Diversity and the Media
Diversity and the Media
Hey Robert, I’m going to post the scoring guide at the end. Please, follow the scoring guide. I need at least “basic” I can’t have anything in “non-performance” please.
- Write a 6–8-page essay analyzing a chosen diversity issue covered in the media.By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:SHOW LESS
- Competency 1: Describe theoretical ideas of power in relation to policy.
- Discuss sociological theories appropriate for promoting understanding of a diversity concept.
- Discuss how a media piece may affect or might have been influenced by policy and/or power.
- Competency 2: Identify historical and contemporary influences of discrimination in U. S. culture.
- Discuss how minority and dominant groups are portrayed in a media piece to understand influences on discrimination.
- Competency 3: Analyze the effects of social policy using aggregated data.
- Analyze data that is appropriate for supporting or refuting the central tenets of media piece.
- Competency 6: Communicate effectively.
- Write coherently to support a central idea in appropriate format and with few errors of grammar, usage, and mechanics.
- Competency 1: Describe theoretical ideas of power in relation to policy.
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Context
How are different social groups portrayed in the mass media in contemporary society? How far have we come in terms of reducing or eliminating stereotypical images and portrayals of minority groups? To answer these questions, we need to place them in the context of the economic, technological, and social changes that have shaped postindustrial U.S. society and affected relationships between diverse groups in our society. For example, watching TV sitcoms and dramas today we see not only much greater diversity in cast members but also minority group members playing leading roles, something that was much less common just a few decades ago.As we analyze how the various media forms portray cultural diversity, another thing to consider is the role of people with power in the media industry—those who make the decisions about what stories and images appear on a TV news program or magazine or newspaper article and how those programs or stories will be framed.
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Questions to Consider
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.
- Some sociologists who study the media argue that the media is a reflection of what is already happening in society, while others contend that the media manipulates its audience by portraying events or issues with a particular slant or goal in mind. What do you think? Does the media reflect what is already going on in society, or does it manipulate viewers to draw conclusions about what is going on? Perhaps a bit of both? Consider the implications in terms of how the media portrays diversity-related issues like racism and sexism.
- Can our interaction with media—movies, TV shows, news and radio programs, and so on—have any influence on our understanding of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, age, religion, et cetera?
- To what extent does the news media create and perpetuate stereotypes about particular groups of people?
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Resources
Internet Resources
Access the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.
- Deggans, E. (2014). Four lessons from the media’s conflicted coverage of race. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/12/06/…
- Critical Media Project. (n.d.). Class. Retrieved from http://www.criticalmediaproject.org/cml/topicbackg…
- Smith. S. L., & Cook. C. A. (2008). Gender stereotypes: An analysis of popular films and TV. Retrieved from http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/~/media/MDSCI/Gende…
Bookstore Resources
The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from the Capella University Bookstore. When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the Course ID with the specific –FP (FlexPath) course designation.
- Healey, J. F., & O’Brien, E. (2015). Race, ethnicity, gender, & class: The sociology of group conflict and change(7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Chapters 3–5.
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Assessment Instructions
In this assessment, you will have the opportunity to take a deeper look at the connection between the media and the cultural diversity of U.S. society. You will discuss how a current program or article in current news media approaches diversity-related issues and explain how we can use the sociological perspective to better understand both the portrayal of diversity-related issues and the media’s broader role in U.S. society. Effectively evaluating the accuracy of the information provided in your chosen media piece will require some additional research and fact checking, something that sociologists do as well when they are weighing the validity of opposing arguments.
DELIVERABLE
Choose a news media piece from a reputable source that is focused on an issue related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, physical or mental disability, or social class. Examples of acceptable media include newspaper articles, editorials, and radio or television news segments. Write an essay in which you complete the following:
- Briefly, in one or two paragraphs, summarize the main events or issues presented in the article and describe how they relate to cultural diversity studies.
- Compare and contrast how minority and dominant groups are portrayed in your chosen media article or program.
- Consider how your source material demonstrates this dominant/minority group differentiation. For example, is there differentiation along racial or ethnic lines, or other variables, such as gender or social class?
- Discuss at least two sociological theories that are most appropriate to understanding the diversity issues in your chosen media piece. Include relevant examples from the article or program to illustrate your points. Examples of theories include:
- Functionalist perspective.
- Conflict perspective.
- Labeling theory.
- Marx’s and Weber’s theories of inequality.
- Park’s race relations cycle.
- Gordon’s theory of assimilation.
- Human capital theory.
- Scapegoat theory.
- Authoritarian personality theory.
- Exploitation theory.
- Contact hypothesis.
- Noel hypothesis.
- Blauner hypothesis.
- Culture of poverty theory.
