In this course, we will examine the interactions between medium and
message.  We will look at television, radio and newspaper coverage of
communities and events and compare these representations to how
ethnographers portray the same topics.  Ethnography is the written
presentation of intensive fieldwork with a particular group or in a
specific place.  Issues discussed will include who controls or
influences messages, the political structures supporting these
writings, questions about freedom of the press and social science
human subjects procedures, and how we can go about constructing news
pieces and ethnographies.

The discussion of these issues will be grounded in experience with
important issues as they play out in the Bloomington area. Each
student will be expected to work at least eight sessions as a service
learner.  There are a wide range of service options available
including working in local area schools, the Boys and Girls Club, the
Humane Association, Hilltop Nature Center, the Shalom Center, MCCSC
Office of Multi-Cultural Education, Wonderlab and the Hoosier Hills
Food Bank.  If students already work for a community volunteer
organization, they are welcome to discuss with the instructor the
possibility of using that organization as a site for their work.  From
these experiences, students will put together their own news reports
and ethnographic accounts.