27824 - History and Media (1) (LM)

Academic Year 2021/2022

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Cinema, Television and Multimedia Production (cod. 0966)

Learning outcomes

The course focuses on the interaction between politics and communication and it will analyze, with a comparative approach, the role of mass media in the consensus building process from the end of the 19th century to the present. At the end of the course, students are expected to: - have a clear framework of the history of mass media and political communication from the end of 19th century to the present time; - develop an in-depth knowledge of analytical tools to evaluate the influence of the media system on the consensus building process; analyze specific features that characterized the evolution of electoral campaigns during the 20th century and the transformations that they produced on the mechanisms of political legitimacy.

Course contents

The course is divided into two thematic blocks:

1. Propaganda and Political communication in the first half of the 20th Century

- Mass society, media and consensus building at the turn of the century: the Dreyfus Affair and the press as «fourth estate»

- The First World War: between censorship and propaganda

- Cinema and truncheon: the consensus building during the fascist regime

- The cult of the leader and the sacralization of politics in Nazi Germany

- The propaganda in the Soviet regime from Lenin to Stalin

- The Thirties: radio and power in the US during F.D. Roosevelt "era"

- The Second World War: the «freedom voice» against totalitarian regimes

2. Political communication in democracies

- Television, polls, advertising: the "Holy trinity" of the political communication

- The Fifties between radio and television: Eisenhower as forerunner of television appearance

- 1960 Presidential elections in the US (Nixon vs Kennedy)

- The political shows "Tribune Politiche" comes in Italy

- General De Gaulle and the «telecracy» in France

- The political marketing in Great Britain during the Sixties and the Seventies

- The Eighties, the Nineties and the personalization of Italian politics

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students will have to study the content of the lessons and one of the following monographs:

P.F. Boller, Presidential Campaigns. From George Washington to George W. Bush , Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004.

- R. Brizzi, L'uomo dello schermo. De Gaulle e i media, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2010.

- T. Burrett, Television and Presidential Power in Putin's Russia, Routledge, 2010.

- S. Cavazza e F. Triola (a cura di), Parole sovrane. Comunicazione politica e storia contemporanea in Italia e Germania, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2017.

Non-attending students will have to study two of the following monographs

P.F. Boller, Presidential Campaigns. From George Washington to George W. Bush , Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004.

- R. Brizzi, L'uomo dello schermo. De Gaulle e i media, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2010.

- T. Burrett, Television and Presidential Power in Putin's Russia, Routledge, 2010.

- S. Cavazza e F. Triola (a cura di), Parole sovrane. Comunicazione politica e storia contemporanea in Italia e Germania, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2017.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures. The teacher will always be present in the classroom designated for teaching.

ATTENTION. Given the fluidity of the emergency situation and since this program is published in July 2021, it is possible that the methods of teaching will change in the coming months. In this case, the data will be promptly communicated with an update of this page, as well as through the DAMS website and the official DAMS Facebook page. All students are invited to periodically consult these resources.


Assessment methods

The exam is different for attending and non-attending students.

For attending students - in three dedicated sessions - there will be two tests: a written test (15 multiple-choice questions, 2 points each) concerning the texts of the bibliography, and an oral interview on the contents of the lessons. Both the tests must be passed during the same examination session and the final evaluation will be determined by the results of both exams.

For non-attending students there will be a written examination (30 multiple-choice questions, 1 point each) concerning the two chosen monographs.

It will be assessed as excellent the performance of those students achieving an organic vision of the course contents, the use of a proper specific language, a structural and historical-contextual understanding of the subjects studied, the originality of the reflection as well as the familiarity with the tools of analysis of 20th century political communication history. It will be assessed as discrete the performance of those students showing mostly mechanical or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, not articulated synthesis and analysis capabilities, a correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a scholastic study of 20th century political communication history. It will be assessed as barely sufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, lack of knowledge of the instruments of 20th century political communication history. It will be assessed as insufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, no orientation within the recommended bibliography and inability to analyse 20th century political communication history.

 

Teaching tools

Powerpoint presentations; audio-visual material, digital resources.

Office hours

See the website of Riccardo Brizzi

SDGs

Quality education Industry, innovation and infrastructure Peace, justice and strong institutions

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.