Face-to-face , first term, 30 hours of theory.

First term
Monday from 08:30 to 10:30 at 43 Botanique 1

English

Students will know key authors and approaches in the field of communication studies.

Students will know how to apply key concepts in the field of communication studies to modern-day communicative phenomena.

Students will be able to reflect critically on the role of mass media in their lives and on the way media are debated in society.

Students will also learn how to categorize different types of media theories and models.

Throughout the course students will be introduced in academic modes of thought and examination.

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This course provides a general introduction in the interdisciplinary field of communication studies. The following topics will constitute the core of the course:

• Introduction: classifying theories and approaches to communication
• Masses, Mass Media, Mass Society and propaganda: all-powerful media?
• Studying the impact of the Media: short-term effects
• Long-term effects of mass media
• Media-determined societal transformation(s): Innis, McLuhan, Meyrowitz, Postman, Mander
• Communication as an interactive and reflexive performance
• Analysing media contents: approaches in the study of representation
• The emergence of cultural studies and the interpretive power of audiences
• Stuart Hall on communication, culture and society
• Habermas: transformation(s) of the public sphere

The course provides an overview of the development communication studies.

We will also reflect on the extent to which classic concepts, theories and approaches in communication science may or may not be relevant for understanding our digital age.

This course follows a lecture format ammended with a series of seminars. Each lecture focuses on a specific phase or approach in the study of communication. Assistance at the seminars is obligatory.

The lectures are supported by presentations. With regular intervals, we will make use of online tools for facilitating in-class interaction such as Mentimeter.

In addition to the classic lecture format, students will be prompted to ask their questions in-class. They will also be given the opportunity to formulate questions on a Facebook channel dedicated to this course.

The course comprises a series of seminars in which students will be prompted to develop a deeper understanding of key notions and approaches seen in class.

Students will be able to attend six seminars in three parallel groups. Seminars will also be used to familiarize students with the mode of examination.

Students will have a reader with selected texts at their disposal. These texts are obligatory material. Most - but not all - of the information presented in class can be found in these texts.

Students are expected to read these texts and to study them alongside their notes and handouts of the professor's presentations.

Students will be evaluated on the basis of a written exam and on the basis of their presence at the seminars.
In the first term, if students cannot provide a legitimate reason for their absence during one seminar, they will loose a point for the exam in January. If this happens twice, they will lose two points for this exam. If this happens more than two times, they will not be able to partake in the January exam session for communication science and receive a 0/20 for this course. Presence at the seminars will not be part of the evaluation for the exam sessions of June and September.

Obligatory reading will be provided in the form of a reader that will be made available to the students.

In addition, recommended readings and audio-visual resources will be provided via the online platform Moodle and/or via the course's Facebook page.