Language, culture and media: theories and methods. Mass society and communications theories, mass media representations and narrative stereotypes. Public and Mass Opinion. New media and post-truth. These contents aim to provide the students of Communications Studies with an adequate cognoscitive and methodological base. The target is to make the students able to be sufficientely autonomous in a critical approach to the relevant scientific framework according to the theoretical perspectives.
Baldi B. 2018, #Opinione IMmediata. Opinione pubblica, post-verità e altre menzogne, Pacini ed. Pisa
Learning Objectives
Knowledge objectives: The course aims to provide a basic formation concerning the relation between language and culture from an identitary point of view and in the perspective of the mass media; specifically, it aims to provide the foundamental knowledges about the main categories of the intercultural communication (perception, stereotypes, prejudices, ethnocentrism) and about the semantico-cognitive implications associated to the mass media. Moreover, the course intends to stimulate the active participation in the university and the capacity of applying these knowledges in the ordinary life.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledges in the differents fields of communication theories are an important support in order to enter into the contents of course.
Teaching Methods
Lectures and seminars
Further information
The attendance is obligatory in at least 2/3 of the course.
Type of Assessment
Oral mode (possibly completed by a written paper - optional). The exam concerns the all of the topics developed in the course. Specifically it will touch: 1) the relation between language and thought; 2) the relation between language and culture; 3) mass media and public opinion; 4) the role of mass media. The aim is to verify the knowledge acquired in the different contents of the lectures by the students and their ability of using these notions in critical and autonomous manner. It is necessary that the student shows a sufficient knowledge of each topic among the ones discussed during the lessons. In this perspective, the expressive capacities and the ability in appropriately combining theoretical models and real phenomena are considered. The final evaluation will be fixed depending on the addition of the singular exam issues.
Course program
The course addresses the relation between multicultural societies, mass media and public opinion considering the communications theories and models, media representations and narrative stereotypes. New media and ‘post-truth’. Specifically, the framework of the course will be the representation of the migrants by the mass-media.
Presentation of the lessons
Mass society and communication theories
Theories and models of the mass media communications
Media construction and media representation of reality and post truth
Culture and mass media
Identity and alterity: a comparison between cultures
Italy and the migratory phenomenon
The concepts of the intercultural communications
Prejudices and stereotypes
Terminological and ideological questions: pluri-, multi-, inter- cultural
The migration in the mass media perspective