Latest Module Specifications
Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026
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Description This module will provide : .1) An introduction to major concepts and theories concerning the relations between the media of public communication and the crucial forms of power in contemporary societies (e.g. manifest and latent power; coercion versus consent; political, symbolic and economic forms of power; power as dispersed or concentrated). Here, and throughout the module, there is a strong emphasis on news, current affairs and related ‘informational’ media genres. .2) Selective review of competing theories/perspectives on : .a) The major institutions or sources of social, political economic, cultural or ideological power; .b) How major forms or layers of institutionalised power may influence the operations and content of public communication media (e.g. role of political-economic, organisational, professional/journalistic, ideological and symbolic forms of power); .c) Role and influence of different ‘media systems’; ownership and management forms; funding and financial influences (advertising, sponsorship, subsidies); state policies and regulation; industry self-regulation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Learning Outcomes 1. Identify, describe and compare some of the major concepts and theories concerning the relations between mediated communication and the crucial forms of power in contemporary societies. 2. Critically engage with competing theoretical perspectives on the question of how the major institutions or sources of social, political economic, cultural or ideological power influence the operations and content of public communication media. 3. Describe how selected key schools or theorists view ‘media power’ as an increasingly important force relative to other forms of social power in the early 21st century, including the role of successive communication networks and systems and related media practices (e.g professional and citizen journalism and news making). 4. Engage with research-based concepts and analyses of those issues in ways which transcend the taken-for-granted assumptions of everyday media discourse. 5. Advance their own understandings of how the media relate to the key sources, clusters or layers of organised and structural power in modern societies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml |
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Indicative Content and Learning Activities
Indicative Content. .1) Introduction to major concepts and theories concerning the relations between the media of public communication and the crucial forms of power in contemporary societies (e.g. manifest and latent power; coercion versus consent; political, symbolic and economic forms of power; power as dispersed or concentrated). Here, and throughout the module, there is a strong emphasis on news, current affairs and related ‘informational’ media genres. .2) Selective review of competing theoretical perspectives on : .a) The major institutions or sources of social, political economic, cultural or ideological power; .b) How major forms or layers of institutionalised power may influence the operations and content of public communication media (e.g. role of political-economic, organisational, professional/journalistic, ideological and symbolic forms of power); .c) Role and influence of different ‘media systems’; ownership and management forms; funding and financial influences (advertising, sponsorship, subsidies); state policies and regulation; industry self-regulation. .3) How do selected key schools or theorists view ‘media power’ as an increasingly important force relative to other forms of social power in the early 21st century?. Relevant themes here include: .a) Deepening ‘mediatization’, media logics, the ‘attention economy’; media in a ‘network’ or ‘knowledge’ society setting; .b) Inter-relations and dependencies between media and other forms of institutional power; .c) The role and influence of successive communication networks and systems and related media practices (e.g. professional, citizen and other modes of journalism and news making). .4) Definitions and self-understandings of the media’s relation to power in everyday media discourse, including the factors influencing the independence or autonomy of media professionals. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Indicative Reading List Books:
Articles: None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Other Resources None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||