In an approximately 350-word response on one page (as a PDF file), draw from your personal experiences with communication technologies to address each week’s question based on the additional readings for Class 6 “The Columbia School” and Class 7 “The Birmingham School”. Craft your response in a creative, well-organized, and easily readable format, thinking innovatively about its presentation and layout on your single-page submission. You don`t need formal references like APA or Chicago style for these responses.

After absorbing lectures, readings, and class discussions, this writing task serves as an opportunity to further contemplate the week`s themes and articulate your opinions, critiques, and inquiries about the material concisely and logically. The aim is to delve into your thoughts on the course, delve into the weekly themes in writing, demonstrate comprehension of the theories from the readings, and document your evolving opinions on the course material over the six tutorial weeks.

Offer your unique perspective while leveraging the readings to bolster your argument. Substantiate any claims about theoretical ideas by referencing the readings (without formal citations, but through paraphrasing or relevant quotes). Integrate examples from the contemporary media environment not covered in the readings to enrich your argument.

Present your content on one visually compelling page. Incorporate images and links to online content (like social media posts, memes, blog posts, etc.), and creatively arrange the material. Ensure that the visual presentation guides the reader through your response. Clearly delineate the sections for sequential reading and ensure the layout facilitates easy navigation between your written response and other media on the page.

Grading:

8 points – Ability to grasp the reading, evidenced by referencing pertinent elements of the argument and effectively using them to support your response. 8 points – Capacity to apply the reading to relevant examples in the contemporary media landscape. 4 points – Overall visual presentation of your response.

Choose one of the week’s two readings and address the corresponding question, indicating your chosen question:

Question 1:

In an approximately 350-word response on one page, using concrete examples from the tutorial reading and the contemporary media environment, explore the question: Do you agree with the Columbia School’s “limited effects” model of mass communication? To what extent do digital technologies affect patterns of behavior and thought?

Question 2:

In an approximately 350-word response on one page, using concrete examples from the tutorial reading and the contemporary media environment, reflect on the question: How can Hall’s use of the discipline of “semiotics” help us understand how meaning is generated, sustained, and/or distorted in our present media environment? How is an audience a source of a message? By criticizing the linearity of the sender-receiver model, what role do audiences play today in the encoding/decoding framework?