Please observe sentence limit and try to be as concise as possible.

Short assignment 9 (18 points) (Due: 4th December)
From Lewis (who is a white man from Britain)
1. Why do some scholars think that The Cosby Show is positive to race relations? Why do some scholars think otherwise? (2 sentences; 2 points)
From bell hooks (who is an African-American woman)
Introduction
2. Why does hooks say that African Americans cannot control their images in the mass media? (2 sentences; 2 points)
Ch.4
3. How does hooks critique Tina Turner's image before and after her divorce? (2 sentences; 2 points)
4. Does hooks think the inclusion of black women in magazines positive? Why or why not? (2 sentences; 3 points)
From Hall (who is a British originally coming from the Caribbean)
5. Define inter-textuality (1 sentence; 1 point)
6. What are the four theoretical understandings of differences? (4 sentences; 2 points)
7. How are "essence" and "stereotype" related? (1 sentence; 2 points)
8. How are race, power, and knowledge related? (1 sentence; 2 points)
9. Define fetishism (1 sentence; 2 points)

Short assignment 8 (17 points) (Due: 22nd November)
From Kilbourne
1. How are thin body image and power related? (Focus more on why thin women are seen as non-threatening) (1 sentence; 2 points)
2. Why does Kilbourne think that girl power is trivialised in the media? (1 sentence; 2 points)
3. Is Kilbourne trying to make an argument that "advertisement causes violence to women"? Why or why not? (2 sentences; 2 points)
From Hall [Do not quote from the text, use your own language to answer the questions]
4. In Foucault's sense, how are discourse, power and knowledge related? (3 sentences; 4 points)
5. What does Foucault mean by "the discourse produces the subject"? (2 sentences; 3 points)
From Practice of looking
6. What is "male gaze" and how is it related to power? (2 sentences; 2 points)
7. Give two reasons to explain why "the male gaze" may not be applied to all audiences. (2 sentences; 2 points)

Short assignment 7 (17 points) (Due: 15th November)
From C & H (pp. 196-198)
1. Give four reasons to suggest why the belief "The media represent reality" is problematic. (4 sentences; 4 points)
From Hall - the second textbook, the library has a copy on reserve (pp. 1-11, 15-41)
2. Which of the three approaches (reflective, intentional, and constructionist) is the most compatible with the linear model of communication that we learned in Week 1 of the class? Explain. (2 sentences; 3 points)
3. Define sign, signifier and signified in your own language; give an example to illustrate how they work. (2 sentences; 4 points)
4. Give an example to illustrate how the relation between a signifier and a signified is not fixed. (1 sentence; 1 point)
5. In your own language, define "denotation" and "connotation" meanings and give an example. (2 sentences; 2 points)
From Chandler's website
6. If there is no clear cut between the denotational and the connotational meanings, then what does it tell us about "objectivity" and language? (2 sentences; 2 points)
7. According to Barthes, what is the function of "myths"? (1 sentence; 1 point)

Short assignment 6 (11 pts) (Due: 6th November)
There are three Kellner files (one for Ch.3, one for Ch.7 and a missing page) on Blackboard. In both essays, Kellner makes references to a lot of terms and people without explaining them. You do not have to dwell on them if you do not understand. Focus on the following four questions, the answers should be transparent.
From "Television, advertising, and the construction of postmodern identities"
1. What are the main differences between the modern and the postmodern identity? (2 sentences) (3 points)
2. Why does Kellner consider Miami Vice a postmodern text? (1-2 sentences) (3 points)
3. Why are the new Marlboro and Virginia Slims advertisements postmodern? (2 sentences) (3 points)
From "From the society of the spectacle to the realm of simulation: Debord, Baudrillard, and postmodernity" (Read pp. 79-91 ONLY; interested students may read on)
4. Why is Kellner pessimistic about the "spectacle" culture? (2 sentences) (2 points)

Short assignment 5 (13 points) (Due: 20th October)
(Note: Eisenstein's article was written a decade ago so a lot of data are outdated; however, I think her arguments are still viable.)
1. Would Sussman agree with the statement "technologies can speed up work progress, so employees can spend less time finishing tasks while earning the same amount of money"? Why or why not? (2 sentences) (2 pts)
2. From Sussman: What is technological determinism? (1 sentence) (1 pt)
3. Would Eisenstein and Sussman agree with the statement "The Internet facilitates and limits democracy at the same time"? Why or why not? (3-4 sentences) (4 pts)
4. Would Eisenstein agree with the statement "The Internet oppresses and liberates women at the same time"? Why or why not? (3-4 sentences) (3 pts)
5. Would Eisenstein argue that iPod as discussed in "The music man" and wireless access as discussed in "hub sets citywide WiFi plan" are technologies that promote cyberdemocracy? (2 sentences) (3 pts)

Short assignment 4 (6 points) (Due: 13th October)
1. Klein argues in the "alt. everything" chapter that culture is being sold out. What does she mean? (1-2 sentences) (2 pts)
2. Choose ONE of the required readings ("spend it like Beckham", "Phat news: Rappers choose Reebok shoes", "Does the Pope wear Prada?, or "Grattifi cleans up at retail") and suggest how this particular culture is being sold out in Klein's sense. (1-2 sentences) (3 pts)
3. In your opinion, is there any culture that is being sold out in recent years? Explain briefly. (50 words) (1 pt)

Short assignment 3 (6 points) (Due: 2nd October)
PART 1 (3 pts)
1. What is the last CD that you bought or the last song that you downloaded?
2. Where did you buy/download it? Why did you choose this store/site?
3. What is the record company that produces the CD/song? Who owns this record company? (Usually the record company and the parent company are written on the CD case. In addition, do some research by looking at The Nation Top 10 chart.)
4. Which of the following factors influence your purchase? (Could be a combination of the following)
- recommendations from friends / family.
- recommendation from the media: magazine, television, radio and so on. Which ones? Who own them? (do some research on this by looking at the Top 10 chart.)
- seen the touring. Where did you get the tickets?
- have always like the artist.
- store display. Which store?
- others. For example, saw the movie, bought the soundtrack.
5. Check out what other artists the parent record company owns. For example, EMI owns both classical music and pop music so the parent company EMI has artists such as Mozart as well as Radiohead.
6. Before doing this exercise, do you usually ask yourself Q#2 - 5 when you purchase a CD? If yes, why do you think of these questions? If not, why not?

PART 2 (3 pts)
From Janet Wasko's How Hollywood works (reading listed under Wed. class) (Prof. Wasko is my PhD advisor at Oregon!)
4. Commodificaion / commercialization - suggest one original media example (i.e., not from the chapter) that illustrates what it is. (1 sentence)
5. Diversification - suggest one original media example (i.e., not from the chapter) that illustrates what it is. (1 sentence)
6. If Hollywood aims to export its films overseas, how would this affect the film content according to Wasko? (1 sentence)

Short Assignment 2 (6 pts) (Due: 27th September)
1. Some argue that media consolidation/concentration would not affect news content as long as there is enough competition, would Hickey ("Media monopoly: Behind the merger Q&A) agree with this statement? Why or why not? (2 pts) (2 sentences)
2. After reading "Media money", list and explain in three sentences the three ways that media corporations influence media policies (3 pts)
3. Why are broadcasters against giving away free airtime to political candidates? (1 sentence; 1 pt)

Short Assignment 1 (6 pts) (Due: 18th September)
1. Do you think McChesney would agree that democracy in the U.S. works in the way that the government, the media and the corporations do not influence each other? Why or why not? (1-2 sentences; 3 pts)
2. One of the main arguments that supporters of media concentration use to defend consolidation is that other industries (such as automobile, steel, etc.) are concentrated too, so the media should not be an exception. The opponent argues that the media are not the same as other industries. From what you read from "Ch.4 Concentration of media ownership", do you favour Dennis' or Merrill's point of view? Why? (1-2 sentences; 3 pts)