USESEP176 Media and Democracy

Faculty of Public Policies in Opava
Winter 2014
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Profesor Charles Michael Elavsky, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Profesor Charles Michael Elavsky, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Profesor Charles Michael Elavsky, Ph.D.
Institute of Central European Studies – Faculty of Public Policies in Opava
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives (in Czech)
This course explores the relationship between the mass media, popular culture, and democracy. As such, we will consider the concept of democracy itself and the media's theoretical and practical relationship to nurturing its principles. We will also consider the role of government and its relationship to the media in constructing political knowledge, conceptions of representative democracy, and an informed populace. Central to all of this is developing a critical consideration of popular culture and the way it informs how we understand civic culture and know ourselves as civic agents. To the point, we will consider how culture impacts the mass media, how the mass media both contribute to and are shaped by culture, and what civic responsibilities and obligations you have within this framework as local, national, and global citizens.
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • 1. Contemporary mass media and ideology (the politics of media representation)
    2. The ideological praxis of commercialism (the politics of capitalism)
    3. The role of journalism in society (its purpose, praxis, problems and potential)
    4. Mass media and political culture (framing elections and other government activities)
    5. Media, ideology and war (framing conflict in democratic society)
    6. Conspiracy theories as a function of political culture (9/11 as conspiracy)
    7. Social media and new political formations (the political power of Facebook, twitter, etc.)
    8. Music as political discourse (artists/songs and social justice)
    9. Media as fulcrum for social control (the mediated politics of marijuana legalization)
    10. Media as fulcrum for social/class consciousness (the mediated politics of ethnic/social hierarchy)
    11. Media as a fulcrum for international relations (the politics of the global media realm)
    12. Media as a fulcrum for radical politics (wikileaks and revolutionary possibilities)
    13. Media dynamics into the future
Literature
    required literature
  • All class materials (readings, films, music, etc.) will be primarily English (subtitles/translations will be utilized when possible) and will be provided digitally by the instructor. As this course considers the role of the mass media in our lives, it will therefore require you to engage a range of media content alongside the assigned class readings, writings, and discussions, allowing you to discern how these media and the way their messages are constructed critically relate to the orientations of our cultural conceptions and how we perceive the world. An awareness of current events and a con. info
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.slu.cz/course/fvp/winter2014/USESEP176