Wednesday, June 26, 2013
COM 325 / Week One Discussion: Fundamentalism vs. Relativism: Pros and Cons
There are two meta-perspectives in cultural studies: fundamentalism and relativism. Both provide ethical guidelines for intercultural communication. Yet, both have their limitations. What are the strengths of fundamentalism ethics and relativism ethics; what are their shortcomings?
MA 260 / Week One Discussion: Critical Thinking: My Story
Tell us about your experience with critical thinking in regard to mass media. How did you find the mass media narratives to be inaccurate and biased? How did you find alternative evidence to challenge the claims made by the mainstream media? How did you come to a more reasonable interpretation of events? Have you tried to protest the media for its bias and manipulation?
COM 325 / Week One Discussion: Ethnocentrism: Pros and Cons
Let's admit it, we all have our fair share of ethnocentrism. For example, as a parent, I don't like to listen to my daughter praising her friends' families as cooler than mine after each visit. It is understandable to defend your home turfs. The problem is that sometimes our ethnocentrism goes to extremes. We refuse to admit our own mistakes and think ourselves exceptionally good. Please make a measured argument in regard to the pros and cons of ethnocentrism.
MA 260 / Week One Discussion: Explain "Culture as a Map"
How does the "culture as a map" model explain our relationship with our culture? Have you ever found that sometimes this map is quite outdated? Have you ever found that sometimes this map is skewed by our worldview, our values, and our prejudices? How does mass media influence the mapping of our culture?
COM 325 / Week One Discussion: Culture Shock: My Experience
Tell us your experiences with culture shock. How did you survive and deal with the crisis?
MA 260 / Week One Discussion: Why Is It That "The More Elaborate Our Means of Communication, The Less We Communicate"?
Joseph Priestley (1733-1804)
English chemist and clergyman
COM 325 / Week One Discussion: Are New Communication Technology Making Our World More Polarized?
New communication technologies are helping people reaffirm and extend their cultural awareness, identity, and practice. Yet, the irony lies in the fact that the more communication equipment and modern conveniences we have, the more we are likely to congregate with the like-minded; henceforward, we are becoming more isolated and more likely to stay within our lifestyle enclaves. Today, we have the Internet to help us build a great global community, yet we end up with severe global schism. So, what's wrong with new communication technology?
MA 260 / Week One Discussion: Is The Mass Media Stunting Our Imagination and Undermining Our Ability to Appreciate Great Art?
According to the "culture as a skyscraper" model, low or popular culture inundates society because of its profitability and appeal to mass audiences. Like "junk food" and "Monsanto," low culture is fast and easily manufactured, distributed, and digested. Should the mass media industry be blamed for the "dumbing-down" of our culture and the dulling of our cultural taste buds?
COM 325 / Week One Discussion: A Delicate Balance: Diversity v. Unity
At the beginning of chapter one, our textbook quotes Hillary Clinton's remark about "find[ing] a way to celebrate our diversity and debate our differences without fracturing our communities." It seems that there is a tension between diversity and unity (common good). For example, while France restricts burkas in public and Holland bans Kosher slaughtering, Canada accommodates Jewish divorce rules (Jewish law permits only the husband to grant a divorce) and U.K. incorporates sharia law. Where should we draw the line so we can strike a delicate balance between diversity and unity within a national community? Do you have any experiences in regard to this dilemma?
Monday, June 24, 2013
MA 260 / Week One Discussion: Too Much Entertainment?
Two thousand years ago, Plato (429-347 B.C.E.) issued an injunction to Athenian democracy that art should aim to "instruct and uplift." Today, we see that art (the staple content of mass media) aims more to entertain rather than to uplift. How do you evaluate today's media content? Do you agree with Plato? Are we entertained too much?
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