Politics, Week 10

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Politics, Week 10 Instructional Plan

This week

  1. check student presentation progress
  2. upcoming schedule
  3. chapter 8 Political Culture and the Media

For next week

  1. November 9 – student presentations (week 11)
  2. November 16 – Chapter 12 Government Systems and Regimes (week 12)
  3. November 23 –  Chapter 13 Political Executive and Leadership (week 13)
  4. November 30 – review (week 14)
  5. December 7 – reading week, no classes (week 15)
  6. December 14 – final exam

Presentation Ideas

Your presentation project has two parts: the written paper (10%) and oral presentation (10%). So the this project is worth 20% of the final score. The presentation is on Monday, November 9.

Here are some notes to help you prepare properly and perform well.

  1. Be clear about your main idea. Have an argument. Use the argument format we learned in class before the midterm exam.
  2. It is better to have a specific idea than a wide, general, vague idea.
  3. Make sure the presentation is about 5 minutes, certainly not less.
  4. Anticipate some tough questions.
  5. A PPT or handouts is optional but not necessary.

Lecture Notes

 

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

  1. How do people get their political attitudes and values?
  2. Describe Almond’s concept of political culture and civic society. What are some good and bad points about this model?
  3. “The consciousness of people does not create their world. Rather, their world creates their consciousness.” Discuss the meaning of these sentence when talking about political culture.
  4. There are four theories of the relationship between mass media and political culture. Describe and evaluate two of them.Which one best describes the situation in Korea?
  5. Summarize the main idea of the book Manufacturing Consent. Do you agree or disagree with that idea? Why or why not?
  6. What is propaganda? Describe 5 or six techniques used in propaganda. Give some examples of propaganda.
  7. In your opinion, what influence does mass media have on governance?

VOCABULARY

  1. political culture
  2. propaganda
  3. correlation
  4. causation
  5. socialization
  6. public opinion
  7. spin
  8. civic culture
  9. hegemony 
  10. political ideal
  11. voter turnout
  12. homogeneous
  13. hegemony
  14. dominant ideology
  15. consent

OTHER MATERIALS

  1. Manufacturing Consent, a documentary about Chomsky and his ideas about propaganda and the mass media in the US.
  2. A report which lists voter turnout in various countries including South Korea and the US (pages 80 and 81).
  3. A good description of propaganda techniques.
  4. War Made Easy, an excellent documentary about the use of propaganda and war.
  5. Stuff about Chomsky.