Herb Terry, T311, Media History, Sec. 4481

TEL T311 is an intermediate-level survey of electronic media
history.   It emphasizes business, economic, social,  technological
and legal/policy aspects of electronic media history from the
early/mid 19th century to the present.  While we will, of course,
also cover the history of electronic media content and services,
this will not be our exclusive focus.  This course is much more than
a history of content and services.

When this course is over you should be aware of major historical
events in U.S. electronic media from the origins of those media to
the present.  You will understand many major events in electronic
media history, be able to offer an assessment of their significance,
at least discuss the context within which they occurred and B in
general B have an understanding of the past that should enrich your
understanding of the present state of electronic media.  Although
this course is primarily about U.S. media history we will, from time
to time, compare developments and trends in the U.S. with other
nations and regions.

The prerequisite for this class is successful completion of either
TEL T205 or TEL T207 before you begin TEL T311; concurrent
enrollment is not sufficient.  If you have not completed T205 of
T207 before you start T311 you will be dis-enrolled unless you first
get my permission.  I assume students enrolled in T311 are familiar
with general U.S. history from the middle of the 19th century to the
present.  We will be setting U.S. media history in the context of
general U.S. history and can=t teach both in this class.

This semester=s version of T311 qualifies for College of Arts and
Sciences Intensive Writing credit.  If you want IW credit, be sure
you also enroll in COAS W333.

Since IW courses are limited to 25 students, this class can take
some of the characteristics of a seminar.  There will be days when I
lecture but, even then I will interrupt to ask questions of class
members.  Three members of the class will be randomly drawn from the
class roster each day, will sit at the front of class, and will be
the first people to whom I address my questions.  If you are
unprepared that day, there is a grade-related penalty.  There is
also an attendance policy that allows you to miss up to three class
meetings (1.5 weeks) without a sanction.  After that, each
additional absence reduces your course grade by one-quarter of a
grade point.

There are essay midterm and final exams (the final to some extent
cumulative) plus three papers one of which you are expected to
perfect and revise.  Taken together these four papers (counting the
revision) are designed to fulfill the COAS Intensive Writing
requirement.

There are two major traditional textbooks:  Sterling, Christopher H.
and John M. Kittross, Stay Tuned: A History of American
Broadcasting, 3rd ed., Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
Inc., 2002. and Hacker, Diana, A Pocket Style Manual, 3rd ed.,
Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin=s, 2000.   Since Sterling and
Kittross is, as its name suggests, focused on broadcast history,
there are also substantial eReserve readings that cover the history
of cable, satellites, telegraphy, telephony, computer games and
computer assisted communication (including the Internet).

The class meets In Woodburn Hall 002 on Mondays and Wednesdays from
1:00 - 2:15 p.m beginning January 12, 2004.  Attendance is expected
beginning on that date.  If you have questions about this course or
your preparation for it, please write me: terry@indiana.edu.