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Current Trends in Communication Theories and Research Methods

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:3.00
Study Course Accepted:14.08.2023 08:53:03
Study Course Information
Course Code:DN_201LQF level:Level 8
Credit Points:4.00ECTS:6.00
Branch of Science:Communication Sciences; Communication TheoryTarget Audience:Information and Communication Science; Communication Science
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:Sergejs Kruks
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:Department of Doctoral Studies
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:Riga, 16 Dzirciema Street, dnatrsu[pnkts]lv, +371 67409120
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)8Lecture Length (academic hours)2Total Contact Hours of Lectures16
Classes (count)8Class Length (academic hours)2Total Contact Hours of Classes16
Total Contact Hours32
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
Courses in philosophy, sociology, quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Objective:
Acquaint students with the latest trends in communication theories and research methodology, promote the integration of new theoretical and methodological knowledge in the development of a doctoral thesis in the relevant sub-field.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.TopicType of ImplementationNumberVenue
1Theorectical models of democracy and political communicationLectures1.00auditorium
Classes1.00auditorium
2Deliberative democracyLectures1.00auditorium
Classes1.00auditorium
3Media systemsLectures1.00auditorium
Classes1.00auditorium
4Media effects: Contemporary theories and methodologyLectures1.00auditorium
Classes1.00auditorium
5Active audiences, message decoding and feedbackLectures1.00auditorium
Classes1.00auditorium
6Health communication: interpersonal and digital approachesLectures1.00auditorium
Classes1.00auditorium
7Multimodality: theory and researchLectures1.00auditorium
Classes1.00auditorium
8Language corpus and discourse analysisLectures1.00auditorium
Classes1.00auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
Literature analysis and compilation, preparation of presentations, preparation of discussion materials for seminars, individual project. After the end of the study course, fill in the study course assessment questionnaire on the RSU Student Portal.
Assessment Criteria:
Submitted and discussed two essays; independent work.
Final Examination (Full-Time):Exam (Written)
Final Examination (Part-Time):
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:After completing the course, the student will be familiar with the theoretical paradigms and research methods of modern communication.
Skills:Able to analyze and apply various theoretical paradigms to the research and interpretation of communication phenomena.
Competencies:Critical evaluation, comparison and development of theoretical paradigms in scholarly publications, dissertation, applied research and public communication with the industry professionals, policy makers and wide audience.
Bibliography
No.Reference
Required Reading
1Habermas, J. (1992). The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
2Habermas, J. (1992). Further Reflections on the Public Sphere. In C. Calhoun (Ed.), Habermas and the Public Sphere (pp. 421–461). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
3Rawls, J. (1999). A Theory of Justice (Revised ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
4Rawls, J. (2001). Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press.
5Rawls, J. (2005). Political Liberalism (Expanded ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
6Oliver, M. B., Raney, A. A., Bryant, J. (eds). (2019). Media Effects. Advances in Theory and Research. London: Routledge.
7Jensen, Klaus Bruhn. (2021). A Theory of Communication and Justice. London: Routledge.
8Lewis, Belinda and Jeff Lewis. (2015). Health Communication. A Media and Cultural Studies Approach. London: Macmillan.
9O'Hair, Dan. (2018). Risk and Health Communication in an Evolving Media Environment. London: Routledge.
10Mitu, Bianca and Valentina Marinescu. (eds.) (2016). The Power of the Media in Health Communication. London: Routledge.
11Iedema, Rick. (ed) (2007). The Discourse of Hospital Communication. Tracing Complexities in Contemporary Health Care Organizations. London: Palgrave.
12Egbert, Jesse and Paul Baker. (2020). Using Corpus Methods to Triangulate Linguistic Analysis. London: Routledge.
13Baker, Paul and Tony McEnery. (eds) (2015). Corpora and Discourse Studies. Integrating Discourse and Corpora. London: Palgrave.
14Skulte, I., Kozlovs, N. (2018). Depoliticization of the Saeima Debates: Loosing the Gist of ‘Welfare’. In S. Kruk (ed.) Pluralism Anxiety. Riga: RSU.
15Kruks, S., Skulte, I. (2016). „Politikas izzušana Saeimas diskursā”, Latvijas Zinātņu akadēmijas Vēstis 3:49-56. (latviešu plūsmai)
16Darģis, R., Rābante-Buša, G., Auziņa, I., Kruks,S. (2016). „ParliSearch – a system for large text corpus discourse analysis”. Pp. 115-121 in I. Skadiņa, R. Rozis (eds) Human Language Technologies – The Baltic Perspective. IOS Press.
17Van Dijk, T. (2014). Discourse as Knowledge. A Sociocognitive Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
18Caple, H., Changpeng, H., Bednarek, M. (2020). Multimodal News Analysis Across Cultures. Cambridge University Press.
19Maiorani, Arianna and Christine Christie. (2014). Multimodal Epistemologies Towards an Integrated Framework. London: Routledge.
20Zhao, S., Djonov, E., Björkvall, A., Boeriis M. (2017). Advancing Multimodal and Critical Discourse Studies: Interdisciplinary Research Inspired by Theo van Leeuwen’s Social Semiotics. London: Routledge.
21Hallin, Daniel C. and Paolo Mancini. (2004). Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Cambridge University Press.
22Hallin, Daniel C. and Paolo Mancini. (2012). Comparing Media Systems Beyond the Western World. Cambridge University Press.
23Luhmann, Niklas. (2000). The Reality of the Mass Media. Cambridge: Polity Press.
24Dimants, Ainars. (2018). Chapter 18. Latvia: Different journalistic cultures and different accountability within one media system. Eberwein, Tobias; Fengler, Susanne; Karmasin, Matthias (eds.). The European Handbook of Media Accountability. London
25Ségur, Céline. (2020). French Perspectives on Media, Participation and Audiences. Palgrave Macmillan.
26Wissenburg, Marcel. (2009). Political Pluralism and the State Beyond Sovereignty. London: Routledge.
27Christians, Clifford G., Glasser, Theodore L., et.al. (2009). Normative Theories of the Media. Chicago: University of Illinois press.
28Müller, Julian F. (2019). Political Pluralism, Disagreement and Justice. The Case for Polycentric Democracy. London: Routledge.
Additional Reading
1Bass, Sarah and Parvanta, Claudia F. (2020). Health communication strategies and skills for a new era. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
2Thompson, Teresa L. and Nancy Grant Harrington. (2022). The Routledge Handbook of Health Communication. 3rd ed. London: Routledge.
3Islentyeva, Anna. (2020). Corpus-Based Analysis of Ideological Bias: Migration in the British Press. London: Routledge.
4Friginal, Eric and Jack A. Hardy (eds.) (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Approaches to Discourse Analysis. London: Routledge.
5Benson, Phil. (2017). The Discourse Of YouTube. Multimodal Text In A Global Context. London: Routledge.
6Wildfeuer, Janina. (2013). Film Discourse Interpretation. Towards a New Paradigm for Multimodal Film Analysis. London: Routledge.
7Van Leeuwen, Theo. (2005). Introducing Social Semiotics. London: Routledge.
8Dimants, Ainars. (2019). Konkurrierende journalistische Kulturen: Gehört das Mediensystem Lettlands zum Klientel-Modell? Publizistik, 64, 2, 241–253.
9Siebert, Fred S., Peterson, T., Schramm, W. (1956). Four Theories of The Press. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
10Rožukalne, Anda. (2013). Kam pieder Latvijas mediji?: Monogrāfija par Latvijas mediju sistēmu un ietekmīgākajiem mediju īpašniekiem. Rīga: Zinātne. (latviešu plūsmai)
11Kruks, Sergejs. (2007). Daugavpils masu mediju sistēma. Daugavpils kā attīstības ceļvedis. Rīga: Zinātne, 86–99. (latviešu plūsmai)
12Brikše, Inta. (2016). Latvijas mediji: izaicinājumi, ieguvumi un draudi (1987–2002). Brikše, I. Komunikācija. // Mediji. Universitāte. Rīga: Mansards, 64–86. (latviešu plūsmai)
13Press, Andrea L., Tripodi. F. (2021). Media-Ready Feminism and Everyday Sexism. How US Audiences Create Meaning Across Platforms. New York: State University of New York.
14Habermas, J. (1986). The Theory of Communicative Action (Vol. 1). Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
15Weisser, Martin. (2016). Practical Corpus Linguistics. An Introduction to Corpus-Based Language Analysis. Oxford: Wiley.
16Habermas, J. (1998). The Theory of Communicative Action (Vol. 2). Cambridge: Polity Press.