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From Iraq to J-Lo: the year in review

By Ray Hafner
The Daily Cougar

From celebrity trials to war in Iraq, 2003 has seen no shortage of news. Whether it be fires in California or the nine democratic challengers, trying to keep track of it all can be a difficult task.

To that end, David McHam's Media and Culture class set out to create a free-form list of all the major events in culture over the past year. Each of the 42 students created lists on their own. From there, the class singled out the biggest events in sports, politics, music and other areas to create the master lists.

"It marks the point at which we are, December 2003," McHam said. "There are a lot of little incidental things I never would have thought about that just popped up."

McHam said he got the idea from a feature The New York Times ran about what could have happened if President Kennedy had lived. The class constructed its piece in a similar manner, flowing from one idea to the next without connecting them.

The goal was to jog people's memory and serve as a sort of summary for the past year. The class, which studies the way the media shapes culture, had done similar projects all semester long, he said. This one was meant to serve as a capstone for the year, especially for seniors, McHam said.

Although the list was heavy on entertainment, Iraq was recognized as the top story of 2003. Politics make an appearance, thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger's race for California governor. UH, the Houston Rockets and the economy also made appearances. The full list is printed below.
 

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