2017-19 Class Presentation (a series of classes) for a University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain 4th year undergraduate course: CULTURAL ASPECTS OF ENGLISH_SPEAKING COUNTRIES by Prof. Anuradha Mitra Ghemawat UB Dept. of Language & Literature

1. Culture & Media
Anuradha Mitra Ghemawat
UB 2018-19
DAYS 11-12: 18-22 March 2019

2. Cultural Aspects
—
Identity
Sports
M
yths
&
Legends
H-i-s-t-o-r-y
Attitudes
Festivals
Food & Drink
Education
Law
&
O
rder
Social Services
Music &
Dance
Theatre/Cinema
Geography
MEDIA
Transport

3. MASS MEDIA
— Communication that reaches a large audience
— Written, Broadcast and Spoken
TV
Radio
Newsprint:
Newspapers & Magazines
The Internet:
Social Media, News, Blogs
Movies/ Films/ Documentaries
Advertising:
Print, Billboards

4. Short History of TV
programs (USA) #1
1950s:
— Advent of Black & White TV in many households
1970s:
— 3 national TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC)
— PBS (Public Broadcasting Service)
— Programming aimed at two-parent middle class
families.
— Many families did not own TV sets.

5. Short History of TV
programs (USA) #2
2017:
— Diversity of shows for all ages, incomes,
backgrounds, sexual orientations and attitudes
— The Internet enables ‘’sign on’’ of more businesses
& households.

6. Mass Media
*Culturalist Theory*
— Developed in 1980s and 1990s
— People interact with media to create their own
meanings (from images and messages received)
— AUDIENCE and its interaction
— PRODUCERS of the media, e.g. news
— Study groups explain the meaning of a song or video,
in a variety of interpretations based on:
— age, gender, ethnicity and religious background
Ref: Dean, Gregory (2010)

7. Mass Media & Impact
in free markets
— People rely on news media as main source of
information
— Influences opinions & voting decisions
— COMPETITION amongst media sources for attention readers,
listeners & TV-viewers
— People also
— selectively read what they already agree with
— rationalize their pre-formed opinions and are not open to
contrary arguments
— The way an argument is framed influences how it is
discussed.

8. Media & Influence on
Culture
POSITIVE influences
— Travel; educational
shows
— Exposure to cultures
different from our own
NEGATIVE influences
• Violence instigators (esp.
for the younger audiences)
• Excessive Advertising
• consumerism

9. Effect of Media
— Watch: Taylor Poe-Brieske, D. (2013). The Impacts of
Technology.
(00:02:52)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=790h
Lh9KCb8
— Watch: Wee, Y. (2013). The Effects of Media on Young
Children.
(00:03:33)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOp9
nQ7IeyE
— What is the essence of these short video clips?
— Do you have a message that contradicts the authors’
message(s)?

10. CW: Listening activity #1
— Watch the Teaching Channel video Unique Class
(00:05:58)http://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/unique-
class-culture
— Questions to discuss (in class):
1. How does Ms. Madeleine Noonan utilize personal
characteristics to contribute to the class culture?
2. How does the morning meeting shape class culture while
also addressing academic goals?
3. What type of feedback do students receive and how does it
impact class culture?

11. CW: Listening activity #1
— "Today I am feeling _____ because __________________."
in the Morning Meeting.
— SWBAT (Students will be able to) so that students know
their focus for the next task.
— Using "I will be able to ..." helps the students see the
objective as their personal learning objective.
— Then the exit ticket asks "Are you able to ...?"
— Ms. Noonan always gives evidence-based feedback, a real
plus for the students to feel safe to try. Her use of the
word of the day throughout the day hits the mark!

12. In-class + Self-study
— Watch: Miller, Alisa CEO, U.S. Public Radio
International (2008). How the News Distorts our
World View. TED Talk (2008)
https://www.ted.com/talks/alisa_miller_shares_the_news
_about_the_news
— Write a summary of salient points of this TED Talk
by Alisa Miller (2008) in class – time permitting.

13. CW: News item & Media
Coverage slide #1
— Do the research in pairs or groups. Choose a news article published by an English-speaking country
(BBC news, The Guardian, New Zealand Herald, etc.
NEWS: Mass shooting in a Christ Church, New Zealand mosque (15 March 2019)
— https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/17/technology-is-terrorisms-most-
effective-ally-it-delivers-a-global-audience
— https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/17/facebook-removed-15m-videos-new-zealand-
terror-attack
— https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12213572
NEWS: Shooting attack in Utrecht, The Netherlands (18 March 2019)
Fearless journalists:
1. ASMA JAHANGIR (Pakistani human rights activist, died Feb 2018) by Nicholas Kristof (new York Times
Opinion writer)https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/1194817093413/kristof-a-heroine-in-
pakistan.html?module=inline
2. Gauri Lankes (Indian journalist, killed Sep 2017)https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/gauri-
lankesh-fierce-critic-of-right-wing-politics-who-was-convicted-in-defamation-case-filed-by-bjp-
leader/story-nnNwg2aqHNWTxEhvzbZGvK.html
3. Gauri Lankesh’s Views on the Lingayat vs. Veerashaiva debate. YouTube (2017).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWDkhICon74

14. CW: News item & Media
Coverage slide #2
— Discuss in 150 words how you feel mass media (newsprint, TV,
social media) has influenced this particular news story you have
just read.
— Give a complete reference to the article you choose.
— Explain how the article is treated in its original cultural
background and how it might be perceived, culturally, in another
English-speaking country of your choice.
— You may ALSO choose a news article on:
— politician(s) accused of corruption
— racial injustice
— a celebrity’s personal story
— a political debate or election process
— a news article of your choice

15. CW/ Self-study: Listening
activity #2
— Look at the Teaching Channel video Bringing Legends to
Life
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-through-
legends
(If you cannot access this link, check under RESOURCES for
today’s class on the Moodle or under REFERENCES.)
— Questions to answer:
1. How does Ms. Barclay facilitate collaborative writing?
2. Through writing the legend, Ms. Barclay teaches her class
about falcons. What effect does this have?
3. How can the dramatic activities be used as an assessment?

16. References
1. Miller, Alisa CEO, U.S. Public Radio International (PRI)(2008). How the News Distorts our World View.
TED Talk (2008). Web: 05 Mar.
2017.https://www.ted.com/talks/alisa_miller_shares_the_news_about_the_news
2. Nayak, Pallav (2017). Speaking for Secularism: In tweets and speeches, Gauri Lankesh always took a
stand. Hindustan Times Media Ltd (2017).
3. New Zealand Herald (2019). www.nzherald.co.nz.
Trevett, Claire (2019). Christchurch mosque shootings (17 March 2019)
Miscellaneous articles related to the Christchurch mosque shootings (15 March 2019)
4. Taylor Poe-Brieske, David (2013). The Impacts of Technology. YouTube.com (15 Apr.
2013)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=790hLh9KCb8
5. Teaching Channel (2013). Bringing Legends to
Lifehttps://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-through-legends
6. Teaching Channel (2016). Unique Class Culturehttps://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/unique-
class-culture
7. Wee, Yvonne (2013). The Effects of Media on Young Children. You Tube (24Feb2013). Web: 08 Mar.
2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOp9nQ7IeyE

17. Bibliography
1. Buzzle.com (2016). How does the media affect our
culture?http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-does-the-media-affect-our-
culture.html
2. Caldwell, Cameron (2015). YouTube.com (05 Apr. 2015) How Media Affects Gender
Role Development. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edrHsQzU-mc
3. Dean, Gregory (2010). Marketography Blog at Word Press.com: The Chateau
Theme. https://marketography.com/tag/culturalist-theory/
4. Fog, Agner (1999). Cultural Selection, Chapter 9
http://www.agner.org/cultsel/chapt9/
5. Galarneu, Lisa (2012). 10 ways in which Social Media is Transforming Our World
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/02/06/10-ways-social-media-is-transforming-our-
world/
6. Lunenfeld, Joel (2016). 10 ways marketing changed with Twitter
https://blog.twitter.com/2016/10-ways-marketing-changed-with-twitter