94206 - TECNICHE E PRATICHE DELL'INFORMAZIONE

Learning outcomes

Students will learn to analyze the public sphere in a sociological perspective, with a specific focus on the latest developments of the current debate surrounding the concept of public sphere and on the processes of construction of social knowledge of public issues in the context of the contemporary hybrid media landscape, including the role of algorithmic sources and the new global actors.

Course contents

The complete “integrated” course is called Public Sphere and Information: it is articulated into two different but interconnected modules (Theory of the Public Sphere and Practices and Techniques in News and Information Production). Therefore you will find the same programme for both modules and it is important to consider the requirements and the list of required readings as referring to a single course.

1. In Theory of the Public Sphere we will introduce:

1.1. The main aspects of the debate on the spaces where public opinion is formed, starting from the analysis famously elaborated by Jürgen Habermas.

1.2. The contemporary controversies regarding the relationship between the public sphere and the media, particularly with the advent of what the sociologist John Thompson calls “mediated online interaction”.

1.3. The social construction of public problems: which arenas, which actors, which mechanisms.

2. Practices and Techniques in News and Information Production will “test” the hypotheses illustrated in the first part of the course, aiming to highlight the empirical problems and the more or less resilient practices that journalistic professional routines employ to navigate the landscape of hybrid contemporary news media.

Among the issues covered by the module are:

2.1. The complex relationship between news, digital media and the public sphere.

2.2. The most recent developments in the debate around the construction of objectivity in journalistic language through a critical approach to what is commonly referred to as "fake news" and "post truth".

2.3. A discussion of the different forms of data journalism in the contemporary journalistic field.

2.4. The main elements of the connection between news media, institutions and politics.

Experts and professionals from the field of journalism will be invited in class for a discussion with the students. 

Readings/Bibliography

1. Habermas, J. (1974), The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article , New German Critique, n.3: 49-55.
2. Habermas, J. (2006), Political Communication in Media Society: Does Democracy Still Enjoy an Epistemic Dimension? The Impact of Normative Theory on Empirical Research. Communication Theory, 16: 411-426 [accesso EZProxy]
3. Hilgartner, S., & Bosk, C. L. (1988). The Rise and Fall of Social Problems: A Public Arenas Model. American Journal of Sociology, 94(1): 53–78. [accesso EZProxy]
4. McCombs, M. E., & Guo L. (2014), Agenda-setting influence of the Media in the Public Sphere, in R. S. Fortnerand P. M. Fackler (eds.), The Handbook of Media and Mass Communication Theory, Hoboken N.J., John Wiley & Sons: 251-268.
5. Scheufele, D.A. and Tewksbury, D. (2007), Framing, Agenda Setting, and Priming: The Evolution of Three Media Effects Models. Journal of Communication, 57: 9-20 [accesso EZProxy].

CASE STUDIES

1. Groshek J. and Groshek M. G., Agenda Trending: Reciprocity and the Predictive Capacity of Social Networking Sites in Intermedia Agenda Setting across Topics over Time. Media and Communication, 1(1): 15-27.
2. Lalli, P. and Capelli, C. (2021), Young people as “glocal” citizens of the world. News media representations of youth in mainstream and digital native media [preprint reperibile nello spazio virtuale del corso].
3. Lalli, P., Gius, C., Zingone, M. (2020), La cronaca nera si tinge di rosa: il femminicidio da parte del partner, in P. Lalli (a cura di), L’amore non uccide. Femminicido e discorso pubblico: cronaca, tribunali, politiche, Bologna, Il Mulino: 71-122 [accesso con Idem – Darwin books - pubblicazione online: 2021]
4. Jasser, G. et al. (2021) Welcome to #GabFam’: Far-right virtual community on Gab. New Media & Society [accesso EXProxy].
5. Marres, N., (2018) Why We Can't Have Our Facts Back, in "Engaging Science, Technology, and Society", n. 4: 423-443.
6. Meraz, S. and Papacharissi, Z. (2013) Networked Gatekeeping and Networked Framing on #Egypt. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 18(2): 138–166.

Teaching methods

Lectures in class, webinars and workshops online and offline, always available also for online attendance.

The two parts of the course are integrated also in the lessons and the interactive workshops: a more detailed calendar will be available at the beginning of the course, and it will include the presence of invited experts and professionals.

The participation to the interactive workshops will be proposed and discussed during the first week, in order to establish an educational agreement with the students.

Assessment methods

The exam will be one and the same for the whole course.

Attending students:

1. Participation to at least 80% of classes; active involvement through group work following the indications that will be communicated during the course; group exercises based on a list of subjects that will be distributed during the course. 

2. Reports on the subjects addressed during the class exercises.

The final grade will be the result of participation (30%) and the paper (70%).

This option will be available to Erasmus and Overseas exchange students as well, who will be allowed to write their paper in a language of choice among Italian, French, English or Spanish.

Non attending students:

Written exam consisting of multiple-choice and open-response questions based on the readings listed in the syllabus, plus an essay question.

Teaching tools

Slides, audiovisual material, discussion with experts, "Virtuale" platform.

Office hours

See the website of Claudia Capelli