Essay Prompt: Approaches to Media Theory

A theory is an idea “that explains an event or behavior . . . brings clarity to an otherwise jumbled situation…. [it] synthesizes the data, focuses our attention on what’s crucial . . .” But “[d]ifferent schools of thought will define theory in different ways depending on the needs of the theorist and on beliefs about the social world and the nature of knowledge” (Baran and Davis, 2012, p. 12).

Prompt: Outline your Research Question (RQ) and evaluate the kinds of theory presented so far this term. Among Postpositivist, Hermeneutic, Critical and Normative modes of analysis, explain which one you think is the most useful in answering your RQ about media’s relationship to society. Explain why by outlining the features that make it best. Compare your choice for best with what you consider the second most useful theory for your RQ. What features make one superior to the other in answering your RQ?

Format: One-page, single-spaced with at least one reference to readings from an outside scholarly / journalistic source(s) to support your point. Include APA in-text citations (Links to an external site.) where necessary and a reference page. No cover page needed.

Submit the essay to bCourses with your name and section number in the upper left part of the page.

Quick rubric:

Superior: Explanations of theory types are clear as are the reasons offered for choosing the theory. Makes sophisticated use of theory while providing important distinctions between competing schools of thought. Writer demonstrates how theories have potential to answer media research questions by highlighting underlying assumptions of theory. References illustrate the writer’s points about the value of one theory over another, touching on specific examples. Typo-free and well organized at the sentence and paragraph levels.

Good: Theory type is correctly applied but lacking in clarity and detail. Writer offers essential distinctions between theories but does not go beyond the definitions offered in class and readings. References to text are useful and illustrate important points about theory. Writer examines underlying assumptions of theories. Organization is clear.

Needs Improvement: Theory types are applied but with little sense of how they complement or contrast. Research questions are vague and theory use does not demonstrate a strong grasp of the implications of research traditions. Organization is weak and shows little logical flow.

Tip: Use the outside reading you reference to tell the reader about your research question. For example, “In 2017, The New York Times reported that screen addiction is a growing concern among pediatricians . . . . In light of these concerns, I propose . . .”

References:

Baran, S. J., & Davis, D. K. (2012). Mass communication theory: Foundations, ferment, and future. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Pub. Co.

Detailed grading rubric can be found here.

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Research topic

The Trump administration’s decision to ban TikTok and require it to offer an acquisition to a native technology giant has triggered a hot-button debate and brought the China-US relation to the focus of public controversy. Why does a Chinese-owned short video application catch the US President’s attention? What makes this application such additive and transmissive among the US social media market? One plausible explanation for these questions is similar to that for the popularity of Internet meme. Tiktok successfully maximized the efficiency for people to upload and receive short videos to amuse each other, and a large portion of those videos’ contents are purely repetitions of the existing videos, which works just like memes. The secret of TikTok’s success begs to the trending meme culture, in which Tiktok promotes the repetition of original content instead of encouraging originality and creativity like other social media platforms. Tiktok in a way used short videos to celebrate, mock or satirize current events and popular culture, and become a defining part of how teenagers communicate in the digital world. I am interested in how TikTok succeed in the social media competition and how it grasps the opportunity to spread quickly among the US.

Research Question: In what ways is TikTok promoting repetitions and how is it similar to the spreading of memes? To answer this question, I need to collect data from the top trending videos of TikTok, focus on the likes and comments under the video, and observe for their pattern to further analyze the fundamental success of these videos and music. I would also dig into other social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, to compare and contrast the trending patterns among these platforms to investigate my research question. Moreover, I would like to explore the traditional meme spreading pattern and examine it with TikTok to found out the similarities among them. Therefore, this research project requires the application of both hermeneutic theory and postpositive theory because this would allow me to interpret the action of a specific culture by understanding the behavior of a demographic through the utilization of data.

Grading rubric

Depth of analysis (0-20 pts)

· Paper goes beyond the assignment to explore the implications of arguments or evidence in new contexts or in particularly thoughtful, insightful, and/or original ways.

· Explanations of theory types are clear as are the reasons offered for choosing the theory. Makes sophisticated use of theory while providing important distinctions between competing schools of thought. Writer demonstrates how theories have potential to answer media research questions by highlighting underlying assumptions of theory.

· Paper shows a nuanced grasp of media theory types and the ability to apply them to a media research question with clarity.

Thesis (0-10 pts)

· Clearly and eloquently identifies a nuanced, central rationale about preference for certain theories.

· Provides the reader with a clear sense of a media research question and how theory types apply.

· Encapsulates main idea pursued in the body of the paper.

Organization (0-10 pts)

· Organization of paper as a whole is logical and quickly apparent.

· Connections among paragraphs are clearly articulated.

· Transitions between paragraphs are smooth.

· Every paragraph makes one distinct and coherent point in a clear topic sentence; the parts of each paragraph connect logically and persuasively, and internal transitions are smooth.

Clarity (0-5 pts)

· Throughout the paper, wording is precise and unambiguous.

· Sentence structure is consistently clear and lucid.

· Quotations are all framed effectively in the text (integrated properly in terms of grammar and meaning) and explicated.

Mechanics (0-5 pts)

· There are virtually no spelling or grammatical errors; appropriately formatted. There are no incomplete or run-on sentences.

· Quotes are all properly attributed and cited with APA reference style.