Module Code and Title:        CHS101 History of Mass Communication

Programme:                          BA in Mass Communication

Credit Value:                         12

Module Tutor:                       Saurav Chaliha

General objective: This module will familiarize students with the major historical events that led to the development of various communication practices around the world. The module will broadly chart the growth of mass communication from the invention of the printing press, telegraph, telephones through the innovations of the early 21^st century. The focus is on the analysis of the importance of media communications and their impacts throughout history on society and in major world events.

Learning outcomes – On completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. Discuss the contributions and progressions of communication milestone events based on historical context.
2. Explain the evolution and synchronization of communication methods through different areas of the world.
3. Explain the role of media in building nationalism and in organizing freedom movements
4. Identify propaganda, its forms of usage and its impact on various societal groups in creating an “us” vs “them” mentality.
5. Describe the ways in which the Gulf War and CNN changed information distribution and media intake.
6. Discuss the emergence of censorship in mass media on a wide scale.
7. Identify the differences in the concepts of individual rights and liberties in democracies, dictatorships and communist regimes with regards to communication.
8. Analyse the impact of the 9/11 New York attacks on the world order in terms of news coverage.
9. Describe how foreign policy and governance have evolved in the social media age.

Learning and Teaching Approach:

Assessment Approach:

A. Group Interactive timeline: Portion of Final Marks 10%

Students will be put into small groups of 4 students to construct a timeline that includes visuals and brief text descriptions. The students will present the important events of the time, and how they impacted the delivery of information, distribution methods, and audience. Students will gather radio, television, news or other visual documentation that can be displayed as proof of their assertion.

3%       Significance of supporting visual/audio portions

1%       Accuracy of dates

3%       Thoughtful analysis of delivery, distribution and audience

1%       Language, Organization and Referencing

2%       Verbal & nonverbal communication skills: Eye contact, pitch, enthusiasm, creativity

B. Individual Comparative analysis report: Portion of Final Marks 20%

Two analyses will be done (10% each), of 750-1000 words each. For the first, students will analyse a major historical world event from the syllabus and discuss the varied opinions on the issue. The paper will aim to establish the viewpoint of internal reporting within the country involved in the event and the viewpoint of the outside world on it. For the second, students will analyse an emerging issue/current affairs.

3%       Value of outside sources used

3%       Accuracy of analysis on both sides of the topic

3%       Insightful use of class material to explain the significance of the findings

1%       Language, Organization and Referencing

C. Individual Case study report on propaganda: Portion of Final Marks 15%

Students will individually analyze a domestic or international event related to the use of propaganda as a tool of communication, and discuss their analysis in a report of 1000-1250 words. The assignment will highlight the importance, usage, outcome and impact of propaganda on various sections of societies related to that event.

2%       Explaining propaganda and its uses

10%     Accuracy of linking and analysing the event to showcase the use and impact of propaganda

3%       Language, organization and referencing

D. Midterm examination: Portion of Final Mark: 15%

Students will take a written exam of 1.5 hr duration covering topics up to the mid-point of the semester.

Pre-requisites: None

Subject matter:

1. Unit I: Earliest inventions in communications until 19^th century
   • Origin of hieroglyphics and alphabets
   • The impact of the Acta Diurna and its role in serving as a reference for future newspapers
   • Invention of the printing press and role of individualism in the Renaissance period
   • Use of stone inscriptions and prayer flags as a mode of communication in Bhutan
   • Origin and role of newspapers in the colonial era
   • Importance of national magazines in fostering nationalism and the role of the first African American newspaper in uniting forces against racism
   • Impact of the inventions of telephone and phonograph on communication
2. Unit II: Media during early 20th Century
   • Role of media in promoting nationalism in Europe
   • Media propaganda during World War I
   • Role of BBC in building public opinion during World War II
   • Use of Zero Hour and Tokyo Rose as communication techniques for psychological warfare
   • Role of All India-radio and nationalist newspapers in the freedom movement in India
3. Unit III: Role of media and communication during the cold war era/late 20th century
   • Reporting of warfare: CNN effect and Vietnam syndrome
   • The global impact of the Gulf War on news distribution to the public
   • Case study on media culture: ‘National Emergency in India in 1975’
   • Role of media in Sikkim in building public opinion towards merger with India
   • Case Study: Voice of America as a propaganda tool of the USA
   • Case study: Bhutanese Folktales as a medium of communication
4. Unit IV: Evolution of media in the 21^st Century
   • 9/11 and its impact on news coverage
   • Conducting foreign policy and governance in the age of social media
   • Case Study: The Arab Spring and the use of social media
   • Social impact of government control on media usage: case study of China
   • Emergence and evolution of digital media in Bhutan

Reading List: (A course-pack of the shorter reading materials will be made available to students)

1. Essential Reading
   • Ardussi, J. (2007). Stone Inscriptions: An early written medium in Bhutan and its public uses. In Media and Public Culture: proceedings of the second international seminar on Bhutan studies (pp. 4-18). Thimphu, Thimphu: Centre for Bhutan Studies.
   • Avieson, B. (2015). From Mani stones to Twitter: Bhutan creates a unique media matrix for a 21st century democracy. International Journal of Communication, 9. Retrieved from http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/download/3186/1435
   • Basnett, P., & Guha, D. S. (2014). Kanchenjunga and Sikkim Press: How Media Started Its Practice in Sikkim. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(10), 20-24. doi:10.9790/0837-191062024
   • Briggs, A., & Burke, P. (2014). A social history of the media: from Gutenberg to the Internet. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
   • Chapman, J. (2012). Comparative media history: an introduction: 1789 to the Oxford: Polity.
   • Gagliarducci, S., Onorato, M. G., Sobbrio, F., & Tabellini, G. (2017). War of the waves: Radio and resistance during World War II. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3092226
   • Hroub, K. (2015). (Social) Media and politics and the Arab Spring moment. Quaderns de la Mediterrània, 22, 145- 150. Retrieved from http://www.iemed.org/observatori/arees-danalisi/arxius-adjunts/qm22/98Quaderns_SocialMediaArabSpring_KHroub.pdf
   • Leggett, J. (1976, December 5). Tokyo Rose: Traitor. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/05/archives/tokyo-rose-traitor-or-scapegoat-after-world-war-ii-an-american-girl.html
   • Qinglian, H. (2004). Media control in China. China Rights Forum, 4, 11-28. Retrieved from https://www.hrichina.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/CRF.1.2004/a1_MediaControl1.2004.pdf
   • Sharma, C. S. (2014, May 31). Bhutanese Folktales: Common man's media with missions for society. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dr_Chandra_Shekhar_Sharma/publication/262726069_Bhutanese_Folktales_Common_Man%27s_Media_with_Missions_for_Society/links/0a85e53897d95422c3000000/Bhutanese-Folktales-Common-Mans-Media-with-Missions-for-Society.pdf
   • Singh, I. B. (1980). The Indian mass media system: before, during and after the national emergency. Canadian Journal of Communication, 7(2), 38- 49. doi:10.22230/cjc.1980v7n2a248
   • Starr, P. (2006). The creation of the media: political origins of modern communications. New York: Basic Books.
   • Uttaro, R. A. (1982). The Voices of America in International Radio Propaganda. Law and Contemporary Problems, 45(1), 103-122. doi:10.2307/1191297
2. Additional Reading
   • Roth, M. P. (2010). The encyclopedia of war journalism: 1807 - 2010. Amenia: Grey House Pub.
   • Straubhaar, J., & Larose, R. (2002). Media now: communications media in the information age. Australia: Wadsworth.
   • Winston, B. (2006). Media technology and society: a history: from the telegraph to the Internet. London: Routledge.
   • Zelizer, B., & Allan, S. (2011). Journalism after September 11. London: Routledge.

Date:  May 14, 2018