LT969-7-AU-CO:
Media, Politics and Society
2023/24
Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
20
09 May 2023
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
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MSC L2P312 Politics, Communications and Data Analytics
This module is intended to provide students with a broad understanding of the main theoretical frameworks of media and journalism to develop their critical appraisal of the interconnected communication world of today.
It is aimed primarily at students looking to develop a research career in journalism or media studies as well as those students looking to acquire a critical approach to journalistic practice. It will also be interesting to students of Government and Sociology who are interested in understanding the big debates around the media and the relationships with politics and society. Each week a current event will be discussed in the seminar.
The module will equip students with the knowledge, theoretical frameworks, and critical tools to unpack the complexities of contemporary networked newsrooms. It will provide the conceptual framework required to analyze and comprehend our interconnected communication sphere. The module will be open to students from LIFTS who want to critically reflect on the professional practice and to students from Government and Sociology who would be eager to acquire analytical tools that would support their interdisciplinary research.
The aims of this module are to:
1. Develop students’ critical skills to acquire an in-depth understanding on the worlds of journalism and differences in roles and perceptions of professional journalism.
2. Prepare students to conduct academic research in journalism, media and communication fields.
3. Provide students with analytical tools that will enable them to continually critique and re-assess their journalistic – and other professional – practice.
4. Develop students’ ability to engage with interdisciplinary analyses.
Students will acquire:
1. A sophisticated understanding of the rapidly changing fields of journalism and media studies.
2. A critical insight in the complexities of the hybrid communication sphere of today, blending digital and non-digital practices.
3. Analytical tools that will prepare students to engage a research-intensive environment in their own field and will complement their practical professional training.
4. A deep understanding of key leading intellectual debates, discussions, and scholarly literature in the field of media/journalism theory.
Module Information (including indicative syllabus - this may be subject to change)
The module will address key theoretical and conceptual issues in the study of media, communication, and journalism, while adopting an interdisciplinary perspective. The module aims also to provide a general training in research methods in the field.
1- The Political Economy of Communication
The session will provide an introduction to this major perspective in communication research, rooted in the study of power relations that shape the production, distribution, and consumption of information, mainly the impact of economic power and media ownership. We will also look briefly at cultural studies of media, a perspective that gives more weight to cultural meanings, and issues of class, identity, and ideology in understanding the interplay between media and the society.
2- Media and the Public Sphere in the Digital Age
We will look at Habermas' notion of the media as a forum of a rational-critical debate in which ideas can be debated and a consensus can be reached. This notion is criticised and complemented by new research currents. It is also challenged by recent developments, mainly the emerging digital communication sphere and the rise of phenomena such as populism.
3- Media, Mediation, and Mediatization
We will look critically into how media mediate the relationships between individuals and between individuals and the society and discuss the interplay between media and power at the levels of institutions and political processes. We will analyse how media is changing politics, with political actors increasingly adopting media logics and styles to connect with the electorate. Politics has become mediated.
4- Journalism models: Watchdog versus Lapdog
We will analyse prominent ideas and perspectives in journalism studies such as the relationships among professionals and their routines, and the news organisations; journalism normative models and their evolution, and how journalism fits within the larger social structure--including who makes news, what counts as news, and whose interest news serves.
5- In journalism we trust?
To what extent is news media powerful? Does journalism matter? And to whom? We will look into major perspectives of journalistic influence, mainly the hierarchy of influences model, the tension between gatekeeper theory and the propaganda model. We will also discuss the regression of trust in news media with the rise of fake news and the networked public sphere.
6- Globalization, localism & cosmopolitanism
Is digitization bringing about radical changes or minor variations to journalism? We will look into how emerging social media practices are impacting our understanding of journalism between the local and the global. We will look at the notion of 'digital age' and what implications this has on the journalistic practice and the communication sphere.
7- Media systems &Democracy
Are media organization agents active in promoting democratic ideals against censorship and autocracy? We will look at media systems, their structures, and regulations, and how the media system's nature impacts the features of the political system in a particular context. The session will briefly introduce you to notions of democratic transition, authoritarianism, and hybrid regimes.
8- Communication, Politics & Power
We will introduce political communication in democracies, how politicians influence public opinion and the relationship between the media, the public and powerful elites. We examine the social construction of political news, media activism, social movements and other political actors as well as how these are evolving in globalized digital media world. Students will examine these through case studies which will be updated to reflect recent events but might include for example the 2016 US presidential campaign.
9- Freedom of expression, Censorship and Self-censorship: Examples from the Global South
We will look at journalistic roles and practices in repressive environments' and how journalists embed censorship and self-censorship and how the digital space is becoming the new arena of struggle between authoritarian regimes and activists in support of media rights and freedom of expression.
10- Students' presentations
Indicative teaching:
This module will be delivered with a weekly two-hour interactive seminar. Each session will consist of a blend of lecturing, Q&A, group and whole-class discussions, audio-visual screening – the precise blend to depend in part on student numbers.
This module does not appear to have any essential texts. To see non - essential items, please refer to the module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Viral video campaign for a specific organisation (3 minutes fixed) (20%) |
|
20% |
| Coursework |
10 minute presentation (10%) In Class. Presentation notes and slides to be submitted to FASer |
|
10% |
| Coursework |
A 1,000 word group/individual reflection on research and production (10%) |
|
10% |
| Coursework |
Essay (2,000 words) |
|
60% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Fatima El Issawi, email: feliss@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Fatima el Issawi
LiFTS General Office - liftstt@essex.ac.uk or 01206 872626
Yes
Yes
Yes
Prof William Scott Lucas
University College Dublin
Professor, Clinton Institute
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
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