31664 - Media, Conflicts and International Politics

Academic Year 2018/2019

  • Docente: Oscar Ricci
  • Credits: 8
  • SSD: SPS/08
  • Language: Italian

Learning outcomes

The course considers media systems as environments of interaction and conflict between the different actors of the globalized public space and of international politics.

At the end of the course the student:

- Analyses the communication strategies adopted by States, ONGs, social movements and terrorist groups to communicate their stances within the international public sphere;

- Explains the practices of definition of power relations within the international space considering the main theories linked to information ecosystems and their evolutions

- Classifies, on the basis of reasonings based on the literature and on the knowledge of case studies, the different media actors that participate in the construction of the representations of international politics and of “global issues”

- Combines the different interpretative approaches to the nature and structure of digital environments and of social networking platforms, in order to understand the opportunities and limits that such environments offer for traditional and new actors of international politics.

Course contents

The course aims to provide an overview on contemporary media dynamics and on the influence they have on international politics and conflicts.

In the first part of the course we will analyse the profound changes in the media industry in the new century, trying to highlight the technological and digital innovations that have transformed this sector.

In the second part we will focus on the political, cultural and institutional changes that the aforementioned transformations have produced, focusing particularly on the social movements that could not have existed without these changes.

Readings/Bibliography

Ouelette, L., Gray, J. (2018) Parole chiave per i media studies, Minimum Fax, Roma.

Lolli, A. (2017) La guerra dei meme, Effequ, Orbetello

Gambetta, D. (2018) Datacrazia. Politica, cultura algoritmica e conflitti ai tempi dei big data, D Editore, Milano.

 

One volume to be choosen among the following:

 

Balbi, G. Magaudda, P. (2014) Storia dei media digitali, Laterza, Roma-Bari.

Balbi, G. Magaudda, P. (2018) Fallimenti digitali. Un’archeologia dei “nuovi” media, Unicopli, Milano.

Boltanski, L. (2000) Lo spettacolo del dolore. Morale umanitaria, media e politica. Raffaello cortina editore, Milano.

Briggs, A. Burke, P. (2007) Storia sociale dei media, Il Mulino, Bologna

Ceccobelli, D. (2017) Facebook al potere. Lo stile della leadership al tempo dei social media, Maggioli editore

Cepernich, C. (2017) Le campagne elettorali al tempo della networked politics, Laterza, Roma-Bari.

Ronson, J. (2015) I giustizieri della rete. La pubblica umiliazione ai tempi di internet, Codice edizioni, Torino.

Splendore, S. (2017) Giornalismo ibrido. Come cambia la cultura giornalistica italiana, Carocci, Roma.

Tryon, C. (2018) Political Tv. Informazione e satira, da Obama a Trump, Minimum Fax, Roma.

Teaching methods

Lectures

Assessment methods

Final written exam. For those attending the lessons there will be the option, at the first session, to do a presentation arranged with the teacher. In this case both the presentation and the written exam will contribute to the final grade.

Teaching tools

Powerpoint presentations

Office hours

See the website of Oscar Ricci