I cannot choose a least favorite topic because every week we were assigned an interesting subject that I had never really considered. However, I did have a least favorite author. The readings by Surrete didn’t always appeal to me as much as reading about serial killers, for example. I suppose it’s because we are taught by the media that we should be interested in sensational issues. If I had to pick a least favorite topic, it would probably be news in comparison to the other topics. I still found the topic intriguing, though.
My favorite topic would have to be reading about the Smart, Ramsey, and Peterson cases. The readings for that week (except for perhaps the Surrette reading) were so compelling in that they told more of the story instead of presenting bare facts. Plus, they seemed to relate to current news stories, especially with the trial of Smart’s abductor.
I think it would be useful to expand the music and film segments of the course. The readings we covered were appropriate, but I would have enjoyed going beyond Marilyn Monroe and Blood Diamonds if we had more time. As for limiting information, I’m not sure what I would do. I cannot imagine limiting or eliminating any of the topics. I suppose I would choose to expand music and film.
Prior to this class, I would have advocated a course based mostly around music, film, and the Internet. After taking it though, I would approach the material as we did in class. We covered so much more useful and engrossing matters than what pure music, film, and Internet usage would have allowed. I would never have considered themes such as drugs and media effects before this semester. Now, I think I would structure the course similarly to the way Professor Castle did, at least using the same topics. The only change I would probably make is to expand the film and music sections.
Overall, I really loved this class! I’ll definitely miss it!
I really liked the articles about Peterson, Ramsey, and Smart as well. It was intersting to see how the authors portrayed the cases and how the media changed our views. Considering that we knew about those cases before the class, it was good to be able to compare what we thought before this class, and how perhaps we fell victim to the media influences on our views of the cases.
ReplyDeleteI said the same thing about adding more media to the course in class especially. I, along with you and Becca, enjoyed reading about the court cases...most everyone had heard about it and it was interesting to hear a little more about them because some of them I was a less familiar with. Those were case in point justice and the media combined...good classic example
ReplyDeleteNow that we've been through this course its hard to imagine Dr. Castle teaching it another way. I feel like this is a class that will have a big impact on how I interpret news for a long time.
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