Filling in the Gaps of Which Communication is Made
Comm 1125 – Media Theory
John Peters’ “Gaps” essay is an important and sometimes counterintuitive commentary on the relationship of interpersonal (or face to face) communication and mass mediated communication. The purpose of this assignment is to develop a thorough reading of the essay as a class. Once we have explicated the piece as a group, we will then discuss it in relation to some of the other authors we have been reading.
Once you are in your groups, start by introducing yourselves. Appoint one person to keep the group on task and the rest of the group should take notes so you can all speak to the subject when we reconvene as a class. This exercise will be carried out over two days, so it’s important that you take good notes.
Your task is to develop a close reading of a small section of the text. For the purposes of our assignment, a close reading means answering the following questions:
· What is the main argument of the section?
· How do the examples in the section support the argument (for instance, is he using an example as evidence or demonstrating a flaw in someone else’s reasoning)?
· Find 3 particularly important passages in the section. How do they illustrate or summarize the main point particularly well? Be sure you are prepared to explain why they are important and how they fit into the section.
· How does the passage fit into the overall flow of the essay?
The class will subdivide into five small groups to discuss the following sections of the essay. I will introduce the essay and summarize the Plato section before we begin.
1. pp. 124-126 Radio
2. pp. 127-129 Radio
3. pp. 129-132 Mass Communication as the basic form/Ricoeur
4. pp. 132-134 Love and Justice
5. pp. 135-137 Love and Justice