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Mass Communication and Critical Media Studies
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:1.00
Study Course Accepted:12.04.2024 12:27:45
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | SZF_123 | LQF level: | Level 6 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 2.00 | ECTS: | 3.00 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Communication Sciences | Target Audience: | Information and Communication Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Ilva Skulte | ||||||||
| 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: | Students should have prior knowledge of communication principles, media concepts. It is desirable that students have attended the courses Introduction to Communication Theories and Introduction to Sociology. | ||||||||
| Objective: | To provide students with theoretical knowledge, analytical tools and practical skills necessary to understand, evaluate, and critically engage with various forms of mass media in contemporary society. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Lecture. Introduction to theories of mass communication. Overview of agenda setting, Uses and Gratifications Theory, Framing Theory. Question: How can theories of mass communication help us understand the impact of media on society? | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Lecture. Setting the agenda and its main concepts. Applying media agenda-setting theory: political campaigns, social media. Question: How does the media influence what issues society considers important? | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Seminar: media consumption analysis. Individual assessment: perform an analysis of your media use, identify usage habits + group discussion: how media use is influenced by multiple factors (demographics, interests, peers). | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Lecture: Cultivation theory: the influence of the long-term effects of media use on the perception of reality. Question: How does consuming specific media content affect our worldviews in the long run? | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Seminar. Analysis of media articles (using content analysis as a method). | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Lecture. Framing Theory: How media frames affect audience perception. Question: How do media frames influence public opinion? | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Media literacy and critical thinking. | Lectures | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Media literacy workshop + group reflection. | Classes | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Critical studies. | Lectures | 2.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Topic Layout (Part-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Lecture. Introduction to theories of mass communication. Overview of agenda setting, Uses and Gratifications Theory, Framing Theory. Question: How can theories of mass communication help us understand the impact of media on society? | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Lecture. Setting the agenda and its main concepts. Applying media agenda-setting theory: political campaigns, social media. Question: How does the media influence what issues society considers important? | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Seminar: media consumption analysis. Individual assessment: perform an analysis of your media use, identify usage habits + group discussion: how media use is influenced by multiple factors (demographics, interests, peers). | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Lecture: Cultivation theory: the influence of the long-term effects of media use on the perception of reality. Question: How does consuming specific media content affect our worldviews in the long run? | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Seminar. Analysis of media articles (using content analysis as a method). | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Lecture. Framing Theory: How media frames affect audience perception. Question: How do media frames influence public opinion? | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Media literacy and critical thinking. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Media literacy workshop + group reflection. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | Selection and presentation of the topic of the independent work (an empirical study must be conducted and a report on this study must be submitted) about a certain media or journalists or other communicators (public relations companies, etc.), based on one of the learned theoretical approaches and with references to the communication learned in this study course theoretical literature. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | Participation in lectures and discussions, analysis of theoretical texts, report on independent work and its presentation (50% of the final grade) and written exam (50% of the final grade). The written exam is aimed at clarifying the understanding of communication theories learned in the study course and their connection with professional practice. | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | Exam | ||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | Students know how to name and present the main theoretical approaches and current issues in the field of mass communication, society and culture, and create the basis of analysis for independent research in the field of journalism, public relations or multimedia communication. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Students are ready to: • identify and analyze processes and problems in various areas of mass communication and in various aspects – media organizations and systems, audience and media use, content, media influence on society and culture; • create messages and analytical works for public communication, taking into account the specifics of the mass audience and mass communication; • create the conceptual-theoretical design of the bachelor thesis. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | Students are able to apply their knowledge in the field of mass communication to develop independent research in journalism, public relations and multimedia communication practice, based on a precisely chosen theoretical perspective with its conceptual and methodological apparatus. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Mediji un komunikācijas zinātne. Rīga: Biznesa augstskola Turība, 2021 | ||||||||
| 2 | Veinberga, Sandra. Masmediji: Prese, radio un televīzija. Rīga: Zvaigzne ABS, 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. Mass Communication Theory. London: SAGE Publication, 2010. | ||||||||
| 2 | Hallin, Daniel C, Mancini, Paolo. Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics. New York: 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 Message. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press, 2001 | ||||||||
