Introduction to Journalism: Constructing the News
WRCT 288
Fall 2024
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
COL 288, SOC 206, CSPL 288 |
Champions of journalism are fond of talking about bedrock values: fairness, objectivity, transparency. But like any idea--or ideology--these keywords have their own genealogies, and their own constructed natures; in other words, they came from somewhere. This course aims to pull apart our received notions of facticity, objectivity, and transparency in news/journalism/nonfiction, tracing their roots, understanding their historical context, and considering how we deploy them in our own work. Students will learn the fundamentals of reporting in hands-on assignments that pull them out into the world to gather stories. This journalistic work will occur alongside class discussions of canonical (and neglected) strands of journalism history, drawn in part from Bruce Shapiro's anthology Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America. These include readings from early Black press pioneers (Ida B. Wells, Marvel Cooke), muckrakers and investigative journalists (Lincoln Steffens, Vera Connolly), and pathbreaking science journalism (Rachel Carson's Silent Spring). Readings will also include criticism that examines our present media situation, including selections from Raven Lewis Wallace's The View from Somewhere: Undoing the Myth of Journalistic Objectivity and Ben Smith's, Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA WRCT |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
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Examinations and Assignments:
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course will be taught by the Shapiro Centers Koeppel Fellow, Andrew Lealand. |
Instructor(s): STAFF
Times: ..T.R.. 01:20PM-02:40PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 12 | | SR major: 0 | JR major: 0 | | |
| Seats Available: 3 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 3 | FR: 3 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 5 | 1st Ranked: 1 | 2nd Ranked: 3 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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