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Mass Communication Theories
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:7.00
Study Course Accepted:02.02.2024 12:25:35
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | KSK_259 | LQF level: | Level 6 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 2.00 | ECTS: | 3.00 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Communication Sciences; Communication Theory | Target Audience: | Communication Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Ainārs Dimants | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf rsu[pnkts]lv | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 8 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 16 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 4 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 8 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 24 | ||||||||
| Part-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 5 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 10 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 3 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 6 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 16 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Introduction to communication theories. | ||||||||
| Objective: | To provide a summary overview of the most important mass communication problems and theoretical approaches to their explanation, as well as possibilities offered by them in interpretation of the most important matters of journalism and multimedia communication and in the analysis of public relations. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | The concept of human communication and communication process. Intrapersonal, interpersonal, social/public, organizational, and mass communication, verbal and nonverbal communication. Concept of the masses, mass culture and mass consciousness as the phenomena of mass communication. The concept of media in the media and communication science. The distinctions between the mass media and social media. Decisive role of media for democracy and national cultural identity. | Lectures | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Communication theories in the context of social sciences and humanities: self-dependence and interdisciplinarity between cognitive science and engineering sciences. The six main theoretical approaches. Process school vs. semiothics (1). Initial models of mass communication process. Roman Jakobson's theory of funkctions of language. Theory of action (2). Frankfurt School (Jurgen Habermass). Communication comptence: speaking and conversation. Theory of communicative action and public sphere. | Lectures | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | System thoery (3). Functually structural system theory of Niklas Luhmann. System theory vs. economic theory of journalism. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Open and closed mass media systems and their different mass media functions. Four theories of the media: authoritarianism, liberalism, communism, and social responsibility. Three models of democratic media systems (Daniel Hallin, Paolo Mancini). Six models of media systems pragmatic distinctions approach and Latvian clientelistic media system in the middle between public service and shock model (Roger Blum). | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Theories of persuasion (4). Theories of groups / networks (5). Technological determinism - Toronto School (Marshall McLuhan) (6). | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Journalistic quality and professional standards: concept and infrastructure. The concept of journalistic quality and three different journalistic cultures in Latvia. | Lectures | 3.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Presentation of independent work. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Presentation of independent work. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Topic Layout (Part-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | The concept of human communication and communication process. Intrapersonal, interpersonal, social/public, organizational, and mass communication, verbal and nonverbal communication. Concept of the masses, mass culture and mass consciousness as the phenomena of mass communication. The concept of media in the media and communication science. The distinctions between the mass media and social media. Decisive role of media for democracy and national cultural identity. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Communication theories in the context of social sciences and humanities: self-dependence and interdisciplinarity between cognitive science and engineering sciences. The six main theoretical approaches. Process school vs. semiothics (1). Initial models of mass communication process. Roman Jakobson's theory of funkctions of language. Theory of action (2). Frankfurt School (Jurgen Habermass). Communication comptence: speaking and conversation. Theory of communicative action and public sphere. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | System thoery (3). Functually structural system theory of Niklas Luhmann. System theory vs. economic theory of journalism. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Open and closed mass media systems and their different mass media functions. Four theories of the media: authoritarianism, liberalism, communism, and social responsibility. Three models of democratic media systems (Daniel Hallin, Paolo Mancini). Six models of media systems pragmatic distinctions approach and Latvian clientelistic media system in the middle between public service and shock model (Roger Blum). | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Theories of persuasion (4). Theories of groups / networks (5). Technological determinism - Toronto School (Marshall McLuhan) (6). | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Journalistic quality and professional standards: concept and infrastructure. The concept of journalistic quality and three different journalistic cultures in Latvia. | Lectures | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Presentation of independent work. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | To write a paper about the independent work and to present it to study peers. Individual work is empirical research about particular mass medium or journalist, or other communicator (e.g., PR enterprise etc.) adding references to scientific literature from study course, the theme beforehand accepted by professor (ainars[pnkts]dimantsrsu[pnkts]lv). Group work is encouraged. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | Participation in lectures and discussions, analysis of theoretical texts, paper about the independent work and its presentation (50% from final assesment). Written exam (50% from final assesment) is oriented to evaluation of understanding of study course themes and of their connections to the professional practice, and to control of acquiring of the compulsory study course literature. Therefore the usage of study course materials and study literature during the exam is allowed (open book exam). | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | Students can name and explain main theoretical approaches and topical matters in the field of mass communication, society and culture, and to build a foundation for the analysis within an independent research in the area of journalism, public relations or multimedia communication. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Students are ready: • to identify and analyse processes and problems in different fields of mass communication and in different aspects – use, content of media organisations and systems, audiences and media, impact of media on society and culture; • to create messages and analytical works for public communication, taking into account the specifics of mass audience and mass communication; • to create a conceptual theoretical design for the Bachelor’s thesis. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | Students are able to use their knowledge in the field of mass communication to develop independent research in journalism, public relations and multimedia communication in practice based on an accurately selected theoretical perspective with its conceptual and methodological apparatus. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Beks, Klauss; Dimants, Ainārs. Mediju un komunikācijas zinātne. Rīga: Biznesa augstskola Turība, 2021 | ||||||||
| 2 | Veinberga, Sandra. Masmediji: Prese, radio un televīzija. Rīga: Zvaigzne ABC, 2005, 6.–90. lpp. | ||||||||
| 3 | Apsalons, Edmunds. Komunikācijas kompetence: Kā saprasties un veidot attiecības. Rīga: Zvaigzne ABC, 2013, 11.–44. lpp. | ||||||||
| 4 | Fiske, John. Introduction to Communication Studies. 2nd ed. London, New York: Routledge, 1990 | ||||||||
| Additional Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | McQuail, D. McQuail's mass communication theory. London: SAGE Publications, 2010 | ||||||||
| 2 | Hallin, Daniel C.; Mancini, Paolo. Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics. New York etc.: Cambridge University Press, 2004 | ||||||||
| 3 | Rožukalne, Anda. Kam pieder Latvijas mediji?: Monogrāfija par Latvijas mediju sistēmu un ietekmīgākajiem mediju īpašniekiem. Rīga: Zinātne, 2013 | ||||||||
| 4 | Luhmann, Niklas. The Reality of the Mass Media. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000 | ||||||||
| 5 | McLuhan, Marshall. The Medium is the Massage. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press, 2001 | ||||||||
