Political Communication in the US 4219-SF046
The course will cover the following topics:
1. Introduction to Political Communication
2. Political Communication Defined
3. Political Persuasion
4. Partisanship in Political Communication
5. Political Campaigns
6. Political Advertising
7. Presidential Debates
8. Ghostwriting
9. Internet and Social Media Discourse
10. The Role of the First Lady
11. Satire and Parody in Political Communication
12. Political Communication in a Globalized World
13. Crisis Communication
14. Ethics in Political Communication
15. Political Communication in Practice - simulation
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the students:
KNOWLEDGE
- have basic knowledge of the definition of political communication, its types, history and evolution
- understand the specifics of political communication in the US
- have basic knowledge of the symbols, political marketing and different actors in political campaign, as well as of the role of the media in image building
SKILLS
- can search, analyse, evaluate, select and use information on political communication from various sources
- can assess the integrity of the politicians’ image and the effectiveness of their political communication
- can distinguish forms of political communication depending on the situation, time and target
SOCIAL COMPETENCES
- are able to receive critically media coverage of political communication in the US
- can take a stand in discussions on the US political communication
- are ready to use knowledge of US political communication in their professional careers
Assessment criteria
The final evaluation will be based on an essay on a chosen topic related to political communication in the US and the students' active participation during the classes with the following weight:
essay – 50%
active participation – 50%
Bibliography
Core reading:
A. Davis, Political Communication, A New Introduction for Crisis Times, Cambridge, Polity, 2019.
R.E. Denton, G.C. Woodward, Political Communication in America, New York, Praeger, 1990.
T. Płudowski (red.), American Politics: Media and Election, Adam Marszałek, Toruń, 2005.
D.L. Helfert, Political Communication in Action: From Theory to Practice, Boulder, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2017.
R.M. Perloff, The Dynamics of Political Communication. Media and Politics in a Digital Age, New York – London, Routledge, 2013.
Further reading:
A. Davis, Political communication and social theory, New York – London, Routledge, 2010.
B. McNair, An introduction to political communication, New York – London, Routledge, 2011.
G.D. Rawnsley, Political communication and democracy, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
H.A. Semetko, M. Scammell (red.), The Sage handbook of political communication, Los Angeles, Sage, 2012.
J.S. Tuman, Political communication in American campaigns, Los Angeles, Sage Publications, 2008.
G. Wolfsfeld, Making sense of media and politics: five principles in political communication, New York-London, Routledge, 2011.