​Course Title:
Eventology - Communicating and Creating Meaning Through Planned Events

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Introduction

This course introduces you to the language, creation, and practice of planned events. Through readings, lectures, and reading questions discussed in section, you will acquire extensive knowledge of the art and practice of event planning. Issues of representation and meaning are also emphasized. With the analysis of this representive language, you will recognize the choices event planners must make in order to convey the purpose of the event. This understanding of interpretation is valuable if you plan to become an event planner in the future, but more generally, knowledge of these choices improves your analytical abilities as a student of communication.



This class is organized into a lecture that meets three times a week and a discussion section that meets once a week.



Course Requirements​

Reading and writing are integral to the course. You will be able to access the readings online. Be sure to bring a copy of the week's reading to section in order to discuss the key points. Keep up with readings and expect to read at least 30 pages each week. It is recommend that you read each assignment twice. Some of the work you do in discussion section will be conducted in groups. You have a responsibility to participate in your group work efficiently.



Real situation applications are an important part of lecture. These video clips and examples will not be repeated in discussion section and is not covered in the reading. You will be tested on this material during the exams and essays, therefore it is strongly recommend that you attend each lecture.



Attendance is part of your grade. Absences and lateness in discussion sections are not acceptable as they constitute a core portion of the course. For every unexcused absence in discussion section, your grade will be reduced by half a letter grade. Each tardy will result in 2% off your final grade. The short exams will be given during lecture period and no make-up will be given without an acceptable excuse (please email me and your TA if you have an urgent concern and will need to be excused; and in addition get a dated note from health sevices if you are too ill to attend class.)



If you require accommodations for disabilities, please communicate with the Professor immediately and register with the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD). This way we may make arrangements to fit your needs.

​Grading:
Attendance and participation in discussion section: 10%
Weekly Reading Questions 30%
Three in-discussion quizzes (quizzes):10% each; total 30%
Final Exam essays: 30%



​Topics
Week 1: Events and Communication
Week 2: Anthropology of Events
Week 3: Rituals and Interaction

Week 4: Social Worlds
Week 5: Social Gatherings (Sports/Parades)
Week 6: Interpersonal Communication
Week 7: Performance
Week 8: Music Festivals/Concerts as Communicative Practices
Week 9: Communicating Events
Week 10: Tourism

 

​Readings​
Week 1: Events and Communication
READING: Events - Casati, Roberto and Varzi, Achille
READING: Keywords - Raymond Williams 

Week 2: Anthropology of Events
READING: Events in Branching Time - Wölfl (2005) pg. 1-26

READING: Models and mirrors: towards an anthropology of public events chapter 1 - Don Handelman 

Week 3: Rituals and Interaction

READING: Interaction Ritual Chains - Randall

READING: A cultural approach to communication Part 1, A cultural approach to communication Part 2 - J. Carey  
READING: Special events: the roots and wings of celebration - Joe Goldblatt (2008) 

Week 4: Social Worlds
READING Social Worlds and Legitimation Processes - Anselm Strauss (1978)
READING: Pilgrimage and the IDIC Ethic: Exploring Star Trek Convention Attendance as Pilgrimage - Porter 2004
READING: Anime Fans Gather, Loudly and Proudly Obsessed - McKinley (2002)

Week 5: Social Gatherings (Sports/Parades)
READING: Fred Turner, Burning Man at Google: A Cultural Infrastructure for New Media Production 
READING: Ten Principles of Burning Man
READING:Theatre of the streets: parades and ceremonies in Philadelphia, 1800-1850 - Davis (1983) 

Week 6: Interpersonal Communication
READING: Deference and Demeanor - Goffman (1956)
READING: Robert A. Lecusay, “Coordinating Intersubjectivity in an Adult-Child Instructional Interaction: The Role of Stance and Gesture” 
READING: Helping Child To Socialize 
READING: George Herbert Mead, Mind, Self and Society 

Week 7: Performance
READING: “Performances: Belief in the Part One is Playing” Erving Goffman
VIDEO: Experiments in Consciousness 
READING: Theatrical Events: Borders Dynamics Frames, “Eventification: Utilizing the Theatrical System to Frame the Event” By: Temple Hauptfleisch

Week 8: Music Festivals/Concerts as Communicative Practices: Sandra Duran
READING:  The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life: Intro - Full Erving Goffman
VIDEO: The Presentation of Self In Everyday Life
VIDEO: Self Presentation- You are the actor of your life
READING: Performing as a Moral Act Dwight Conquergood

Week 9: Communicating Events
READING: What’s the difference? Buzz, Viral or Word of Mouth? - Douglas Karr (2008)
READING: Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Priscilla Lee)SANDRA

Week 10: Tourism
READING: MacCannell, Dean. “The Tourist: A New Theory of The Leisure Class.” p1-56
READING: Event tourism: Definition, evolution, and research - Getz (2008) 

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​Reading Questions

Week 1:

1. What is an event?
2. What are the four different types of events? Explain the differences.
3. Give an example of each type of event.
4. Define Communication.
5. Define Mediation.
6. Describe how communication and mediation is related according to Williams.

Week 2:

1. How does Wölfl explicitly define events? How does it differ from the first reading?
2. How does language refer to events? Give examples not from the reading.
3. What is Kutschera’s approach to events?
4. What is the difference between singular and generic events? Give examples of both singular and generic events.
5. How does Handelman define an event?
6. Who determines a ritual's significance?

Week 3:



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Week 10:

Extra Articles:
Tour Guide Performances as Sight Sacralization - Fine and Speer
The Tourist - MacCannel
READING: How to Network Like a Pro - How to Work a Room Like You Own the Place
READING: Body Ritual Among the Nacirema by Horace Miner (1956)
READING: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted- Malcom Gladwell (2010) (Jillian)
VIDEO: How Facebook Changed the World-The Arab Spring (2012) (Jillian)
READING: Chapter 5: Relative Importance of Events as a Marketing Communication Tool (27 - 28)
READING: Diary - Baker and Hacking​