J-295-C War Correspondents

R.J. de Maria

Reid #301 540-458-8436

demariab@wlu.edu

 

I was disgusted by the hypocrisy, the two-faced maneuvering and double-dealing of the … statesmen and by the prospect of         watching the aggression of a nation with all the modern resources for the slaughter upon an ignorant and backward, and comparatively backward people… I told myself that my duty as an objective                 reporter compelled me to stifle my personal opinions and sit in the grand stand watching and describing the parade, not to join in the procession carrying the banner. And I knew that a writer who detested war made the best correspondent because the scenes impinged more vividly upon his senses. - -

                                             Webb Miller, (United Press) Abyssinia, 1936

Texts:

          Ayres, Chris War Reporting For Cowards.  New York: Grove Press, 2005.

          Ferrari, Michelle Reporting America at War.  New York: Hyperion Press,           2003

          Hedges, Chris War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. New York: Anchor Press. 2003

          Lande, Nathaniel Dispatches From the Front New York: Oxford University Press 1996.

          Wyatt, Clarence R.  Paper Soldiers.  Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 1995

 

Reserve:

        ________________ Reporting World War II: American Journalism 1938-1946 New York: The Library of America, 1998

          ________________ Reporting Vietnam: American Journalism 1959- 1975. New York: The Library of America, 1998

          Arnett, Peter Live from the Battlefield.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994.

          Bernstein, Mark & Lubertozzi, Alex.   World War II On The Air.  Napierville, IL: Source Books, 2003.

          Braestrup, Peter.  The Big Story. Boulder, Co: Westview Press, 1977.

          DiGiovanni, Janine Madness Visible: A Memoir of War. New York: Knopf, 2003.

          Gellhorn, Martha The Face of War. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959.

          Halberstam, David The Best and the Brightest New York: Random House, 1972

          Halberstam, David  The Making of a Quagmire New York: Random House, 1964

          Hallin, Daniel.  The Uncensored War: The Media and Vietnam.New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.

          Hammond, William Reporting Vietnam. Lawrence, KS University Press of Kansas, 1998

          Herrring, George C. America’s Longest War. (Second edition) New York: Alfred Knopf, 1986.

          Hess, Stephen and Kalb, Marvin.  The Media and the War on Terrorism Washington, DC, Brookings University Press, 2003

          Karnow, Stanley Vietnam: A History New York: Viking Press, 1983.

          Katovsky, Bill and Carlson, Timothy.  Embedded: The Media at War in Iraq. Guilford, CT Lyons Press, 2003

          Knightley, Phillip  The First Casulty  Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 2002

          Laurence, John The Cat From Hue: A Viet Nam War Story. New York: Public Affairs, 2002.

          Liebling, A.J.  Mollie & Other War Pieces. New York: Schocken Books 1989.

          Murrow, Edward R. This is London.  New York: Schocken Books, 1989.

          Orwell, George. Homage to Catalonia New York: Harcourt Brace & Company.  1952

          Orwell, George.  The War Commentaries New York: Pantheon Books, 1985

          Palmer, Nancy (Ed) Terrorism, War and the Press Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003

          Perrault, Gilles.  The Red Orchestra, New York: Schocken Books, 1989.

          Pyle, Ernie      Here is Your War       Salem, NH: Ayer Company Publishing 1984

          Prochnau, William Once Upon a Distant War. New York: Times Books, 1995

          Sheehan, Neil A Bright Shining Lie New York: Vintage Books, 1988

          Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War New York: Harper and Row, 1977.

          Tobin, James.  Ernie Pyle’s War: America’s Eyewitness to War Lawrence, KS The University Press of Kansas 1998.

          White, William, ed.  Hemingway: By-Line: Ernest Hemingway. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1967

 

Competencies:  By the end of the course, we expect each student to:

·        Think critically and independently

·        Demonstrate an understanding of groups in a global society in relationship to War Reporting and Writing

·        Conduct research and evaluate methods appropriate to the communications professions, audiences and the purposes they serve

·        In this class, you should be presented with opportunities to self-test your knowledge of 11 values and competencies identified by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications and embraced by this department. Many of these values and competencies have been identified and addressed in previous courses in the department. The list is available at: I:\public_html\Curriculum\ACEJMCvalues.html

 

Calendar

         

        Week I           Spain: A Precursor to World War II; World War II

                                  Readings:      Ferrari: 11-61

                                  Lande: 218-235

                                  Hedges All

                      Activities:    Reaction Paper Hedges’ Book

                                              Film: This Spanish Earth

                                              Film: Prelude to War

                                              Film: Reporting America at War

                                              Recording: World War II on the Air

         

          Week II         World War II Concluded; Korea

                      Readings:      Ferrari: 63-90

                                              Lande: 235-266

                      Activities:    Reaction Paper Holocaust

                                              Film: Reporting America at War

                                              Film: Memory of the Camps

          Week III        Korea Concluded; The Cold War

                      Readings:     Wyatt: 13-50

                      Activities:    Reaction Paper Korea Myth or reality?

                                              Film: Weapons at War

                                              Film Mash (excerpts)

                                              Guest – Harrison Pemberton – Myth of War

          Week IV        Viet Nam

                      Readings:      Lande: 307-347

                                              Wyatt: 51-end

                                              Ferrari: 91-171

                                              Laurence: 2-190

                      Activities:    Film: Viet Nam: Hearts & Minds

                                     Film: The Uncounted Enemy

                  Reaction:     Public Opinion and the Press in Viet Nam

 

          Week V         Desert Storm; Afghanistan and Iraq

                      Readings:      Ferrari:  173-end

                                              Hedges:  1-61

                                              Ayres:  3-73

                      Activities:    Film:   Bearing Witness: A Film

 

          Week VI        War’s Value

                      Readings:      Hedges: 62-end

                                              Ayres Complete

                      Activities:    Film: Control Room

                                     Film: The War Photographer

                                              Paper Reading and Discussion

 

 

Grading

          Short Papers ……………………………………….. 30%

          Final Paper ………………………………………….           30%

          Final     …………………………………………………       40%