The Annenberg School for Communication
University of Southern California
Comparative Communications (COMM 557)
Summer Term (14 May-1 July 1997)
Instructors: Professor William Dutton, and Visiting Professor M. Kawahata
| Class Meetings: | Tues and Thurs evenings 6:1510:00 pm, Room ASC 215 |
Office Hours: 4:00-5:00 pm Tuesday & Thursday, Rm 309B ASC
Phone/message: (213) 7402759; Fax
(310) 379-9250; e-mail: wdutton@usc.edu
This course focuses on cross-national comparative
approaches to the study of communication policy and practice.
It illustrates the value of comparative study through discussions
of broadcasting, cable, telecommunications, industrial, and new
media policies and practices, such as those surrounding the Internet.
The course prepares students to approach issues in communication,
business, and public policy from a comparative perspective.
The Importance of International Comparative
Study
Cross-national comparative studies of communications
have been invigorated by the growing relevance of global developments
to local policy and practice. The rise of global markets and industries
makes it important for academics, policy makers, and practitioners
to understand cross-national variations in communication cultures,
industries, and practices. This is true of students and professionals
who have not had the opportunity to study or work abroad as well
as those who have international experience, but lack a framework
for comparison across countries and regions.
Course Objectives
This course aims to:
William Dutton
Professor Dutton has studied communication
technology and policy from a cross-national comparative perspective
since the 1970s. He has conducted research in several nations
other than the US, including Japan, Germany, and France, but worked
and taught primarily in Britain, first as a Fulbright scholar
and then as national director of the UK's Programme on Information
and Communication Technologies (PICT). His book Wired Cities
(G. K. Hall, 1987) provided a comparative look at the development
of cable television. Most recently, he co-edited a new book, The
Social Shaping of Information Highways: European and American
Roads to the Information Society (St. Martin's Press, in press)
with colleagues in the UK and Germany.
M. Kawahata
Professor Dr. M. Kawahata is a senior advisor to Fujitsu Limited, one of the world's largest computer manufacturers, a professor at Tokai University, and a Provost's Distinguished Visitor at USC. Dr. Kawahata is internationally recognized for his innovative work in several areas of business, engineering, and communications. He received a variety of honors in the early 1980s for his work as managing director of Japan's Highly Interactive Optical Visual Information System (Hi-OVIS). He received his doctorate in engineering from the University of Tokyo and worked for a time at IBM in the US before returning to Japan and his work on Hi-OVIS. Dr. Kawahata has since visited the Annenberg School and several other universities. He served as a visiting professor at the HIT Lab at the University of Washington, where he was given a 'Pioneer Award' in 1995 for his contributions. Over the last decade, he has taken major responsibility for the selection and design of public exhibits at 'Tepia' - a center in Tokyo - on such topics as Human-Computer Interface Design and Robotics. All have been designed to enhance public understanding of science and technology.
The seminar will combine lecture and discussion,
emphasizing the latter. Students will be graded by the assignments
of points for the following required activities:
1. Seminar Discussion (10 points):
Points will be assigned on the basis of each student's contribution
to seminar activities and discussion.
2. Contributions to the Development and
Design of a Course Web Site (10 points): Each student will
assist in constructing a site on the World Wide Web that all can
use this semester and into the future to locate information and
people tied to world wide developments in communication.
3. Review of an Original Public Report or
Document on Communication (10 points): Each student will review
and discuss a 'foreign' government document, or other public report
of a country or regional institution foreign to the student, such
as the European Union that is focused on communicaton. US reports
can be reviewed by non-US students. Reports (of about 500 words
or 2-3 pages) will be briefly presented to the class.
4. Interpreting Comparative Data (20
points): Each student will find and lead a discussion of a selected
cross-national comparative database, providing a brief description
and assessment of the indicators, cross-national differences,
and conclusions drawn from the comparisons (the paper should be
about 500 words or 2-3 pages with table or figure);
5. Comparative Case Study (30 points):
Students will conduct and present a case study of a particular
development in communication policy or practice, describing the
case and placing it in an historical and comparative context (papers
should be about 2,000 words, 10 double-spaced pages);
6. Final Examination (20 points): Each
student will take a final examination over the seminar discussion
and readings.
Student grades will be assigned on the basis
of total points earned over the term, with90 points required for
an A, 80 for a B, and 70 for a C. These thresholds may be lowered
if overall performance indicates the need to curve these grades.
27 May Memo on Course Web Site
5 June Review of Goverment Document
12 June Comparative Data Analysis
26 June Comparative Case Study
1 July Final Examination
Required Readings Available at USC Bookstores
Blumler, J. G. (1992), Television and the
Public Interest: Vulnerable Values in West European Broadcasting
(Thousand Oaks: SAGE).
Kubicek, H., Dutton, W. H., and Williams, R.
(1997 in press) (eds.), The Social Shaping of the Information
Superhighway: European and American Roads to the Information Society
(Campus and St. Martin's Press).
Steinfield, C., Bauer, J. M., and Caby, L.
(1994), Telecommunications in Transition: Policies, Services
and Technologies in the European Community (Thousand Oaks:
SAGE).
Recommended Texts Available at Libraries
and USC Bookstores
Dutton, W. (1996) (ed.), Information and
Communication Technologies - Visions and Realities (Oxford
and New York: Oxford University Press).
Dutton, W. H., Blumler, J. G., and Kraemer,
K. L. (1985) (eds.), Wired Cities: Shaping the Future of Communications
(Boston: G. K. Hall, Simon and Schuster).
Part I. Introduction to Topics and Assignments
1. Cross-National Comparative Inquiry
What is comparative inquiry? What can you gain
from viewing communications from a comparative perspective?
Discussion:
Begin class discussion of case studies, reviews of documents,
the Web site, and comparative databases.
Assigned Readings:
Dutton, W. H., Blumler, J. G., and Kraemer, K. L. (1987), `A Comparative Analysis' in Dutton et al. (1987): 456-86.
Recommended for Further Reading:
Blumler, J. G., McLeod, J. M., and Rosengren,
K. E. (1992) (eds.), Comparatively Speaking. Newbury Park,
CA: Sage, 3-48.
Part II. The Policy Ecology Shaping Communication
2. Early Challenges to Broadcasting Regimes:
Cable and Satellite
Cable communications posed different threats
and opportunities to nations, depending on their broadcasting
traditions. We will use the case of cable TV to discuss trends
in communication technology and policy round the world. To what
degree are national policies converging and why?
Assigned Readings:
Dutton, W. H., Blumler, J. G., and Kraemer,
K. L. (1987) (eds.), Wired Cities (Boston: G.K. Hall, Simon
and Schuster), focus on the US and one other nation.
Recommendations for Further Reading:
Dutton, W., and Vedel, T. (1992), 'Dynamics
of Cable Television in the U.S., Britain, and France' (1992) in
Blumler, J. G., McLeod, J. M., and Rosengren, K. E. (1992) (eds.),
Comparatively Speaking (Newbury Park, CA: Sage), 70-93.
Vedel, T., and Dutton, W. H. (1990), 'New Media
Politics: Shaping Cable Television Policy in France', Media,
Culture and Society, 12, 491-524.
Dutton, W.H. and Blumler, J.G. (1988), 'The
Faltering Development of Cable Television in Britain', International
Political Science Review, 9 (4), 279303.
3. The Survival of National Broadcasting
Regimes and Values
European cases will be used to discuss the
impact of cable and satellite as well as commercial forces on
national broadcasting regimes. Do these issues and findings differ
in other regions of the world?
Assigned Reading:
Blumler, J. G. (1992), Television and the
Public Interest: Vulnerable Values in West European Broadcasting
(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage).
Blumler, J. G. (1989), 'The Role of Public
Policy in the New Television Marketplace', Benton Foundation
Project on Communications and Information Policy Options (Washington
DC: The Benton Foundation).
Collins, R. (1996), 'The Cultural Dimension
of Communication Technology and Policy: The Experience of Satellite
Television in Europe' in Dutton, W. (1996): 233-48.
Recommended for Further Reading:
McDowell, S. D. (1997), 'Globalization and
Policy Choice: Television and Audiovisual Services Policies in
India', Media, Culture, and Society, 19, 151-172.
Noam, E. (1991), Television in Europe
(New York and London: Columbia University Press).
Browne, D. R., Comparing Broadcast Systems:
The Experiences of Six Industrialized Nations (Ames, Iowa:
Iowa University Press).
Katz, E., and Wedell, G. (1977), Broadcasting
in the Third World (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press),
especially pp. 337, 4164.
4. Technological and Policy Change in Telecommunications
The PTTs of Japan, western Europe and former
British colonies have differed markedly from institutions providing
post, telegraph, and telephone services in the US. However, a
growing number of industrialized nations have introduced competition
and privatization and all seem to be trying to position themselves
as global players.
Required Reading:
Baer, W. (1996), 'Telecommunication Infrastructure
Competition: The Costs of Delay' in Dutton, W. (1996): 353-70.
Steinfield, C., Bauer, J. M., and Caby, L.
(1994), Telecommunications in Transition: Policies, Services,
and Technologies in the European Community (London and Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage).
Recommended for Further Reading:
Noam, E. (1992), Telecommunications in Europe
(London and New York: Oxford University Press).
Sapolsky, H., Crane, R., Neuman, R., and Noam,
E. (1992), The Telecommunications Revolution: Past, Present,
and Future (New York: Routledge).
5. Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) and Industrial Policy
Regional and national economic, industrial,
and trade policies are major forces behind policy change in communications.
We will discuss cross-national approaches to industrial policy,
using discussion of the computer industry, cable industry and
new media development, and public acceptance of high technology
as examples. (Note: This section will be the focus of Professor
Kawahata's contributions and therefore timed to coincide with
his availability.)
Required Readings:
Johnson, C. (1982), MITI and the Japanese Miracle:
The Growth of Industrial Policy, 19251975. (Stanford, CA:
Stanford University Press), 1-31, 305-324.
Kawahata, M. (1987), 'Hi-OVIS' in Dutton, W.
et al. (1987): 179-200.
Kraemer, K. L., and Dedrick, J., 'IT and Economic
Development: International Competitiveness' in Dutton, W. (1996):
319-333.
Murata, T. (1987), 'Competition for Shaping
New Utopias' in Dutton et al. (1987): 165-78.
Recommended for Further Reading:
Flamm, K. (1987), Targeting the Computer:
Government Support and International Competition (Washington
DC: The Brookings Institution), technology policy in Japan and
Europe on pp. 125-172.
Flamm, K. (1988), Creating the Computer:
Government, Industry, and High Technology (Washington DC:
The Brookings Institution), Japan is covered on pp. 172-202.
Gurbaxani, V., et al. (1990), 'Government as
the Driving Force Toward the Information Society: National Computer
Policy in Singapore', The Information Society, 7, 155-185.
Part III. Cross-cutting Themes and Issues
6. The Information Superhighway and the
Internet
Emerging electronic infrastructures and services
have been developed and received differently across the world.
What factors might account for the varied production and diffusion
of these innovations? What implications will the new information
superhighways and services, such as over the Internet, have on
other communication sectors and society as a whole?
Assigned Readings:
Kubicek, H., Dutton, W. H., and Williams, R.
(1997 forthcoming) (eds.), The Social Shaping of the Information
Superhighway: European and American Roads to the Information Society
(Campus and St. Martin's Press).
Recommended for Further Reading:
Dutton, W., et al. (1995), 'The Politics of
Information and Communication Policy: The Information Superhighway'
in Dutton, W. (1996), 387-405.
7. Summary, Concluding Discussion, and Presentations.
In conclusion we will review and discuss the
convergence of policy, globalism, visions of communications, and
identify other themes and issues that cut across many of the topics
covered in this course. Students will present and discuss the
case studies.
Final Examination
- 1 July
The final will consist of two to three essay
questions, selected from four to six options.
Aumente, J. (1987), New Electronic Pathways:
Videotex, Teletext and Online Databases. (Beverly Hills, CA:
Sage), especially 2774.
Barnett, S., and Curry, A. (1994), The Battle
for the BBC (London: Aurum Press).
Bowman, H., and Christoffersen, M. (1992) (eds.)
Relaunching Videotex (Amsterdam: Kluwer Academic Publishers).
Brown, A. (1996), Public Service Broadcasting
in Four English-Speaking Countries (NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
Inc.).
Browne, D. R., Comparing Broadcast Systems:
The Experiences of Six Industrialized Nations (Ames, Iowa:
Iowa University Press).
Chang, Won Ho (1989), Mass Media in China:
The History and the Future (Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University
Press).
Dordick, H. S., and Wang, G. (1993), The
Information Society: A Retrospective View (Thousand Oaks:
SAGE).
Drake, W. J. (1995), The New Information
Infrastructure: Strategies for US Policy (New York: The Twentieth
Century Fund Press).
Dunnett, P. J. S. (1990), The World Television
Industry: An Economic Analysis (London and New York: Routledge).
Edelstein, A. S. (1982), Comparative Communication
Research (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications).
Edelstein, A. S., Ito, Y., and Kepplinger,
H. M. (1989), Communication and Culture: A Comparative Approach
(New York and London: Longman).
Flaherty, D. H. (1989), Protecting Privacy
in Surveillance Societies (Chapel Hill: Un. of North Carolina
Press).
Fox, E. (1988) (ed.), Media and Politics
in Latin America: The Struggle for Democracy (London and Newbury
Park, CA: Sage).
Greenberger, M. (1985) (ed.), Electronic
Publishing Plus (White Plains, NY: Knowledge Industries).
Hamelink, C. J. (1994), The Politics of
World Communication: A Human Rights Perspective (London: Sage).
Hooper, R. (1985), 'Lessons from Overseas:
The British Experience' in Greenberger (1985): 181-99.
Katz, E., and Wedell, G. (1977), Broadcasting
in the Third World (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press),
especially pp. 337, 4164.
Kuhn, R. (1995), The Media in France
(London: Rutledge).
Latzer, M., and Thomas, G. (1994) (eds.) Cash
Lines: the Development and Regulation of Audiotex in Europe and
the United States (Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis).
Mickiewicz, E. (1988), Split Signals: Television
and Politics in the Soviet Union (Oxford and New York: Oxford
University Press).
Mowlana, H. (1996), Global Communication
in Transition: The End of Diversity? (Newbury Park, CA: Sage).
Negrine, Ralph (1994), Politics and the
Mass Media in Britain, 2nd Edition. (London and New York:
Rutledge).
Noam, E. (1991), Television in Europe
(New York and London: Columbia University Press).
Noam, E. (1992) Telecommunications in Europe
(London and New York: Oxford University Press).
Rogers, E. M., and Balle, F. (1985) (eds.),
The Media Revolution in America and Western Europe (Norwood,
NJ: Ablex).
Sapolsky, H., Crane, R., Neuman, R., and Noam,
E. (1992), The Telecommunications Revolution: Past, Present,
and Future (New York: Routledge).
Siune, K., and Truetzschler, W. (1992) (eds.),
Dynamics of Media Politics (London: Sage).
Tunstall, Jeremy (1983), The Media in Britain.
London: Constable.