J399: Take home exam questions.

Below are two (2) sections of questions from which you will have choices among them to create your essay exam packet. You have one week to complete this exam so be sure to put time and energy into your answers (due at the beginning of class on Thursday May 02). All parts of each question must be answered as well written in a readable and interesting format. You can write your answers either in a straightforward manner or be creative. Either way, be sure to be complete and draw upon readings from class, lectures, guests, and, in most cases, some library or Internet research. Answers that employ terminology from textbooks, class discussions and lectures and include outside research are likely to score higher than those that do not. Should you have any questions, please call or email me or stop by during office hours. This exam is worth 150 points.

Part I:

Select three (3) of the following questions. Each question is worth 20 points.

1. Select a dominant symbol in America (not a brand image). Research the historical foundations of the image and find examples of it in popular media content. Who developed this symbol (How is this symbol used? Has it changed since its original use? If so how? Why do you think this is so?

2.In your text Communication and Culture, Schirato and Yell provide brief descriptions of theorists who have contributed to the intellectual foundations of communication studies. Select one of these individuals and discuss the following:

-Background of the individual

-Contribution to communication studies

-What main point was

-What you think of their idea(s).

-And with your communication studies glasses on, whose contributions are not mentioned (not a person but perhaps a group of people).

3. In your books and in class we have discussed some of the similarities and differences between traditional communication research and communication studies. Describe these and apply this to an examination of media text--how would each perspective approach and study the topic you've identified.

4. Media and identity. Why do we say that media culture relates to our identity as a person? What social forces shape our sense of identity and consciousness and where do communication media fit in this picture? Do you find that media collectively are major factors in society today or in your life?

5. What is semiotics? Through example describe how one puts together an analysis of an image in an ad, television program, film or other media product. What elements work together so that what we see seems natural to us?

Part II

Select two (2) of the following questions. These are longer questions requiring more in-depth analysis and use of outside sources. Copies of these readings are available in the Duniway Center, lower level in Allen Hall. I encourage you to make copies of those articles that you decide to read. Each question is worth 45 points.

1. Read Wanda Coleman's essay "Say it ain't cool, Joe." Using it as a model, write an essay in which you explore the appeal of the Marlboro Man (semiotics works well). Be sure to note the differences in the audiences to which the two characters appeal.

2. In recent years, athletic shoe companies have transformed real athletes into characters to sell their products. Analyze the appeal of one such campaign, basing your analysis on specific examples of ads (you might watch some sports shows on television for broadcast ads or study an issue of Sports Illustrated for print ads.

3. Read Emily Prager's essay "Our Barbies, Ourselves." Using semiotics as your tool of analysis, interpret Barbie semiotically. Be sure to relate Barbie to other dolls in the toy system, consider who designed Barbie.

4. Read Gloria Anzaldúa's essay "How to tame a wild tongue" and Leslie Marmon Silko's "Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective." Then answer the following questions:

A) Why does Anzaldúa blend Spanish and English in her selection?

B) What does she mean by "linguistic terrorism"?

C) According to Silko, why do the Pueblo people mistrust written language?

D) Compare the role of storytelling in Pueblo culture with the role of language in Chicano culture. What role does each play in forming personal and cultural identity? What are the consequences of imposing on each culture different modes of communication?

5. Media texts: Television. Analyze and critique a television show in depth. Search out electronic and print sources for information about the show to give depth to your analysis. Account for something of the origins and economic importance of the program you choose:

-When did it begin? Was it a spin-off from another program?

-What company produces and owns the show?

-What network/channel distributes the program?

-What larger corporation (if any) owns the producing company? The distributing system?

-Who advertises on the show (unless it is noncommercial)?

-What are the ratings history of the program (if available)?

-are items from the program merchandised in other media?

-What "meanings" are present in the show?

-How does its production relate to hegemony?

Your analysis can consider program content, visual style talent, pacing or target audience. Explain the facts of your selected program but also go beyond the facts to examine it in depth--not forgetting the model of encoding and decoding within specific frames of power, knowledge, and technique.

6. All cultures have creation myths (stories and beliefs about how life began). Research one that is not familiar to you either by country, race, ethnicity, spiritual belief system. Write an essay in story form that tells the tale of creation from this group's perspective. Then, discuss why societies have creation myths. Do these myths persist to the present day?