Political Science (POLI) 291
Media and Power in Canadian Society (Revision 1)
Revision 1 is closed for registrations, see current revision
Delivery Mode: Individualized study online
Credits: 3
Area of Study: Social Science
Prerequisite: None
Precluded Course: POLI 291 is a cross-listed course—a course listed under two different disciplines—with CMNS 202. POLI 291 may not be taken for credit by students who have obtained credit for CMNS 202.
Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
POLI 291 is not available for challenge.
Overview
Canada’s mass media have played a particularly significant role in the country’s development as a distinct nation. The course is structured around issues of media power in Canadian life. It examines aspects of the Canadian experience in the context of current perspectives on national and international media developments.
Outline
Part I: Media as Roadmap of Nation
- Unit 1: Introduction: The Canadian Communications Environment
- Unit 2: Power and Freedom: Political Dimensions of the Mass Media
- Unit 3: From Networks to Nation: Mass Media and Canadian History
Part II: Context. Reading the Map: Intersections of Media and Power
- Unit 4: Monopolies, Megadeals and the Mothercorp: Regulating Broadcasting
- Unit 5: Freedom of Information, Free Markets and the Law
Part III: Negotiating the Map: Media Content and Constructs
- Unit 6: The Audience is Speaking: Diversity and Participation in the Mass Media System
- Unit 7: Media as Mirror or Window? Social Differences and Freedom of Expression
- Unit 8: The Daily What? Newspapers in the New Mediascape
- Unit 9: Turn Off that TV and Make Some Policy: Issues in Broadcasting
- Unit 10: Heavy Baggage: Old Debates in a New Century—Quebec
Part IV: Conclusion and Implications. Re-drawing the Map: The Future
- Unit 11: Digital Media: Strangely Familiar
- Unit 12: Conclusion: New Media Technologies and the Future
Evaluation
To receive credit for for POLI 291, you must complete all of the assignments and the final examination, and achieve a minimum composite course grade of D (50 percent). The chart below summarizes the course activities and the credit weight associated with each assignment.
| Reading Exercises | Timeline | Journal: News Survey | Final Exam | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30% | 10% | 40% | 20% | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be taken online with an AU-approved exam invigilator at an approved invigilation centre. It is your responsibility to ensure your chosen invigilation centre can accommodate online exams. For a list of invigilators who can accommodate online exams, visit the Exam Invigilation Network.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Course Materials
Textbooks
Holmes, Helen, and David Taras, eds. Seeing Ourselves: Media Power and Policy in Canada, 2nd ed. Harcourt Brace, 1996.
Siegel, Arthur. Politics and the Media in Canada, 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1996.
Other Materials
The course materials also include a reading file.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 1, May 14, 2008.