media in Latin America since independence to the incumbent post-neoliberal
area ..... media and politics and author of “Wiki media leaks”. - 17. PBS's Frontline
: ...
Global Media Seminar: Latin America Class code
MCC-UE.9455.1.001
Instructor Details
Martín Sivak
[email protected] Office hours: Wednesday 6-7
Class Details
Global media Seminar: Latin America Mondays and Wednesday 7-8.30 Location to be confirmed.
Prerequisites
Class Description
Desired Outcomes
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There are no prerequisites for this class.
Using a historical perspective, the course aims to acquaint students with Latin American theories, practices and representations of the media. Departing from a critical approach to Habra’s´ theory of the public sphere, the course will trace the arc of the media in Latin America since independence to the incumbent post-neoliberal area and the so-called “Media Wars”. Given that Argentina is facing an extraordinary conflict between the government and the Clarín media conglomerate (the largest of its kind in Latin America), the students will engage in the current incendiary debates about the role of the media, the new media law and the complex relationship between the media, politics and the state. The main outcomes of the seminar are: •
To introduce students into the main lines of Latin American research on media.
•
To present different ways to approach and analyze media practices and representations
•
To get them in touch with local topics, problems, pieces of news, articles in order to articulate the readings and the major and most important local events during
their stay
in Argentina.
. Assessment Components
- One or two class presentation per student. The course also demands two written exams: 1) A 5-8 page midterm paper based on a question provided in advance that will have to be handed in on time and printed (exams will not be graded if received by email). 2) An 8-10 page final essay. Students are expected to select a part of the bibliography and the analysis provided in the course and present a reflection about the conflicts between the media and the Latin American governments. The essay must also be handed in on time and printed (essays will not be graded if received by email).
Class participation/attendance/reports
Assessment Expectations
Midterm
30%
Final
40%
30%
Grade A: The student makes excellent use of empirical and theoretical material and offers well structured arguments in his/her work. The student writes comprehensive essays / exam questions and his/her work shows strong evidence of critical thought and extensive reading. Grade B: The candidate shows a good understanding of the problem and has demonstrated the ability to formulate and execute a coherent research strategy. Grade C: Work is acceptable and shows a basic grasp of the research problem. However, the work fails to organize findings coherently and is in need of improvement. Grade D: The work passes because some relevant points are made. However, there may be a problem of poor definition, lack of critical awareness, poor research. Grade F: The work shows that the research problem is not understood; there is little or no critical awareness and the research is clearly negligible.
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Grade conversion
100-93 92-90 89-87 86-83 82-80 79-77
A AB+ B BC+
76-73 72-70 69-67 66-60 59-0
C CD+ D F
Exams and Final Exam dates cannot be changed under any circumstance. Submission of work Mid term exam dates will be scheduled with each professor and it must be before the break. Unexcused absences from exams are not permitted and will result in failure of the exam. If you are granted an excused absence from examination (with authorization, as above), your lecturer will decide how you will make-up the assessment component, if at all (by make-up examination, extra coursework, or an increased weighting on an alternate assessment component, etc.). Written work due in class must be submitted during the class time to the professor. Final essays must be submitted to the professor in print and electronic copy. If the student is not in Buenos Aires, he / she must send a printed copy via express postal mail (i.e. FeDEX, DHL, UPS, etc) to the NYU Center in Buenos Aires – Anchorena 1314 - (C1425ELF) Argentina. This copy must arrive before or on the date of established deadline.
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Attendance Policy
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NYU Buenos Aires has a strict policy about course attendance. Students should contact their class teachers to catch up on missed work but should NOT approach them for excused absences. Absences due to illness must be discussed with the Assistant Director for Academics Affairs, María Pirovano Peña within one week of your return to class. A doctor note excusing your absence is mandatory. The date on the doctor’s note must be the date of the missed class or exam Absence requests for non-illness purposes must be discussed with the Assistant Director for Academics Affairs, María Pirovano Peña prior to the date(s) in question. If students have more than two unexcused absences they will be penalized by deducting 50 % of the class participation grade. Please be aware that in most of the courses the class participation grade is 20% of the final grade. So the 50% of the class participation grade would mean 10 % of the final grade. If students have more than four unexcused absences they will fail the course. Intensive Languages Courses: students who have more than three unexcused absences will be penalized by deducting 50% of the class participation grade. Please be aware that in most of the courses the class participation grade is 20% of the final grade. So the 50% of the class participation grade would mean 10 % of the final grade. Those students who have more than five unexcused absences will fail the course. Each class has a duration of one hour and half or two hours. Missing one class represents one absence. For those courses that meet once a week (three hours block), missing one class represents two absences. Students are responsible for making up any work missed due to absence. NYU BA also expects students to arrive to class promptly (both at the beginning and after any breaks) and to remain for the duration of the class. Three late arrivals or earlier departures (10 minutes after the starting time or before the ending time) will be considered one absence. Please note that for classes involving a field trip or other external visit, transportation difficulties are never grounds for an excused absence. It is the student’s responsibility to arrive at an agreed meeting point in a punctual and timely fashion. Holidays’ make up classes are mandatory as regular scheduled classes.
Late work should be submitted in person to the Assistant Director for Academics Late Affairs during office hours (Mon – Fri, 9.30 am to 5 pm), who will write on the essay Submission of or other work the date and time of submission, in the presence of the student. Another Work member of the administrative staff can accept the work, in person, in the absence of the Assistant Director for Academics Affairs and will write the date and time of submission on the work, as above. Work submitted within 5 weekdays after the submission time without an agreed extension receives a penalty of 10 points on the 100 point scale.
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Written work submitted after 5 weekdays after the submission date without an agreed extension fails and is given a zero. Please note end of semester essays must be submitted on time
Plagiarism Policy
The presentation of another person’s words, ideas, judgment, images or data as though they were your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally, constitutes an act of plagiarism. All your written work must be submitted as a hard copy AND in electronic form to the instructor. It is expected that the student follows the rules on academic honesty and intellectual integrity established by NYU University.
Required Text(s)
Alfaro Moreno, R. (2006) “Citizens and media cultures: hidden behind democratic formality” in Global media and communication, Nº23, London: Sage (299-313). Anderson, B (1993). Imagined communities, London:Verso (67-82). Calhoun, G (2007) “Introduction: Habermas and the Public sphere” in Habermas and the public Sphere, Massuchussets: MIT Press (1-51). Cane Carrasco, J (2011), The fourth enemy. Journalsm and Power in the making of Peronist Argentina, Pennsylvania Press University, (1-22, 228-239) Fernandez L’Hoeste, H. (2010) “Cultural imperialism” in Dictionary of Latin American Cultural Studies, Szurmuk, M. and McKee Irwin, R, forthcoming (1-7). García Canclini, N. (1988) “Culture and power: the state of research” in Media, Culture and Society Nº10, London: Sage (467-497). Kitzberger, P 2012, “The media politics of Latin America´s Leftist Goverments, Journal of Politics in Latin America”, Volume 4, 3, (123-139) Macrory (2012), "Dilemmas of Democratisation: Media Regulation and Reform in Argentina" (Bulletin of Latin America Research, October 2012 ). Maia, R. (2009) “Media Visibility and the Scope of accountability [a case in Brazil]” in Critical studies in media communication, Nº26, London: Routhledge.
Mauersberger (2012), “To be prepared when the time has come: Argentina's new media regulation and the social movement for democratizing broadcasting”, Media
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Culture Society 34: 588.
Martín-Barbero, Jesús (1988) “Communication from culture: the crisis of the national and the emergence of the popular” in Media, Culture and Society Nº10, London: Sage (447-465). Mattelart, A. and Polan, D. (1978) “The Nature of Communications Practice in a Dependent Society” in Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 5, No. 1, Culture in the Age of Mass Media, London: Sage Publications (13-34). Porto, M (2003), Mass Media and Politics in Democratic Brazil, in: Maria D’Alva Kinzo and James Dunkerley (eds), Brazil Since 1985. Economy, Politics and Society, London: Institute of Latin American Studies, 288–313. Salgado, A 2013: “A Public Sphere in Pinochet’s Chile” (mimeo). Sallie, H and, Prado P (2011), Media Diversity and Social Inequality in Latin America, in: Merike Blofield (ed.), The Great Gap: Inequality and the Politics of Redistribution in Latin America, University Park: Pennsyl- vania University Press, 109–145. Schiller, N, 2013, “Reckoning with Press Freedom: Community Media, Liberalism, and the State in Caracas, Venezuela” (mimeo). Sivak, M (2012), “The first peronism and Clarín” (mimeo). Waisbord, Silvio (2003), Media Populism: Neo-Populism in Latin America, in: Gianpietro Mazzoleni, Julianne Stewart, and Bruce Horsefield (eds), The Media and Neo-Populism: A Contemporary Comparative Analysis, West- port: Praeger, 137–237. Walsh, R 1976, “Open letter to the military junta”, Buenos Aires, 1976.
Supplemental No supplementary texts required. Texts(s) Internet Research Guidelines
Students will be given a list of webpages that will help them with the weekly assignments all along the semester.
Additional Required Equipment
No additional equipment required
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Week 1 February 11th and 13th Week 2
- PRESENTATION. - Craig Calhoun (2007) “Introduction: Habermas and the Public sphere” in Habermas an the public Sphere, Massuchussets: MIT Press, (1-51)
LATIN AMERICAN PUBLIC SPHERE. THE PRESS AND THE INDEPENDENCE
February 18rd - Pablo Picatto (2010) “The public sphere in America Latina”, Social History, Volume and 20 35 Issue 2. - Benedict Anderson 1993. Imagined communities, London Verso pp 67-82 and Domingo Sarmiento, “Civilization or Barbarism” (excerpt). POPULISM AND THE MEDIA. ¿Peronism against the Press? Week 3 25 the 27 th
- James Cane Carrasco (2011), The fourth enemy. Journalism and Power in the making Peronist Argentina (Pennsylvania Press University), Introduction and conclusion. Martín Sivak (2012), “The first peronism and Clarín” (mimeo).
Week 4
MEDIA AND CENSORSHIP. THE YEARS OF THE MILITARY RULE
March 4 th and 6 th
- Alfonso Salgado (2013), “A Public Sphere in Pinochet’s Chile” (mimeo). R Rodolfo Walsh, (1976) “Open letter to the military junta”, (scanned).
Week 6 March 11th and 13th
MEDIA AND INEQUALITY - Hughes, Sallie, and Paola Prado (2011), Media Diversity and Social Inequalityin Latin America, in: Merike Blofield (ed.), The Great Gap: Inequality and the Politics of Redistribution in Latin America, University Park: Pennsyl- vania University Press, 109–145. - Alfaro Moreno, R. (2006) “Citizens and media cultures: hidden behind democratic formality” in Global media and communication, Nº23, London: Sage (299-313).
Week 6 March 18th and 20nd
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CULTURAL IMPERIALISM AND COMMUNICATION THEORIES - Mattelart, A. and Polan, D. (1978) “The Nature of Communications Practice in a Dependent Society” in Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 5, No. 1, Culture in the Age of Mass Media, London: Sage Publications (13-34). Fernandez L’Hoeste, H. (2010) “Cultural imperialism” in Dictionary of Latin American Cultural Studies, Szurmuk, M. and McKee Irwin, R, forthcoming (1-7).
- García Canclini, N. (1988) “Culture and power: the state of research” in Media, Culture and Society Nº10, London: Sage (467-497). First paper due on March 20
Week 7 Spring Break March 27 and 29th Week 8 April 1th and 3
Week 9 April 8th and 10
-MEDIA AND POLITICS IN LATIN AMERICA - Waisbord, Silvio (2003), Media Populism: Neo-Populism in Latin America, in: Gianpietro Mazzoleni, Julianne Stewart, and Bruce Horsefield (eds), The Media and Neo-Populism: A Contemporary Comparative Analysis, West- port: Praeger, 137–237. - Philip Kitzberger (2012), The media politics of Latin America´s Leftist Goverments, Journal of Politics in Latin America, Volume 4, 3, 123-139.
MEDIA REGULATION- DEMOCRATIZATION OR STATE CONTROL? - Robbie Macrory (2012), "Dilemmas of Democratisation: Media Regulation and Reform in Argentina", Bulletin of Latin America Research, October 2012 - Christof Mauersberger (2012) “To be prepared when the time has come: Argentina's new media regulation and the social movement for democratizing broadcasting”, Media Culture Society 34: 588
Week 10 April 15th and 17
WILKELEAKS AND THE LATIN AMERICA MEDIA - Selection of State department wires about the media and the Latin American Government in the last 10 years. Guest: Martín Becerra, leading scholar in media and politics and author of “Wiki media leaks”.
- 17. PBS’s Frontline: The Hugo Chávez Show
Week 11 April 22 and 24 rd
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MEDIAS WARS OF THE NEW CENTURY. VENEZUELA AND ARGENTINA - Naomi Schiller (2013) “Reckoning with Press Freedom: Community Media, Liberalism and the State in Caracas, Venezuela” (mimeo).
Week 12 May 8th and 10 th
- Selection of articles from The New Yorker, the New York Times and The Buenos Aires Herald about the conflict between Clarín and the Argentine government. Guest: A senior columnist of Clarín. BRAZIL- A CASE STUDY IN MEDIA - Porto, Mauro (2003), Mass Media and Politics in Democratic Brazil, in: Maria D’Alva Kinzo and James Dunkerley (eds), Brazil Since 1985. Economy, Politics and Society, London: Institute of Latin American Studies, 288–313. - Maia, R. (2009) “Media Visibility and the Scope of accountability [a case in Brazil]” in Critical studies in media communication, Nº26, London: Routhledge. Abstract of the research paper due on May 10 th
Week 13
MEDIA AND POLARIZATION IN ARGENTINA: TWEETERS AND MEDIA WORKERS
May 15th and 17th
- Two Argentine tweeters will talk about the polarization between Kircherism and anti-Kirchnerism in the Buenos Aires twitter scene. - Visit to a multimedia site (probably INFOBAE). Media Workers will explain the problems, benefits and dilemmas of the current media polarization.
Week 14
Individual and mandatory presentations of the final paper
May 22th and 24th Week 15
Final paper due May 29
May 29th and 31st Classroom Etiquette
The use of Blackberrys, phones and IPods in class are forbidden
Required Cocurricular Activities
These activities will be defined in the close future.
Suggested These activities will be defined in the close future. Co-curricular Activities
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Your Instructor Martín Sivak is the author of five non-fiction books about South American politics, including a portrait of Evo Morales ("Jefazo") published in English as "Evo Morales: The extraordinary rise of the first indigenous president of Bolivia" (Palgrave, 2010), as well as in French, Italian and Chinese (forthcoming in 2013). His journalistic and academic articles have been published in book compilations in English and Spanish. Sivak holds aBA in Sociology (Universidad de Buenos Aires), a Master's Degree from the Institute for the Study of the Americas (University of London)and is completing a doctorate in Latin American History at New York University (NYU). He is currently teaching the course "Introduction to Latin American Studies" and "Global Media seminar: Latin America” at the NYU-Buenos Aires site, contributing to The New York Times (international edition) and Le Monde Diplomatique (Argentine edition) and writing his forthcoming book about the history of "Clarín," the largest media conglomerate in Latin America.
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