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Lecturer(s)
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Krásová Kateřina, Mgr. et Mgr.
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Motal Jan, doc. MgA. Ph.D.
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Sedláková Renáta, doc. Ph.D.
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Course content
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1. Topic: Why study the media? The communication process, historical periods and basic models Content: The interdisciplinary nature of the field, technological determinism. Manovich's principles of new media (numerical representation, modularity, automation, variability, transcoding) and Feldman's attributes (manipulability, networkability, etc.) 2. Topic: Social and media constructions of reality - theories of representation Content: The construction of reality (Berger & Luckmann), Thomas's theorem, Schulz's Ptolemaic and Copernican concepts, representation in cultural studies (Stuart Hall). Stereotyping, the construction of 'the Other' (Othering) and hyperreality (Baudrillard). 3. Topic: Media studies - the dominant and alternative paradigms, communication models Contents: A comparison of the dominant (positivist) and alternative (critical/cultural) paradigms. McQuail's four models of communication: transmission, ritual (James Carey), promotional (Philip Elliott) and reception (Stuart Hall). 4. Topic: Political economy of the media - ideology and hegemony, the Frankfurt School Contents: The emergence of mass society. The Frankfurt School (Adorno, Horkheimer, Marcuse, Benjamin) and the 'culture industry'. Ideological apparatuses (Althusser) and hegemony (Gramsci). Herman and Chomsky's propaganda model (Manufacturing Consent) and its five filters. 5. Topic: How influential are the media? The development of media effects research Contents: Strong effects theories (the 'magic bullet', the behavioural S-R model), limited effects theories (Katz and Lazarsfeld's two-step model, opinion leaders). Theories of long-term effects: cultivation theory (Gerbner, mainstreaming), agenda-setting (McCombs & Shaw) and the spiral of silence (Noelle-Neumann). 6. Topic: Audience research - the everyday lives of new audiences Contents: The evolution of the concept of the audience (from passive masses to active recipients). Usage and gratification theory. The ethnographic turn (David Morley, Nationwide). Dispersed audiences (Abercrombie and Longhurst - spectacle and performativity). Segmentation and fragmentation of audiences (McQuail's four-stage model). 7. Topic: New audiences, fandom and participatory culture Content: The active audience and the semiotic power of the recipient (John Fiske). Henry Jenkins and the concept of participatory culture (television fans as 'text poachers', fan fiction, cosplay, remix culture). Parasocial relationships and celebrities in the digital age. 8. Topic: Journalism as a profession - ethics, identity and transformations in the digital age Content: The redefinition of the journalistic field, de-institutionalisation and the breakdown of traditional professional boundaries under pressure from citizen journalism. A sociological profile of Czech journalists (Volek & Urbániková). Professional ethics, normative requirements for journalists, autonomy and instrumentalisation. Differentiation between news and feature writing genres. 9. Topic: News reporting as a genre vs discourse - the construction of reality, routines and values Contents: The social construction of news reality. Gatekeeping and the theory of news values (Galtung & Ruge). News reporting as discourse (van Dijk). Gay Tuchman's 'ritual of objectivity'. Media logic and routines (Altheide & Snow, Shoemaker & Reese). Framing (Bennett) and the 'Us vs Them' dichotomy (Sedláková).
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook), Activating (Simulations, Games, Dramatization), Group work
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Learning outcomes
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The course aims to familiarise students with the fundamental theories of mass communication and the current context of media research. The course situates this knowledge within the contemporary transformation of the media landscape (new media, media convergence) and new audience behaviour (participatory culture, etc.). The core of the course lies in the explanation of key theories, the presentation of empirical material and the subsequent discussion of their foundations and implications. Emphasis is placed on understanding contemporary media sociology, enabling students to navigate the parameters of media communication today and to understand its role in society.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: - Identify, explain and compare theoretical paradigms (dominant versus alternative), communication models and basic specialist terminology in media studies. - Critically analyse contemporary, evolving forms of media communication and audience behaviour within their broader socio-economic and political context (in particular the influence of ownership concentration, the commodification of content, commercial pressures and technological convergence). - Apply the theoretical concepts learnt (e.g. the ritual of objectivity, gatekeeping or encoding/decoding) when deconstructing and interpreting real-world media messages and products. - Independently interpret academic literature, synthesise its arguments and formulate their own critical and well-reasoned views in both written and oral communication.
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Prerequisites
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This presupposes a basic orientation in the concepts of social science, in the context of the history of the modern world, the ability to read technical text even in the English language.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Written exam, Student performance
The course ends with credit and an exam. A student who has not met the conditions for obtaining credit cannot take the exam. Students get credit for ongoing work in the semester. The conditions for obtaining credit must be met by the end of the lecture part of the semester (May 15). Obtaining credit is conditional on continuous preparation for classes and active participation in the seminar part of the course (this means knowledge of the assigned texts, which are the basis for an informed discussion of the topic; students carry the assigned texts with them to class, preferably in printed form, so that they can in the hours they could work) and three tasks (specified in more detail in individual LMS hours) handed in by the set deadlines: - I) time frame of media behavior - II) presentation of the assigned task (periodical) in class - III) analysis of a television news program (in a group) The final exam takes the form of a written test that tests knowledge of basic theories, concepts, terms and authors. A prerequisite for successful completion of the course and the final exam of the test is knowledge of the prescribed literature that covers the given thematic area. In order to pass, the student must complete the final test with at least 65% of the total number of points. Test topics: 1. Communication, its historical and cultural forms (epochs of communication) 2. Theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of communication and media (dominant and alternative paradigm - procedural and cultural traditions of media studies) 3. Mass culture and its criticism, culture industry (Frankfurt School) 4. Journalism as a profession - news and non-fiction genres (event versus report) 5. Social and media construction of reality - theory of representation 6. Effects of media 7. Audience research - transformation of new audiences 8. Public sphere and normative media theory 9. Analysis of media contents - quantitative and qualitative procedures
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Recommended literature
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BOYD, Danah. (2017). Je to složitější: sociální život teenagerů na sociálních sítích. Praha.
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COULDRY, Nick a ULISES A. MEJIAS. (2019). Costs of Connection. Stanford.
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DEFLEUR, Melvin L. a BALL-ROKEACH, Sandra J. (1996). Teorie masové komunikace. Praha.
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EDWARDS, Tim (ed.). (2010). Kulturální teorie: klasické a současné přístupy. Praha.
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FISKE, John. (2011). Introduction to communication studies. London.
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FISKE, John. (2017). Jak rozumět populární kultuře. Praha.
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FUCHS, Christian. (2021). Social media: a critical introduction. Los Angeles.
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GILES, David. (2012). Psychologie médií. Praha.
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GILLESPIE, Tarleton. (2019). Custodians of the Internet.
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HALL, Stuart; NIXON, Sean a EVANS, Jessica. (2024). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices.
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HALLIN, Daniel C. a MANCINI, Paolo. (2008). Systémy médií v postmoderním světě: tři modely médií a politiky. Praha.
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HODKINSON, Paul. (2024). Media, Culture and Society: An Introduction.
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JENKINS, Henry. Convergence culture: where old and new media collide. New York. 2006.
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MACEK, Jakub. (2013). Poznámky ke studiím nových médií. Brno.
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MCCOMBS, Maxwell E. (2014). Setting the agenda: the mass media and public opinion. Cambridge.
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MCQUAIL, Denis. (2009). Úvod do teorie masové komunikace. Praha.
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MORAVEC, Václav. (2020). Proměny novinářské etiky. Praha.
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REIFOVÁ, Irena. (2004). Slovník mediální komunikace. Praha.
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TRAMPOTA, Tomáš. (2006). Zpravodajství. Praha.
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VOLEK, Jaromír a URBÁNIKOVÁ, Marína. (2017). Čeští novináři v komparativní perspektivě: hybridní, virtuální a mizející žurnalisté v post-transformační fázi. Praha.
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