal Media"

(TH) Tentative Mass DJ Training

• Project Assignment: Listen to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent from Vermont) address the National Conference on Media Reform. On Democray Now. Come to class with a set of notes on his talk -- What seems to be the major issue(s) he is concerned about? What are his proposed solutions? What questions do you have relating to his talk?

Week Three (1/30; 2/1) :

(T) New York Times Discussion; Discussion of Book reviews

• Assigment: Come to class with two book reviews of Something New Under the Sun. One must be from a scholarly journal focused on history. Also, what is the background of the author of this book?

(TH) Readings: McNeill Preface, Conclusion, Ch. 1, Prolouge: Peculiarities of a Prodigal Century; and Ch. 2, The Lithosphere and Pedosphere

• Assignment: Come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. In particular, 1. What is the main argument(s) this author will present throughout the book as outlined in the preface and the conclusion? 2. What is the authors main point(s) in Ch.1? What type(s) of data did he use to support these points? Were you convinced? If environmental change is as old as the planet itself, why does the author think the 20th century was different? 3. What argument(s) does McNeill put forth in Ch. 2? What types of data does he use to support his claims? Were you convinced?

Additionally, McNeill tells several different kinds of stories in this book, depending on what you look for. He tells the story of human interaction with nature in the twentieth century but he also tells the story of workers and their struggles as they relate to the environment, the story of "party politics" as they relate to the environment, the story of business and industry as they relate to the environment and so forth. Keep track of the different kinds of stories McNeill tells and be prepared to discuss them in class. These will build on each other as we move through the book.

 

Week Four (2/6; 2/8):

(T) Project Assignment: Look at the different types of documentaries in the Radio Archive on the Talking History website; take note of any patterns you see. Be prepared to describe the different kinds (topic and format) of documentaries in the archive. Listen to at least two programs, and write a 3 page review on one. In your review consider historical content, structure, and sound/production quality. Remember the point of this assignment is for you to get some ideas about different kinds of projects you could do.

(TH) McNeill discussion continued

Week Five (2/13; 2/15)

(T) Readings: McNeill Ch. 3 and 4, The Atmosphere

Group #1. 15 minute presentation of Ch. 3; questions for intellegent discussion

1. Seth
2. Terri

Group #2. 15 minute presentation of Ch. 4; questions for intellegent discussion

1. Whitney
2. Jared

Group #3. intellegent discussion

 

(TH) New York Times Discussion; Project Discussion

Week Six (2/20; 2/22)

(T) Project Assignment: Find any academic history article that you believe would be amenable to translation into an audio documentary. Bring in a short typed outline/plan for how you would go about adapting the article into audio form. You might look at The Journal of World History, The American Historical Review, The Journal of American History, or more specialized journals such as the Journal of Social History, Journal of Women's History, Labor History, and so on. Identify audio elements you would need to produce your piece.

(TH) Tentative Guest Speaker: TBA

Week Seven (2/27; 3/1)

(T) Readings: McNeill Ch. 5 and 6, The Hydrosphere

Group #1. 15 minute presentation of Ch. 5; questions for intellegent discussion

1. Kaitlyn
2. Jason

Group #2. 15 minute presentation of Ch. 6; questions for intellegent discussion

1. Kyle
2. Crystal

Group #3. intellegent discussion

.

(TH) New York Times Discussion; Project Discussion

Week Eight (3/6; 3/8)

(T) Tentative Independent Reseach Day

(TH) Project/Assignment: Record a short interview, ideally one that will be useful to you for your final documentary project. You could interview a scholar familiar with your topic, a primary source (literally or creatively), or any source that can provide perspective and information. You will soon receive directions on how to submit the recording.

Week Nine (3/13; 3/15)

(T) Readings: McNeill Ch. 7 and 8, The Biosphere

Group #1. 15 minute presentation of Ch. 7; questions for intellegent discussion

1.
2.

Group #2. 15 minute presentation of Ch. 8: questions for intellegent discussion

1. Nathan
2. Joe G.

Group #3. intellegent discussion

 

(TH) TBA

(3/20; 3/22) Spring Break

Week Ten (3/27; 3/29)

(T) Guest Speaker

(TH) Project Updates

Week Eleven (4/3; 4/5)

(T) Guest Speaker: Meet in ADM 12

(TH) Project/Assignment: Develop a full script for your radio show.

Week Twelve (4/10; 4/12)

(T) Check in and Individual Consulations

(TH) Check in and Individual Consultations

Week Thirteen (4/17; 4/19)

(T) On your own: Recording/Editing of Audio Presentations

(TH) Check in and: Recording/Editing of Audio Presentations

(T) Audio Presentations Due

(TH) Audio Presentations Copied and Distributed

 

Week Fifteen (5/1; 5/3)

(T) Audio Presentations Discussions/Evaluation

(TH) Audio Presentations Discussions/Evaluation

 

Week Sixteen (5/8; 5/10)

(T) What did I learn?

(TH) TBA