by Kia Heise and Hollie Nyseth,
Feb 10, 2011, at 08:00 am
We recommend incorporating the article ”Controlling the Media in Iraq” by Andrew M. Linder (Contexts, Spring 2008) in a class or lesson on media or international relations. This article is highly readable and the topic is timely and of interest to undergraduates. Use the questions below to get a discussion started on this topic:
A PDF of this entire article is available from Contexts!
1) How has this article influenced your understanding of the relationship between journalism and war?
2) The author offers two ideas of how embedded reporters come to write from a military point of view. Discuss the theories of empathy through socialization (at the extreme, Stockholm Syndrome) versus boundaries and limitations placed by the military.
3) What do you make of the findings that embedded journalists reported more frequently from a soldier’s point of view?
by Kia Heise and Hollie Nyseth,
Jun 24, 2010, at 08:00 am
For the most recent issue of Contexts (Spring 2010), our culture editor David Grazian sat down with journalist and novelist Chuck Klosterman to discuss pop culture from a sociological standpoint. While this is not the traditional type of article for classroom use, we believe it could spark a good discussion among students about sociological understandings of popular culture in their own worlds. This activity would be particularly useful in a Media and Culture class or an Intro class.
For this activity, students should either read the edited exchange “Glam Metal and Guilty Pleasures: Sailing Away with Chuck Klosterman and David Grazian” or listen to segments of the interview (Part 1 & Part 2) online.
With their new sociological outlook on popular culture, have the students pick a facet of pop culture or a cultural phenomenon that is of sociological interest and that they are particularly interested in (e.g. Lady Gaga’s latest video, The Biggest Loser, pop-country music, America’s Next Top Model, video games, American Idol, Jersey Shore, Glee, Twitter, celebrities’ extra-marital affairs, and the list goes on…). You can give students latitude in choosing which element of pop culture to explore. Then, have them interview at least one person they know (friend, roommate, sibling, parent, etc.) about their chosen cultural phenomenon. Students could then write a reflection of the interview or share what took place during the interview in groups during class.
by Kia Heise and Hollie Nyseth,
Apr 22, 2010, at 08:00 am
This learning activity was written by Jasmine Harris-LaMothe, a graduate student in the University of Minnesota Sociology department, to accompany “Roll Over Beethoven, There’s A New Way to Be Cool” by Richard A. Peterson in Contexts Summer 2001.
For generations, preference for “high” culture included an interest in cultural mediums not readily available to the masses and signified a marked difference between the elites and everyone else. Today, “elite” status requires a familiarity with more – not just higher – forms of culture. This has significantly changed the way fine arts are depicted in the media and thus understood by the public.
Fill out the questionnaire below on your demographic information and your taste in fine arts. After you’ve completed the questions, turn to the neighbor and discuss your answers.
1. Male or Female
2. Age
3. Where is your hometown?
Answer never, rarely, sometimes, or often to the questions below:
4. How often do you read a book for pleasure? ___________
5. How often do you go to the movies?__________
6. How often do you read a newspaper?___________
7. How often do you watch the news on television?____________
8. How often do you watch other types of live (non-DVRed) television?_____________
9. When was the last time you visited an art museum?____________
10. When was the last time you visited the theater?_____________
Provide your top three answers to the questions below:
11. Who are your favorite musical artists?
12. What are your favorite musical genres?
13. What are your favorite plays?
14. What are your favorite ballets?
15. What are your favorite operas?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- Are you and/or your partner cultural “omnivores” or “univores?”
- Are your tastes reflective of your demographic information?
- Do you think your answers are reflective of changes in medium preferences among the greater population?
What implications do the aforementioned changes in medium likes/dislikes have for the future of mass media as a whole?
by Hollie Nyseth and Kia Heise,
Mar 4, 2010, at 12:47 pm
This case study was written by Jasmine Harris LaMothe, a sociology Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota. It should be paired with “Do Video Games Kill?” by Karen Sternheim (Contexts Fall 2006). As always, here is the pdf as well.
A masked 18-year-old man stormed Mayberry High School on last Monday in the North Carolina town of Mayberry, killing 14 and wounding as many as 57 people before killing himself. You were in class when the barrage of gunfire began and luckily escaped unharmed because your teacher locked the door in your windowless classroom before the gunman tried to enter. A few of your friends, including your best friend and neighbor, were among the 14 killed when the gunman opened fire on the students eating lunch in the cafeteria.
The young man, identified only as Robert B., was known to authorities and due in court on Tuesday for weapons violations, local police said. According to media reports, he had a fondness for war simulation and computer games. You can personally attest to this as you have had numerous conversations with Robert over the past year regarding your common love for war-themed video games. In fact, you’ve even been to his house to play and never noticed anything strange. In fact, Robert was pretty well liked among his peers.
The autopsy report indicated high levels of illegal narcotics in Robert’s system. The school guidance counselor reported that Robert had been having difficulty with his parents’ recent divorce but never exhibited behavior to cause concern that he might harm himself or others. He often talked about his video game play, but he never talked about it in way that seemed obsessive or out of touch with reality. All-in-all, this outburst of violence came as a complete shock.
The families of the victims have filed a class action suit against the video game company that manufactures the games Robert (and you) played and have personally requested that you testify against the company in a court of law to highlight the excessive violence of the games and the negative impact they may have on already emotionally or mentally fragile youth. The families are hoping this lawsuit will result in a hefty monetary penalty but also a potential state or nationwide ban on games that simulate gratuitous killing.
- Would you testify against the video game manufacturer? If so, what would you say?
- Should video game manufacturers shoulder some of the blame when youths commit violent attacks that mirror those from their games?
- How has the media shaped public opinion on violent video games?
- Is this public opinion warranted? Why or why not?
