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

First term
Tuesday from 08:30 to 10:30 at 119 Marais 1300

English

• Students will be able to define and understand the differences and overlaps between corporate communciation, public relations, marketing and corporate propaganda
• Students will be made aware of the historical and contemporary links between business, politics and professional communication companies.
• Students will understand basic corporate communication and public relations vocabulary (e.g. stakeholder communication, corporate identity, image, reputation, communciation strategy, branding, issue and crisis management).
• Students will learn to assess corporate and public communication from a variety of critical discursive perspectives.
• Students will learn how to deconstruct corporate discourse, communication and public relations strategies and how to evaluate these messages critically.
• Students will be able to reflect critically on ethical issues linked to the professional use of communication strategies in democratic societies.

For the Bachelor in Law :

For the Bachelor in Information and Communication :

For the Bachelor in Political Sciences: General :

For the Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology :

None

This course provides a broad but critical introduction in to the history, key concepts, theories and practices of corporate communication and public relations. The identities, attitudes and practices of consumers, clients, stakeholders and citizens are often targets of highly trained professionals that aim to shape the image and reputation of particular corporations, companies and brands.
In the first part of this course students will be introduced into the history, language, concepts and strategies of corporate communication and PR without taking this discourse at face value. For instance, we will ask ourselves if there is a difference between PR and propaganda and whether it is possible to distinguish between PR and spin in a post-truth world. We will explore how the development of PR and corporate communciation strategies has impacted on the perception of companies and other institutions in the past and in the present. Students will learn to distinguish between different types and aspects of corporate and PR communication.
The second part of this course is designed to provide students with the analytical tools to analyze corporate identities, narratives and communication strategies critically. For this reason, students will be familiarized with tools borrowed from critical discourse analysis and related modes of investigation. Taking a critical stance towards corporate communication and PR, we will dedicate special attention to the relation between public relations, the media and democratic decision making. Potential topics of discussion include the on- and offline communication of the Belgian Nuclear Forum, Facebook's communication after the Cambridge Analitica scandal or crisis communication of Oxfam. Issues such as whitewashing and diversity in organisations may also offer fruitful topics of discussion.
A third part of the course consists of the preparation, presentation and discussion of a collective assignment. Students will be required to analyze the communication strategies of a selected organization from a communication scientific perspective. Students are free to propose cases of their own but need approval from the professor in advance.

Lectures in combination with a collective discussion of assignments form the basis of this course. The professor will create ample moments of discussion.

In order to organize the group assignment we will make use of a ‘puzzle' method whereby students will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with each other before presenting their results to class.

Throughout the course, students are expected to read a series of obligatory texts and to reflect on materials provided via Moodle.

The final grade for this course is based on a weighed calculation of a group assignment or individual paper (30%) and of a written exam (70%). Students do not need to pass both assignments separately.

The first element of the evaluation consists of a group assignment that counts for 30% of the final grade.
Students will have to form groups of five students and select an organization of their choice approved by the professor. They will have to answer five questions about corporate communication and/or public relations about this organization provided by the professor.
Each student will have to submit an answer to one of these questions via the online platform Moodle. The answers to these questions will form the basis for a collective presentation in class.
Failure of an individual student to submit the required submission to Moodle in time and/or failure to provide a legitimation for absence during the presentation leads automatically to a 0/20 for the group assignment for that student.
In the case of legitimate absence, the student in question will have to write an academic paper of six to eight pages on a topic to be decided upon in discussion with the professor, to be submitted before the exam of the first term takes place.
In the case of illegitimate absence during group presentations and/or non-submission of the paper, students can re-submit a paper for evaluation in the second term if their total grade in the first semester is insufficient.
If students do not submit a paper in the second term, they will simply keep the score they got for the group presentation of the first term.
The second element of the evaluation - both in the first and in the second term - is a written exam that counts for 70% of the final grade.

A set of required texts will be provided in the form of a reader. These readings count as exam material. Selected readings include book chapters and scientific articles taken from sources such as (but not necessarily limited to):

Breeze, R. (2013). Corporate discourse. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Butterick, K. (2011). Introducing public relations: theory and practice. London: Sage.

Cornelissen, J. (2014). Corporate communication: a guide to theory and practice. London: Sage Publications.

L'Etang, J., McKie, D., Snow, N., & Xifra, J. (Eds.). (2017). The Routledge handbook of critical public relations. London / New York: Routledge.

L'Etang, J. (2011). Public Relations: concepts, practice and critique. London: Sage Publications.

Mumby, D. K. (2013). Organizational communication: a critical approach. London: Sage Publications.

Miller, D., & Dinan, W. (2008). A century of spin: how public relations became the cutting edge of corporate power. London: Pluto Press.

In addition, recommended readings and audio-visual resources will be provided via the online forum Moodle.

Face to face, first term, 13 sessions