90110 - Politics and Media in the Contemporary Age (1) (A-E)

Academic Year 2022/2023

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Communication Sciences (cod. 8885)

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to study 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.

Course contents

The course will reconstruct the evolution of the mass media in relation to the political sphere. The list of topics covered may be subject to slight variations

Lecture 1 Introduction to the course

Lecture 2 The Concept of Politics

Lecture 3 The Concept of the Public Sphere

Lecture 4 Stereotypes and communication

Lecture 4 Communication and politics in the 19th century

Lecture 5 The birth of the political press

Lecture. 6 War and Censorship

Lecture 7 The fascist dictatorship and the organisation of consensus

Lecture 8 The National Socialist Dictatorship and Propaganda

Lecture 9 Advertising, consumption and politics

Lecture 10 Post-war electoral campaigns

Lecture 11 The Cold War and political communication

Lecture 12 The advent of television in politics

Lecture 13 The permanent electoral campaign

Lecture 14 Internet, social media and fake news

Lecture 15 Summary of topics

Readings/Bibliography

- L. Gorman, D. McLean, Media e società nel mondo contemporaneo, Il Mulino, Bologna 2011 o edizioni successive (capitoli 5, 6, 9)

- P. Allotti, La libertà di stampa. Dal XVI secolo a oggi, Il Mulino, Bologna 2020

- E. Novelli, Le campagne elettorali in Italia. Protagonisti, strumenti, teorie, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2018

Teaching methods

Lecture

Assessment methods

The exam consists of a written test, which will take place in the computer lab. Students will be given 60 minutes to answer 2 open questions relating to the topics covered in the lectures and textbooks.

The achievement of an accurate and thorough knowledge of the topics addressed in the course, together with good analytical and critical skills and the possession of a mastery of the specific language will be assessed with marks of excellence (30-30L).

A solid knowledge of the topics addressed in the course, together with evident capacities for analysis and criticism and the possession of a mastery of the specific language will be assessed with very good marks (27-29).

A mostly mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, an ability to analyse that is not always well articulated and/or language that is correct but not always appropriate will lead to fair marks (23-26).

Weak analytical skills and approximate or inappropriate language, albeit in the context of minimal knowledge of the examination material, will lead to sufficient marks (18-22).


Teaching tools

beamer and other audiovisual tools

Office hours

See the website of Stefano Cavazza

SDGs

Quality education

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