Mass Media and American Democracy · Political Science
Very reasonable, 1-2 chapters of reading per class (~40 pages) first half and almost none second half. 2 papers, a short one (3-5) and long one (7-9). Midterm and final, both of which she makes the highest score in the class a 100% and curves from there.
Professor Knight's class is extremely interesting. She really cares about every student and presents the information in a very clear manner. At the beginning, she makes it clear that the if you are doing the required reading (very manageable, about 40 pages a night for the first half and then almost none the second half) and listening in lectures, you will know what is required for the course. The only complaints people had in this course were generally from those who did not attend lectures and were not able to do well purely off their last-minute studying. Yes, sometimes the lectures could be more engaging, but she actually definitely made an effort to make it more interesting. She had a great TA and both would often include examples, videos, and other multimedia to try and make it less dry. Overall, definitely a good course. People who came to most lectures did pretty well at the end.
Very light. Reading was assigned from the 4 books on the syllabus, though I don’t believe most people did it regularly. I generally skimmed the main book before the exams and received one of the highest grades on the midterm. The “news analysis paper is pretty straightforward. The longer paper can be on any topic of your choice related to the media and politic, so it’s up to you how research-oriented you want it to be.
This was one of the least intellectually stimulating classes I’ve taken at Columbia. Class consists of Professor Knight reading off of PowerPoint slides containing definitions and “theories taken directly from the texts. (Her propensity for mispronouncing names and vocabulary from her own notes and the news is shocking.) Toward the end of the semester, she frequently played commercials and news clips, which helped keep the attention of the small percentage of people who were still attending class. The midterm and final were very easy (think high school multiple choice/true false/short answer style tests) and basically required you to regurgitate definitions and models from the PowerPoints/readings. I was able to pull off A’s on the papers and exams with little to no effort, but the “easy A doesn’t make up for the boredom and frustration inspired by this class. The media should be an interesting and engaging topic, but Professor Knight manages to reduce it to a list of key terms and a few chapters from a textbook. (I should point out though that some of the books are good reads on their own terms.)
A T/F, multiple choice, and short answer-based midterm and final; 1 short news analysis review (5 to 8 pp); 1 longer research essay (10-12 pp). Readings that are glorified definitions of keyterms.
THIS IS THE WORST CLASS YOU COULD EVER TAKE AT COLUMBIA. -She is boring. -The classes are based on a set of PowerPoints, lifted from the course texts, from which she basically reads verbatim. -She spews buzz words and makes assumptions with 0 backup for what she (a.k.a. the authors of the text she shamelessly paraphrases) think. -The coursework is founded in memorizing the (not even famous or notable) texts' theories cover to cover and then regurgitating them for them midterm and final that will screw over your grade big time if you aren't good at differentiating minutae in multiple choice and T/F. The ONLY redeeming quality is the freedom she gives you in the essays. This class is a total waste of your time and your credits. Don't even bother, even if it's your favorite subject in the world.
Two presentations and final paper. If you have discipline for research papers, you should do fine. It's not hard to get an A, just do the work when she assigns it.
Professor Knight sets up her class in a very specific style. She assigns readings for the week, and has someone in the class present on those readings. Since the seminar is geared towards your final paper, as the semester goes on people present during each meeting on their research.
a ton of reading but it is gernerally interesting (you will have no clue about when to read by so just make sure they are done by the exams) 1 midterm 1 final (supposedly cumulative but you can do well just with knowing the stuff from the second half) 1 short (5-7) page paper analyzing a news story (no research needed) 1 10-12 page paper about whatever you want as long as it vaguely fits into the topic of the class (as research-oriented as you want it to be)
Professor Knight is extremely absent-minded & flighty, she can never figure out how to use the media technology correctly, and the lectures are extremely boring. We also missed about 4 classes due to random family emergencies & health problems. However, Professor Knight is an extremely nice woman & able professor. The reading she selects is gernerally good & a welcome departure from the boring theory that most majors are used to. There was always a great deal of confusion about what to do for exams and papers but everything works out well. This is a good class for majors who want a break, nonmajors who want to take a polsci class but are afraid it will be too hard as well as people interested in journalism & surprisingly enough people who are interested in advertising & marketing.