last updated
3/18/2013
Course Description:
A study of the foundations of freedom of expression
and communication ethics in our society. Major historical documents and cases
pertaining to freedom of expression and communication ethics will be reviewed.
Development of 1st Amendment law and the continuing tension between freedom and
social control will be examined. Contemporary issues discussed will include:
what constitutes speech, artistic freedom, censorship, control of media content,
media and personal communication ethics, obscenity, media regulation, legal
restraints on expression, and "speech codes."
Required Text:
T. L. Tedford and D.A. Herbeck.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN THE UNITED STATES
(6th). Strata Publishing, 2009.
COURSE GOALS:
The goals of this course include the following:
-
To
develop student awareness of the philosophical background of American concern
for free expression;
-
To develop student
understanding of the American legal system and its part in the development of
1st Amendment law;
-
To provide students
with an opportunity to explore contemporary problem areas in freedom of
expression and ethics;
-
To develop student
understanding of current rights and responsibilities under the 1st Amendment;
-
To assist students
in developing a strong sense of personal communication
ethics and a philosophy of communication.
-
To provide students with a
forum for considering "Life after Monmouth."
COURSE
POLICIES:
Students are
responsible for all assigned reading material whether or not it is discussed in
class and all lecture and discussion material whether or not duplicated by
readings. Since this is a senior seminar for students who are majors or minors
in COMM or Public
Relations, a PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE is expected of class members.
Naturally, students will attend all classes (or offer explanations without
prompting).
Since everyone here will be a
communication professional, a high level of participation in discussion is
expected and required. "Underclass sloppiness"
should be replaced by adequate and consistent preparation and quality performance.
Lack of professional behavior such as unexplained absences,
late submission of or missing work, etc. will likely result in a
substantial
lowering of the course grade beyond what might be expected based on
assignment weighting below.
I expect everyone to be
an informed participant in class discussion and to have read and thought about
the course readings prior to class time. Although there will be
class periods in which course material will necessitate lecturing to present
concepts and theories, I prefer class discussions and activities to
pure lectures.
this class tends to be fun when we can talk discuss and debate our views on what
are major issues in our society -- but you have to share your thoughts and
respond to others.
Except for medical or other emergency reasons, assignments will not necessarily
be accepted late (unless advance arrangements are made).
The use of electronic devices during class meetings without permission is not
acceptable. Enrollment in this course
constitutes an agreement by the student to permit the instructor to keep and
maintain on file all submitted work for the course.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY CAN
RESULT IN FAILING THIS COURSE and will be reported to the Academic Dean.
GRADED ASSIGNMENTS
*
(and approximate weight of each): * Missed assignments or low/poor participation
and attendance may be grounds
for significant lowering of a course grade beyond the weights
shown on this table..
Course Workload: All
assignments will be given a letter grade and averaged according to the
percentages above (e.g. A- = 3.7 x Y%, etc.) in order to compute the final
grade for the course. The instructor reserves the right to significantly
lower course grades for failure to complete all assignments or for
students who cause difficulty in their work groups.
This course is a four credit
course which normally meets 3 days per week. The course design provides
learning opportunities and activities totaling approximately 11.5 hours
per week over the 15 weeks of the course (including finals week). The
assigned activities may take each student a different amount of time to
finish, however the average for the class will
be about 11.5 hours.
Further estimates include:
Course activity |
Hours/Week |
In class activity
((2
days x 75 minutes x 14 weeks) / 60)
+ 3 hour final) / 15 weeks)
|
2.5 hours
|
Reading and
discussison preparation
|
4.5
hours |
Writing/Speaking assignments
- Ethics paper
[10 hrs.], Ethics Presentation [ 7 hrs.] Position
Argument/Research [11 hrs.], Mashup Preparation
[9.5 hrs.] = 37.5 hrs / 15)
|
2.5 hours |
Additional preparation for exams
(22.5
hours / 15 weeks ) |
1.5 hours |
Average hours per week |
11.0
hrs |
|