Political Communication

6 ECTS credits
156 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1017039BNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

Students who want to enroll for this course, must have passed for ’Introduction to Communication Studies' and must have obtained at least 90 ECTS-credits on bachelor level (Social Sciences). Students in a master programme can follow this course.

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool

Department

Political Science

Educational team

Patrick Folkert Anton Van Erkel (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

20 contact hours Lecture
10 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
126 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course wants to acquaint students with and make them reflect critically on the different facets of political communication. First, the persuasive context of political communication will be developed, focusing on rhetorics and propaganda and on the importance of language in the creation of political meaning (through e.g. metaphors, labels, etc.). Next, focus will be on the relation between and mutual influence between politics and media, through discussion of theories and research on agenda-setting, representation, framing, media logics, ... The place and role of public opinion will also be treated. Next, the concept of framing will be developed more in detail, as one of the most important approaches in today's political communication research, by looking more into the theoretical foundations, a number of cases as well as the possible effects of framing. Finally, guest speakers from the worlds of politics, media and communication will give more insight into the practice of political communication.
Throughout the course, reflection and discussion on current academic and societal debates on political communication will also be stimulated., amongst other things by references to news stories.

Course material

Digital course material (Required) : Politieke communicatie, Reader met academische artikels en boekbijdragen, ook de ppt-slides en toelichting tijdens de les zijn integraal onderdeel van het studiemateriaal

Additional info

Not applicable.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

This course contributes to the following general learning results of the bachelor in communication sciences:

Students have specific knowledge and understanding of the diverse paradigms, main theoretical currents, concepts and research traditions within communication scientific approaches to journalism, politics and democracy.
Students show insight in the position and mutual relations of the diverse paradigms, main theoretical currents, concepts and research traditions within the discipline and in relation to other theories, methods, concepts and models in other disciplines (interdisciplinarity).
Students have knowledge and understanding of historical and recent developments in media and communication.
Students have knowledge and understanding of the structures, operation and processes of media and communication organisations, media and communication practices, and media and communication markets and their relations with journalism, politics and democracy.
Students can detect and analyse trends and issues within a media landscape and estimate their societal, professional and policy implications on the basis of a theoretical framework of reference and analysis linked to communication scientific approaches to journalism, politics and democracy.
Students can critically and self-critically, with a long term perspective, from an interdisciplinary angle, and cautious of monocausal interpretations, gauge the impact of social, cultural, economic, ethical, technological, political, legal and other factors to communication processes.
Students demonstrate an honest attitude, ethical stance and engaged position, permitting a relevant contribution to current scientific and societal debates.
Students can – with guidance – learn and act independently, creatively, critically and entrepreneurially.
Students demonstrate an interested, studious and inquisitive attitude and have an open attitude to life long and independent learning.
Students apply, under supervision and on a general and junior level, knowledge and insights regarding diverse research methods of Communication sciences.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 65% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 35% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Written Exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 65% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Framing-Analysis with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 35% of the final mark.

Note: Students individually develop a comparative framing-analysis of media content on a political subject, which they present.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Not applicable.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context