Schedule

JOUR 215 – Journalism of the South since 1945 -- Fall ‘04

11 – 11:55 a.m., MWF (D); Reid 302 

Prof. Doug Cumming -- Reid Hall 101

Office: 458-8202; Home: 462-2968; Email: cummingd@wlu.edu

 The American South has always been a fascinatingly distinct place within the national culture and consciousness. But, historically speaking, does it have its own species of journalism? Aren’t the practices of fair and accurate reporting the same in the South as everywhere? Yes, in a sense. But the social upheavals in the South since World War II tell a particular story about how news reporting was shaped by history, and how history, in some rather dramatic turns, was shaped by news reporting. It is not a simple story, and it has not been definitively told by any single writer or in any single book. That is why this course will involve a wide range of readings, some original student research, some student interviewing of journalists who covered historical events, at least one presentation by each student, and most importantly, class discussion. This should be useful and interesting to undergraduates whether or not they are journalism majors. The form is that of a seminar. The field is intellectual and social history, placed within my own sub-discipline of media history. We will be exploring ideas, historical themes, and personalities in ways that push us a little beyond the familiar, and also should lead to some original and publishable history.

 Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.

 Your instructor: This is my second year at W & L. I grew up with family stories that hark back to antebellum generations in Georgia. I also glimpsed more recent historical changes in the South through my father’s job covering the region for Newsweek from 1958 through 1979. Half my work in news reporting has been in the South: in Raleigh and Atlanta. My dissertation, as part of a Ph.D. in Mass Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2002, was on a non-profit news service that scrambled together in 1954 to help journalists and researchers get their facts straight on the biggest running news story in the South since Reconstruction – Brown v. Board of Education.  

Classroom expectations: Come prepared, having done the assigned reading and writing. Bring your own experiences and perspectives to class discussions. Attendance is vital. Absences need to be explained satisfactorily in advance -- by phone, email or note -- and are limited to two. Beyond that, or if not excused, absences count off 5 points each on your 20 points for Participation. Otherwise, Participation will be graded on engagement and preparation in discussions. This is one fifth of your grade (see Grades, below). We will also be watching short takes of videos that relate to our readings and discussions. 

Readings: Some of the assigned reading will be for everybody, some will be chosen by you from a short list. The readings in these short lists as well as additional readings to help with your individual research projects can be found in a bibliography attached to this syllabus. The bibliography is organized into groups of themes or issues. For example, under the issue of “White resistance,” you will find books by Hodding Carter III, John Bartlow Martin, Benjamin Muse, Robert Penn Warren and Numan V. Bartley. When it is time to tackle that particular issue, every student will be covering it by reading portions of one of these books, as chosen by individual students in coordination with the instructor. Different books, same topic.

The readings for everybody in common will come from handouts, reserved readings (which can be found online in BlackBoard), and the two required books, which you can buy in the Bookstore: 

1. Raines, Howell. My Soul is Rested: Movement Days in the Deep South Remembered. (1977, 1983). Paperback.
2. Clark, Roy Peter and Raymond Arsenault, eds. The Changing South of Gene Patterson: Journalism and Civil Rights, 1960-1968. (2002). Hardback.

 Student presentations: Every student will select two books from the bibliography. One will be the subject of a presentation you will give in class. The other will be the subject of an analytical paper (see next section). The presentation on one book may be as informal as you wish, and may include a relevant discussion that you must direct. The standard is that you will give the class a fair and interesting sense of what the book says, and give us your judgment on its significance. Student presentations should run 12-15 minutes. Visuals or handouts are allowed, if relevant, but you can do an excellent job without them.

You might find additional books for me to add to the bibliography. No two students may give presentations or papers on the same book.

Due date: To be scheduled on various class days throughout the semester. (See Schedule, below.) The shedule should be worked out by Sept. 19 class; presentations begin Oct. 1.

Class presentations are graded under the following rubric:

• Presentation: Was material covered adequately, organized well, conveyed clearly? Were points illustrated creatively, questions answered well? 50 %
• Analysis: Did presenter engage the text critically, making comparisons, judgments, and applications? 25 %
• Poise: Was presenter understandable and relatively at ease? Engage others around the table? 25 %

Student paper on a book: This paper will be 6-10 pages double-spaced (1,500-2,000 words). The paper need not involve research outside of the book being analyzed, but should be substantive, factual, and scholarly in tone and style. Graded on presentation (sufficient summary, well-chosen details and quotes, organization, grammar, spelling, style) – 60 %; and analysis (quality of your argument, your treatment of book/author context, your historical thinking) – 40 %.

 Due date: Oct. 13.

Student case study of a news story and its coverage: This is another paper of 8-10 pages double-spaced. Select a significant news development or historic event that happened in the South in the last 50 years. Then collect a significant sample of its coverage (possibly, one major news report along with historical background, or coverage by several different news organizations, or a dozen or so stories from the same publication over time). Lastly, write a summary and analysis of the event and the coverage. Attach the coverage, if from print media.

Due date: Nov. 3

Oral history profiles: This is an exercise in oral history, your third and final paper for the course. You will find a living journalist with Southern roots or significant experience covering the South in the era we are studying. I will distribute a list of possibilities, but you might know or learn of others we can add to the list. You must contact your subject and convince that person to be interested enough to cooperate with a sit-down, taped interview. You will gather research on your subject, from archives or from the subject him or herself. Your write-up will be a journalistic-style feature profile. You may add any amount of transcript of the interview as a sidebar, if it’s interesting enough. Try to include a photograph of your subject as well.

Due: Proposed subject’s name to be brought to class by Oct. 25. Final profile due Dec. 8. 

Grades:

Paper on a reading                                            20

Class presentation (on another reading)             20

Paper on a news event and its coverage             20

Oral history profile                                             20

Participation (including attendance)                     20

TOTAL                                                            100