Tags
J
Admissions requirements
NA
Description
This course is an introduction to the field of mass media and mass communication with a focus on news media and journalism studies. Central theme is the way media mirror and shape our world. Therefore we study and evaluate the processes that generate news and shape our social environment. Students will not only recognize the role of media in changing political, social and cultural dynamics on the global stage but also critique and analyze the variety of relationships between media and their audiences. Its main aim is to introduce students to the various dimensions of the (news)media so that they can independently and competently consider and criticize mass media content and policy. Besides a theoretical component the course also has an empirical component: we also learn to do a small scale research project with content analysis.
Course objectives
After completion of this course, students are able to:
explain how various theories have evolved, the various perspectives included, and the relevance for today’s impact of media on society;
describe the interdisciplinary nature of journalism studies and its connections with other disciplines;
discuss the objects of journalism studies as a discipline;
analyze media from a social constructionist’s perspective;
discuss key concepts such as social construction, framing, social problems, objectivity;
apply the basics of qualitative and quantitative media content analysis;
critically reflect on every day news media;
demonstrate an understanding of the process by which social problems are constructed.
Weekly overview with a one-sentence description of each week’s topic.
Each week has a theme that is theoretically developed in the Tuesday classes. In the Friday classes – in so called V&D-sessions (viewing and discussing) – students apply theory to self-selected examples from present day news media.
1.Journalism Studies
2.Social problems and social constructionism
3.Objectivity
4.Framing
5.News Values & Newsworthiness
6.Methodology: Qualitative and Quantitative Content Analysis
7.Presentations Research projects
8.Preparation for Exam
Timetable
Once available, timetables will be published here.
Mode of instruction
Each week has two classes on one theme. Tuesday classes will give a theoretical underpinning of the theme: students prepare short presentations on their readings and discuss the different insights and points of view. Other (non-presenting) students post discussion questions on Blackboard. Students are asked to comment on each presentation by a poll via their mobile phone or laptop.
Friday classes are more hands-on. In V&D-sessions (viewing and discussing) students elaborate on the theory by applying it to examples from present day news media, brought in by students (video fragments, radio fragments, news photographs, articles from news sites, blogs, et cetera). In this way we cover both media theory and media practice, visually and textually.
Both the Tuesday and Friday classes are student-led. (Schedules will be distributed on Blackboard once the exact number of participants is known.) The instructor watches over content quality and the overall learning process and coaches the research projects.
Besides these regular classes in weeks 1 to 5, there will be a small scale research project in week 6 (no regular classes that week; students work in small groups on a research project). In week 7 they present their research results. Week 8 is for the final exam.
Assessment
This course has 4 assessments: 3 on team level (2-4 students) and 1 on individual level. They are assessed as follows:
Presentation on Media Theory (team: 15%) – weeks 1 – 5.
Presentation on Media Practice: Viewing & Discussing (team: 15%) – weeks 1 – 5
Written test Media Theory; you can choose 7 questions out of 10 (individual: 30%) – week 8.
Small Scale Content Analysis Project including research presentation + short research paper / fact sheet (team: 30%) weeks 6 and 7.
Participation (individual, 10%)
Blackboard
There will be a Blackboard site available for this course. Students will be enrolled at least one week before the start of classes.
Reading list
Compulsory Literature and availability
- The required reading will be made available via Blackboard, or can be obtained via Internet or the electronic library. – Some other publications are published in PDF on Blackboard and are under 10.000 words, so no permission is needed from PRO. See the week schedule for the exact titles.
Note: in the first five weeks of this course we will peruse approximately ±550 pages of reading. That is 120 pages a week. For the exam you can choose 7 questions out of 10. Students are strongly advised to start reading in week one to avoid time management issues.
Registration
This course is open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Registration is coordinated by the Curriculum Coordinator. Interested non-LUC students should contact course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. Willem Koetsenruijter: w.koetsenruijter@hum.leidenuniv.nl