HCOM 409 muted group theory

HCOM 409 muted group theory

HCOM 409 – Final Essay

My final essay will be on the muted group theory and here are the instrustions right doen below.

The final assignment for this course consists of a short essay in which you demonstrate your understanding of theoretical perspectives and concepts from the media and communication theories presented in our course. The purpose of an essay is to present an argument or viewpoint about a subject supported by theories, concepts, and academic research. The essay must examine a topic of your interest by using concepts and references from at least one media and communication theory presented in our class. However, you can use also other theories and research traditions that we did not examine in class or from other disciplines, if that fits in your essay.

Final Essay due date: December 16th, 2021.

Length: 6 to 8 pages, double space, excluding references.

Steps:

Identifying topic and “lenses.”
Choose a narrow, specific topic that attracts your interest.
Describe the topic and what you want to discuss about it.
Name the theories that you will use (e.g. cultivation, cultural studies, political economy, etc.). Tell the reader why you think that these theories are relevant to your study. At least one of the theories was examined in our course.
Exploring literature
Find studies, articles, even journalistic pieces that help you to describe the topic/issue and why it’s relevant to explore.

Find a bibliography that helps to frame or understand the topic in academic terms. For instance, assume that you are interested in discussing that mental health problems are not getting enough coverage in the news. Therefore, first, you want to write about the increment in mental health problems, who are affected the most, the importance of openly discuss the problem and get support, etc. Second, find out what theories would be useful to examine this topic. Perhaps Agenda Setting, maybe Political Economy may explain some aspects of it.

Mapping/outlining your essay
As you read, make sure you find relations between articles, contrasting ideas, comparisons, and insights that help to refine your understanding of the topic.

Drawing a mental map, doodling, and writing an outline. This step is highly recommended because it helps to visualize the elements your essay: the issue itself, your claim, evidence, concepts that illuminates it, and their connections.

At this point, you may have found enough information to develop your own thesis statement (main claim, key idea or insight supported by theories and studies that expand the understanding of a particular issue).