Syllabus
1. Defining media What are media, what is their role in a society. How and by what means is information transferred and what is information? What is the impact of information on an individual and on a society, how does it influence decision-making? a. Defining media, mass media b. Media typology c. Information transfer models d. Communication channels e. Functions of media
2. Defining political How do we define the political, what is the realm of the political. Can an individual or group exercise authority over another and under what legitimacy? Where does legitimacy start and end, what are the appropriate borders and in what realms? Does power arise from conflict or consensus and how does that impact the individual’s role in life and society? a. Policy, Politics, Polity b. Aristoteles vs Schmitt c. Legitimacy – national and supranational
3. The role of the state Is there a need for a state? How does a state come to be? Is there a right to coercion, Are norms imposed or agreed on? Is there an obligation to comply? What does it mean to be free? a. Anarchy vs State (Wolff & Green) b. Individualism vs Communitarism (Nozick & Rawls, Hart) c. 4 concepts of liberty (Berlin)
4. The rule of law How are just norms defined, how are concepts of justice determined? By consensus or per natura? How do they translate into norms defined by the state and how does that align with the authority of a state? a. Natural law vs positive law (Finnis & Dworkin) b. Policymaking (Easton & Almond)
5. Theoretical approaches to political communication What is the role of the press in different types of society? How can the normativity of a media system be defined and what different concepts do we know? a. Four theories of the press b. Comparing media systems (Hallin & Mancini)
6. Media in a democratic society What role do media serve in a democratic society? What are threats to media freedom and corresponding threats to a free society? a. Normative theory b. Media as the 4th estate c. Freedom of the Press
7. Media effects on the audience How do media influence the individual and the collective? How has the understanding of this influence evolved after the formation of a mass society? a. Development of understanding of media effects on the audience b. Persuasive communication c. Spiral of cynicism d. Spiral of silence
8. Evolution of political communication How has political communication evolved and how has technological, societal and political development influenced the way how political communication influences the individual and methods that it uses to communicate and mobilize? a. 3 ages of political communication b. 4 eras of political journalism
9. Public ethics How can possible means be reconciled with acceptable means of influence? Is there a normative border to approaches, goals and methods or does capacity justify the outcome? a. The trolley problem b. Weber & Machiavelli c. Utilitarianism (Bentham & Mill)
10. Political parties How do political parties serve as an intermediary between political institutions and the public? What role do they serve in a democracy and how has the evolution of democracy impacted the evolution of political parties? a. Role of political parties in communication b. Changing nature of political parties and their role
11. A network approach to society How can a society be understood as a network, how does communication facilitate this and what are the possible implications for democracy and the usurpation of power? a. Middle level of communication (Deutsch) b. Opinion leaders and Two-step flow of communication (Lippmann)
12. Current trends in media What do media look like in the 2nd decade of the 21st century? What trends in ownership and in media functions, role, usage, etc. can we observe? a. Vertical, horizontal and diagonal models of ownership b. Globalization, commodification, infotainment, etc.
Annotation
Political communication intertwines political science, sociology, communication studies and anthropology and touches on a multitude of other social disciplines. Its object of study and terminology is enriched by this breadth and complements political science with a bridge to understanding the nature of human interaction with political institutions and mutual impacts these interactions inevitably bring.
The course will address the relationship between political systems, media systems and citizens. It will introduce basic concepts of the role of media within a society and in modern democracies. It will derive from communication flows between citizens as recipients of information, media institutions as their emitters and political institutions as dependents on these communication flows. Emphasis will be laid on ways how political institutions communicate with the electorate and what role mass media play in these interactions.
Distinctive emphasis will be laid on the normativity of these interactions. Given communication influences intrinsic aspects of political, social and individual life it cannot be assessed in an ethical vacuum. Therefore the role of the state, rule of law, policy making principles and the way how these aspects of political life can be approached will be intertwined in the lectures of this course so that the adherence or diversions to democratic norms are attended to.
Special attention will be given to electoral campaigns and political mobilization, including its negative aspects and influence on citizenship, trust towards a political system and the rule of law.
The course will furthermore look at the history of electoral campaigns in the Czech Republic, predominantly at those to the House of Representatives and presidential campaigns, and selected aspects of electoral campaigns to other elected bodies.