180.830 (16W) "What did [the media] ever do to you? It destroyed the electoral process": The 2016 US presidential elections and media criticism"
Overview
- Lecturer
- Course title german "What did [the media] ever do to you? It destroyed the electoral process": The 2016 US presidential elections and media criticism"
- Type Lecture - Course (continuous assessment course )
- Hours per Week 2.0
- ECTS credits 4.0
- Registrations 15 (25 max.)
- Organisational unit
- Language of instruction Englisch
- possible language(s) of the assessment English
- Course begins on 05.10.2016
- eLearning Go to Moodle course
Time and place
Course Information
Intended learning outcomes
During the 2008 elections, Stephen Colbert coined the term "truthiness" to describe in part the phenomenon that "anyone can read the news to you", while, he promised, to "feel the news at you". His largely satirical comment on the intersection between American political discourse, mass (entertainment) media and public opinion, seems eerily prescient of the challenges and new media frontiers ushered in by the 2016 US presidential elections. It turns out that "truthiness" was but a prologue for "Trumpiness".
We repeatedly hear that the 2016 election cycle is decidedly different (and, quite asymmetrical [read: crazy] at that). Together, we will attempt to understand why that is and how American media are as much taken aback by phenomena like Trump as they are complicit in making such phenomena possible.
The insights and knowledge students gain by way of self-directed research and subsequent processing will (among other things) serve a knowledge transfer at two dedicated public outreach activities.
Our forays into the vagaries of the US elections will be organized around two key dates:
1) Nov 8 (Election Day), and
2) Jan 20 (Inauguration Day).
Teaching methodology including the use of eLearning tools
Using presidential rhetoric, ASK NOT WHAT THIS COURSE CAN DO FOR YOU; ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THIS COURSE.
In short, as an advanced course in the MCM graduate program, students are expected to co-create the course.
Lecture/course-hybrid: lecture input, peer-expert lecture units, explicate&exemplify units, self-directed research, group discussions, interpretative activities, critical movie analysis/contextualization, work on Moodle, outreach events, extracurricular movie nights, etc.
Be prepared to critically formulate, present & discuss your own (!) thoughts on the topics/texts covered in class since a large part of this class will depend on your concerted input. This class will be peer-hosted/peer-generated and as such will require students to engage in self-directed research. All of the material you will need to get you started will be provided in digital form.
Course content
As an increasingly partisan US electorate speaks to the many unresolved issues that polarize the nation, and as the world looks onto the spectacle that is the US elections, our course will attempt to both 1) understand/map the intersections of American politics, (mass) media influence/control, and public opinion, and 2) simultaneously apply our newly gained knowledge to the current elections as they unfold.
Topics
* Getting our bearings: What do you know about the US elections? How do you perceive them? Introducing the candidates vis-à-vis questions of media bias.
* In brief: the American (mass) media geography
* What is public opinion, and why does it matter?
* Entertainment-news-politics (hard vs. soft news)
* Media bias
* Controlling/regulating (mass) media
* The power and vagaries of polling
* (Mass) media and the elections going to the movies
Literature
Primary
Dagnes, Alison. 2010. Politics on Demand: The Effects of 24 Hour News on American Politics. Praeger.
Edwards, George C. et al. eds. 2014. Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy. Pearson.
Gainous, Jason and Kevin Wagner. eds. 2014. Tweeting to Power: The Social Media Revolution in American Politics. OUP.
Medvic, Stephen K. 2011. New Directions in Campaigns and Elections. Routledge.
Polsby, Nelson. et al. 2015. Presidential Elections: Strategies and Structures of American Politics. Rowman & Littlefield.
Secondary
Coyne, Michael. 2008. Hollywood Goes to Washington: American Politics on Screen. Reaktion Books.
Foy, Joseph J. 2008. Homer Simpson Goes to Washington: American Politics through Popular Culture. Univ. Press of Kentucky.
Ginsberg, Benjamin. et al. 2013. We the People, An Introduction to American Politics. W. W. Norton.
Jones, Charles O. 2016. The American Presidency: A Very Short Introduction. OUP.
Maisel, L. Sandy. 2016. American Political Parties and Elections: A Very Short Introduction. OUP.
Scott, Ian. 2011. American Politics in Hollywood Film. 2nd ed. Edinburgh Univ. Press.
A comprehensive transmedial bibliography/videography, which includes titles that are all available either in our library, via the class lecturer or on the internet, will be provided on Moodle. Making use of these resources will be part of the graded performance.
All relevant films along with a digital resource package will be available for you at the Self Access Center (SAC). EVERY student is directed & required to obtain and watch (!) all films which are tied to individual assignments in order to successfully participate in the class. Other course material (slideshows, reading assignments, other relevant material etc.) will be made available in digital form on Moodle.
Examination information
Examination methodology
IN-CLASS:
1) Attendance/participation/outreach events/work on Moodle,
2) "Taking the pulse of the media"-news review
3) "Explicate&Exemplify" peer-lecture unit,
4) "Representation&Deconstruction" peer-hosted movie discussion,
WRITTEN:
5) An A1-Poster to be showcased at the Election Day event (tied to Explicate&Exemplify lecture unit).
Examination topic(s)
You will need to achieve a positive grade in ALL pillars of assessment (parts 1-5) in order to receive a passing grade for the class ("sudden death-rule").
Assessment criteria / Standards of assessment for examinations
All assignments MUST be submitted via Moodle before the given deadlines. Late submissions of ANY assignments that have a deadline attached to them will generally NOT be accepted once the deadline has passed.
Any case of plagiarism will inevitably lead to immediate expulsion from the class.
Grading scheme
Grade / Grade grading schemePosition in the curriculum
- Master's degree programme History
(SKZ: 803, Version: 11W.1)
-
Subject: Freie Wahlfächer
(Optional subject)
-
Freie Wahlfächer (
0.0h XX / 12.0 ECTS)
- 180.830 "What did [the media] ever do to you? It destroyed the electoral process": The 2016 US presidential elections and media criticism" (2.0h VC / 4.0 ECTS)
-
Freie Wahlfächer (
0.0h XX / 12.0 ECTS)
-
Subject: Freie Wahlfächer
(Optional subject)
- Master's degree programme Media and Convergence Management
(SKZ: 150, Version: 13W.2)
-
Subject: Electives I - Media and Communication (MC)
(Compulsory elective)
-
Special Topics in Media and Convergence Management I (
2.0h VK / 4.0 ECTS)
- 180.830 "What did [the media] ever do to you? It destroyed the electoral process": The 2016 US presidential elections and media criticism" (2.0h VC / 4.0 ECTS)
-
Special Topics in Media and Convergence Management I (
2.0h VK / 4.0 ECTS)
-
Subject: Electives I - Media and Communication (MC)
(Compulsory elective)