This module is an academic-based course with a skills component.
The first half of the course will be an academic approach to issues of media and politics, beginning with a historical review of the effect on political, economic, and military activity of the changes in media in the 20th century, from the advent of “mass” media (film, radio, TV) through the effort of 24/7 coverage to the expansion of “news” and analysis via the Internet to constructions of “new media” and “social media”.
The course will start by considering the activities of “actors” (politicians, State agencies, NGOs, business interests) with respect to the media. In combination with the co-requisite module, the course will evaluate the attempted use of media by Governments not only through overt programs but also through covert initiatives including propaganda, psychological warfare, and information warfare.
It will then introduce the notion of the “participant”, not only the journalist but --- with the changes in media --- the increasing presence of the activist, the “citizen journalist”, and the “public diplomat” in politics and conflict.
This idea of the “participant” will lead in the second half of the course to the skills component, with students using academic critique as the basis to develop their analyses for publication via an electronic news and analysis site. Students will also use their critique of new media and social media to develop their strategies for effective dissemination of their work.
The course is led by an academic who is a practicing journalist on a day-to-day basis.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Critically evaluate the interaction between politics and media in the context of international developments, changing media technologies, and political strategies from the 20th century to the present
Critically evaluate the response by Governments, States, agencies, and other “actors” to the place of media in political, economic, and social affairs
Critically assess the use of electronic, audio-visual, and print sources in collection and critique of information for academic-based publication for a mass audience
Use academic critique and skills training for the writing and dissemination of analysis for both specialist and general audiences
