MDSC61H3F (2024 Fall)
ALTERNATIVE MEDIA
TH, 12:00-14:00
Course Instructor: Dr. Rachel Lobo
Email: rachel.lobo@utoronto.ca
Office: HW 417
Office hours: By appointment. Either in-person (HW 417) or via Zoom.
Teaching Assistant: TBA
Email: TBA
Course Website: Quercus
Calendar Description
This course examines the history, organization and social role of a range of independent, progressive, and
oppositional media practices. It emphasizes the ways alternative media practices, including the digital, are
the product of and contribute to political movements and perspectives that challenge the status quo of
mainstream consumerist ideologies.
Expanded Course Description
This course will introduce students to media that breaks with mainstream or corporate media in terms of
values, content, aesthetics, organization, production and consumption practices. It conceptualizes
alternative media as a political project that should be understood as part of broader social movements. Over
the course of the semester our discussions will be framed by the following prompts: What is alternative
media alternative to? What political conditions necessitate alternative media? What is the tactical or
ideological significance of alternative media to social movements? What politics and aesthetic principles
govern the production and design of alternative media? How do communities engage with and interact with
alternative media? We will apply these questions to a myriad of alternative media formats, from lo-fi activist
print cultures in the 1960s, to highly produced progressive news podcast broadcast online.
Learning Outcomes
• To understand the impetus for the production of alternative media, and the relationship between
these forms and mainstream or corporate media.
• To examine the historical role that alternative media has played in shaping social, political and
economic ideas.
• To trace the genealogy of different formats that alternative media has taken, from low-fi print
cultures to new media forms.
• To understand and use theoretical language and methods to express how media representations
convey meaning, and how those meanings are challenged and disrupted.
• To develop the capacity to interpret media artifacts in conventional and alternative
ways, including close reading and formal analysis.
• To address the role that new media technologies play in shaping how communities interact with
alternative media.
• To analyze and critique alternative media artifacts in ways that hold onto an analysis of
production as well as how audiences take up these representations in complex ways.
Course Materials
All course readings or videos are posted to Quercus under the “Library Reading List” tab. It is the student's
responsibility to read the articles/ watch the videos before class. All materials are available through the
University of Toronto Library. All links are located in the corresponding section on Quercus.
Course Evaluation
Title Details Weight Due Date
News Comparison and
Analysis Assignment
This assignment asks students
to compare how mainstream
and alternative press cover the
same news event or subject
matter. This analysis and
comparison (~750 words) must
incorporate insights from class
readings and discussions.
Further instructions and rubric
available on Quercus.
25% Due by 11:59 on 25 Oct.
Term Tests This course has two take-home
online Term Tests, which
require you to write two short
essays.
Only material covered since
the first test will be included in
the second term test. More
details will be provided in class.
2 X 20%= 40% (#1) Opens @ 12PM on 10
Oct. and due @ 12PM on 11
Oct
(#2) TBD final exam period
Critical Analysis
Assignment
Students will prepare a paper
(~1550 words) in which they
critically analyze an alternative
media artifact with evidence to
support the analysis. This
artifact can take any form
(newspaper, zines, music,
radio, digital media etc.).
Further instructions and rubric
available on Quercus.
35% Due by 11:59PM on 29 Nov.
All written assignments will be handed in electronically through the University’s Plagiarism Detection Tool.
All assignments are due at the end of the due date above Eastern Time (University’s time zone). Further
details, rubrics, and expectations regarding the assignments will be posted on Quercus.
Late Assessment Submissions Policy
I fully understand the many roles, responsibilities, obligations, and struggles students are faced with and
experience throughout the semester. Sometimes things happen despite our best efforts. If you need an
extension on an assignment, please reach out to me well in advance of the assignment due date. Extensions
may be granted based upon principles of fairness. Late assignments will receive a deduction of 2% per day
(including weekends) up to two weeks after the due date.
Email Policies
We would like to reserve our email time for helping you learn. Answers to questions about requirements,
deadlines, etc. that are not covered on the syllabus or assignment sheets will be posted in course
announcements: Please visit that section of the course first. If your email asks a question that can be
answered by looking at the syllabus, announcements, or Quercus, we will return a very short reply indicating
the location of your answer.
On weekdays we will respond to emails within 24 hours. If you do not get a response after 24 hours or at the
end of a Monday after a weekend, feel free to resend. We do not guarantee email replies on weekends,
nights, or holidays.
All emails must be sent from your UofT address. Please ensure your email has the course code in the subject
line, with a proper greeting and signature.
Schedule
Week Date Topic Reading Due:
1 5 Sept Introduction No readings
2 12 Sept What is Alternative
Media?
James Hamilton (2000) "Alternative Media:
Conceptual Difficulties, Critical Possibilities".
Journal of Communication Inquiry 24(4): 357-
378.
Marisol Sandoval and Christian Fuchs (2010)
"Towards a critical theory of alternative media".
Telematics and Informatics 27(2): 141–150.
3 19 Sept Alternative to What? Documentary: The Myth of the Liberal Media
(1997). Directed by Sut Jhally et al.: 60 mins.
Dru Oja Jay (2022). “Profits wrecked the media
—public interest journalism can save it.” The
Breach.
4 26 Sept Community Media Documentary: Writing With Fire (2021).
Directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh:
98 mins.
Cathy Edwards & Am lie Hinse (2022). é
“Corporate media nearly killed community TV,
but it can rise again.” The Breach.
5 3 Oct Activist Media I:
Print Cultures
Benjamin Serby.(2023)“'Not to Produce
Newspapers, but Committed Radicals': The
Underground Press, the New Left, and the Gay
Liberation Counterpublic in the United States,
1965-1976.” Journal of the History of Sexuality
32 (1):1-26.
Brian A. Horton (2023). “Between the Sheets:
The Queer Sociality of Bombay Zines.” South
Asian Popular Culture 21, no. 2: 205–21.
6 10 Oct Term Test I NO CLASS: Term Test I opens @ 12PM on 10
Oct. and due @ 12PM on 11 Oct
Term Test I due
7 17 Oct Activist Media II:
Film & Social Media
Emmanuelle Richez (2020) “Unpacking the
Political Effects of Social Movements With a
Strong Digital Component: The Case of
#IdleNoMore in Canada.” Social Media +
Society 6:2.
Documentary: Kanehsatake: 270 Years of
Resistance (1993). Directed by Alanis
Obomsawin: 119 mins.
8 24 Oct Culture Jamming Documentary: The Yes Men Fix The World
(2009). Directed by Mike Bonanno: 87 mins.
Adbuster Media Foundation. “Spoofs”.
News
Comparison and
Analysis
Assignment due
by 11:59 on 25
Oct.
9 31 Oct READING WEEK
10 7 Nov Popular Music as
Alternative Media
A. M Gunde,and V. Chikaipa. (2021). “Popular
Culture as Alternative Media: Reggae Music,
Culture and Politics in Malawi’s Democracy” In
Re-imagining Communication in Africa and
the Caribbean: 295–307.
11 14 Nov Third Cinema Solanas, Fernando and Getino, Octavio.
"TOWARDS A THIRD CINEMA: NOTES AND
EXPERIENCES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT
OF A CINEMA OF LIBERATION IN THE
THIRD WORLD (Argentina, 1969)". Film
Manifestos and Global Cinema Cultures: A
Critical Anthology, edited by Scott MacKenzie,
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2014:
230-250.
Film: The Battle of Algiers (1966). Directed by
Gillo Pontecorvo: 121 mins.
12 21 Nov Hacking & Free
Software
Richard Stallman (2015). “What Is Free
Software?.” In Free Software, Free Society:
Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman: 1-8.
Gabriella Coleman (2013). “Introduction: A
Tale of Two Worlds.” In Coding Freedom: The
Ethics and Aesthetics of Hacking: 1-22.
13 28 Nov Review No readings Critical Analysis
Assignment due
by 11:59PM on
29 Nov.
Course Content Note: At times this semester, we will discuss historical events that may be disturbing, even
traumatizing, to some students. If you are aware of particular course material that may be triggering to you,
I’d be happy to discuss any concerns you may have with it before it comes up in class. Please review the
syllabus and assignments closely, and discuss any concerns you may have with me or the TA privately as
soon as possible (either over email or in office hours). You are responsible for navigating the materials of the
class, and I am happy to give outlines or discuss specifics so that you may appropriately engage with
materials that are likely to be emotionally challenging for you. Likewise, if you ever wish to discuss your
personal reactions to course material with the class or with me or the TA individually afterwards, we
welcome all discussions.
Policies & Statements
Use of Generative AI in Assignments
• The use of generative artificial intelligence tools or apps for assignments in this course, including
tools like ChatGPT and other AI writing or coding assistants, is prohibited unless for language
translation.
• The knowing use of generative artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT and other AI writing
and coding assistants, for the completion of, or to support the completion of, an examination, term
test, assignment, or any other form of academic assessment, may be considered an academic
offense in this course.
• Representing as one’s own an idea, or expression of an idea, that was AI-generated may be
considered an academic offense in this course.
• Students may not copy or paraphrase from any generative artificial intelligence applications,
including ChatGPT and other AI writing and coding assistants, for the purpose of completing
assignments in this course.
• The use of generative artificial intelligence tools and apps is strictly prohibited in all course
assignments unless explicitly stated otherwise by the instructor in this course. This includes
ChatGPT and other AI writing and coding assistants. Use of generative AI in this course may be
considered use of an unauthorized aid, which is a form of cheating.
• This course policy is designed to promote your learning and intellectual development and to help you
reach course learning outcomes.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The University of Toronto is committed to equity, human rights and respect for diversity. All members of the
learning environment in this course should strive to create an atmosphere of mutual respect where all
members of our community can express themselves, engage with each other, and respect one another’s
differences. U of T does not condone discrimination or harassment against any persons or communities.
Accessibility
Both your Instructor and the University of Toronto are committed to accessibility. Students requiring
accommodations due to a disability, health-related issue, or unique learning style are welcome in this course.
I want to help all students achieve their academic goals and am eager to work with AccessAbility Services.
All enquiries will remain strictly confidential. If you require accommodations, or have any accessibility
concerns about the course, the classroom, or course materials, please let me know as soon as possible and
contact Accessibility Services in Room S302, or at: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~ability/
Mental Health and Well-Being
As a student, you may experience challenges that can interfere with learning, such as strained relationships,
increased anxiety, substance use, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation, financial
concerns, family worries and so forth. These factors may affect your academic performance and/or reduce
your ability to participate fully in daily activities. Everyone feels stressed now and then – it is a normal part of
university life. Some days are better than others, and there is no wrong time to reach out. There are
resources for every situation and every level of stress.
There are many helpful resources available through your College Registrar or through Student Life
(http://studentlife.utoronto.ca and http://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/feeling-distressed). An important part of
the University experience is learning how and when to ask for help. Please take the time to inform yourself of
available resources.
Religious Accommodations
As a student at the University of Toronto, you are part of a diverse community that welcomes and includes
students and faculty from a wide range of cultural and religious traditions. For my part, I will make every
reasonable effort to avoid scheduling tests, examinations, or other compulsory activities on religious holy
days not captured by statutory holidays. Further to University Policy, if you anticipate being absent from class
or missing a major course activity (such as a test or in-class assignment) due to a religious observance,
please let me know as early in the course as possible, and with sufficient notice (at least two to three weeks),
so that we can work together to make alternate arrangements.
University’s Plagiarism Detection Tool
Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to the University’s plagiarism detection tool
for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their
essays to be included as source documents in the tool’s reference database, where they will be used solely
for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University’s use of this tool are described
on the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation website (https://uoft.me/pdt-faq).
University Land Acknowledgement
We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has
been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the
Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island
and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.