The 2006 Syllabus & course schedule

The 2007 syllabus will be similar to the one below. Listed just below the syllabus is the list of class activities for 2006. The 2007 visit list will be similar.

Syllabus

British Studies in Journalism:
Introduction to British Journalism
JOU 499/599-Summer 2006

David R. Davies
Journalism Department
University of Southern Mississippi
Box 5121, Hattiesburg MS 39406-5121
601-266-6237
Course website: http://britishjournalism.org

This course provides a broad overview of journalism as practiced in Britain today. Emphasis will be placed on contrasting British and American press traditions. Students will learn the historical background and recent contemporary backdrop to British journalistic practice, structure and organization. We will see numerous examples of British journalism through visits to local and national newspapers, a variety of broadcast outlets, and other audio, visual and electronic media. Students will hear lectures from experts in British media.

Course requirements

20 percent:
Reading journal, due at the following address by Sept. 15, 2006: David R. Davies, 118 College Drive #5121, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001. The journal will include synopses of readings (see attached explanation of the reading journal) as well as your notes from lectures and tours.

10 percent
Daily journal, consisting of your impressions of London and your reports of visits to tourist sites. See attached explanation of the daily journal.

20 percent:
Class attendance and participation. Tardiness and absences are unacceptable. Students are required to attend all scheduled course lectures and tours. One letter grade will be deducted from the student's final grade for each missed class or activity.

On days the class takes a tour, it is imperative that all students meet at the appointed meeting time. Late students hold up the entire group. Therefore, students who are late for tours will be penalized one-third of a letter grade for each tardy and have to find their own way to the tour site.

20 percent:
Newspaper project. The first week of class, you will pick an issue that receives wide play in the British press. Each day you will read several newspapers to find coverage of that issue, collecting clippings as you go. Then you’ll write an eight- to 10-page paper analyzing press coverage of the issue, paying particular attention to differences in coverage by various media outlets. Include a scrapbook of all clippings. Due to my address on Sept. 15, 2006.

10 percent:
Seven-page book report Murdoch, by William Shawcross (Simon & Schuster, 1997), available online, at U.S. bookstores, and at Blackwell’s Bookshop, 100 Charing Cross Road, due to my address on Sept. 15, 2006.

20 percent:
Final examination.

Graduate students must complete all of the above, but their research paper must be 25 pages.

Textbooks

Course packet to be provided by your instructor.

Murdoch, by William Shawcross (Simon & Schuster, 1997). I recommend you either buy the book before you come to London or order it once you get to London by visiting Blackwell’s Bookshop, 100 Charing Cross Road (Leicester Square tube stop).

Gentle warning: If you do not buy the book by the end of the first week in London, you probably won’t be able to get it. Bookstores have to order the book, and it takes a few weeks to come in. Moreover, it is difficult to buy it in the U.S. So, if you don’t buy the book shortly after your arrival in London, you probably won’t be able to buy it at all.

2006 Course Schedule