- Code
- JMC 103
- Name
- Media and Society
- Semester
- 1
- Lecture hours
- 2.00
- Seminar hours
- 1.00
- Laborator hours
- 0.00
- Credits
- 3.00
- ECTS
- 4.00
- Description
-
Media is part of the social processes of transferring and circulating meaning. These processes are important because they shape how we understand the world and our relationships with others. The way we understand the world organizes how we act in it. For this reason, it is important to explore the relationship between media and society. In this context, analyzing the influence of media on other institutions and society, as well as the effects on individual behavior, constitute an important objective of this course. The course also examines the relationships between mass communication processes, the individual, and society, as well as the influence of these relationships on individuals' attitudes and behaviors. Developing critical perspectives during the examination and analysis of the interactive relationship between media institutions, content, culture, and audience is one of the main objectives of this course.
- Objectives
-
1- Elaborating on key theoretical concepts and approaches regarding the relationship between media and society. 2- Acquiring knowledge about the role of media in society, its influence on public opinion, the media exposure of specific audience groups, critical analysis of media content, and the information production process. 3- Exploring the relationships between social, economic, and political changes driven by social media and digital platforms. 4- Developing students' critical perspectives for analyzing the relationship between media, media content, and society.
- Java
- Tema
- 1
- Meaning, representation, and power. In a technical sense, media are devices for collecting, storing, processing, and distributing information. In a social or cultural sense, media are institutions through which we create and share meanings. We use media to tell stories and promote ideas, and in doing so, we create a shared reality. This lesson explores how media's ability to create meaning relates to the concepts of representation and power. The lesson examines issues such as the power to influence the process of meaning-making, and the relationship between power and elite groups. Definitions and basic concepts in the relationship between media and society. Presentation of literature and basic course resources, presentation of the syllabus, and assessment methods. Media & Society, Power, Platforms, & Participation, Second Edition, Nicholas Carah, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021, fq 15-41
- 2
- This lesson addresses the theme of media representation and power. Relationships between meaning and power: ideology, discourse, and hegemony. The lesson continuously addresses the concepts of Mediatization and media rituals. Mediatization is the process by which media increasingly become part of how social, political, and cultural processes function. Mediatization unfolds in three ways. First, media become increasingly important for understanding and organizing relationships with each other. We come to know and understand the world and our place through media representations and technologies. Second, institutions and social processes gradually adapt to the routines and practices of media institutions. Politics and government are now mainly organized around the production and management of media narratives. Third, our private and public spaces are organized around material media technologies. Media & Society, Power, Platforms, & Participation, Second Edition, Nicholas Carah, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021, fq 43-69
- 3
- Media and mass society. This lesson addresses media and mass society. How has the production of meaning evolved through the media? How did industrial meaning production occur during the 20th century? The lesson continues with the treatment of the concept of "agenda-setting." Industrial means production. Transition from mass media to the era of platforms. This lesson addresses how mass societies began to organize communication on an industrial scale during the twentieth century Media & Society, Power, Platforms, & Participation, Second Edition, Nicholas Carah, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021, fq 71-94
- 4
- This lesson begins with an explanation of the relationship between media and power. Media and cultural industries shape the imagination, worlds, feelings, politics, and practices of individuals and societies. For this reason, control of the institutions, professionals, and technologies used to create and disseminate meaning is crucial for exercising power. The lesson continues with the argument that power is the result of battles between different groups in society. These battles are partly about meaning, as different social groups seek to make their preferred social relationships hegemonic. Meaning is essential for producing legitimacy and acceptance. The lesson concludes with an analysis of the role of media in the public sphere. Media & Society, Power, Platforms, & Participation, Second Edition, Nicholas Carah, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021, fq 95-114 Mediamorfozë dhe Metakomunikim, Artan Fuga, Papirus, Tiranë, 2017, fq 195-237
- 5
- The transition from Digital Platforms that now dominate industrial content production arose from the crisis of "massive" production and the development of "network" production. In the transition from massive capitalism to networked platform capitalism, where the system of mass consumption that cared for homogeneous cultural identities was replaced by consumption organized around a variety of identities, audience groups, and personalized markets; centralized mass production formats were replaced by decentralized and real-time methods. The lesson focuses on examining how the more flexible and fragmented ways of production, culture, and power enabled by social networks and communication technologies have created a new geography of power. Media & Society, Power, Platforms, & Participation, Second Edition, Nicholas Carah, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021, fq 115-141 Mediamorfozë dhe Metakomunikim, Artan Fuga, Papirus, Tiranë, 2017, fq 693-754 Digital Media and Society, Second Edition, Simon Lindgren, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2022, fq 27-51
- 6
- Participatory and algorithmic culture. Media platforms are characterized by the interaction between participatory culture and algorithmic data processing. The lesson continues the analytical treatment of the power that digital media platforms have given to ordinary people. If once we were consumers of mass media, now we can actively produce and distribute content. Differences between participatory culture of platform media and old notions of passive audiences will also be discussed. This lesson attempts to generate answers to questions; What is participatory culture; what is algorithmic culture; what is surveillance; are algorithms transparent; how do we understand the actions of algorithms in our culture? Media & Society, Power, Platforms, & Participation, Second Edition, Nicholas Carah, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021, fq 187-217
- 7
- This lesson deals with the construction and management of audiences. Media institutions are organized around the strategic construction of audiences. Professional communicators cultivate, channel, direct, segment, and track audience attention as part of the process of market aggregation and public opinion formation. Their task is to make the audience pay attention to the media, consume messages, and incorporate them into their identities and lifestyles, as well as to manage audience participation in the creation and circulation of ideas. Media & Society, Power, Platforms, & Participation, Second Edition, Nicholas Carah, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021, fq 187-217 Media audiences : effects, users, institutions, and Power, Second edition, John L. Sullivan, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2019 Mediamorfozë dhe Metakomunikim, Artan Fuga, Papirus, Tiranë, 2017, fq 339-357
- 8
- Mid-term exam
- 9
- The role of media in the production and negotiation of identities. This lesson elaborates on questions such as; How does media empower and weaken identities; how are media used to create collective identities; how do non-dominant identities use media to oppose power relations? Digital platforms and social media constitute spaces where we display and learn about our identities and our relationships with others. They offer new opportunities to explore and articulate ourselves. Media & Society, Power, Platforms, & Participation, Second Edition, Nicholas Carah, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021, fq 249-272 Mediamorfozë dhe Metakomunikim, Artan Fuga, Papirus, Tiranë, 2017, fq 375-414
- 10
- Brand culture Branding is an important communicative process in culture, media, and everyday life. This lesson addresses issues such as; branding as a social process and the relationships between brands, culture, social spaces, and interactive media. Brands become meaningful and valuable only when we interact with them, incorporating them into our identities, cultural practices, and social lives. Brands are well adapted to the participatory and algorithmic culture of media platforms. We incorporate brands into the stories we tell about ourselves on our social media profiles. Media & Society, Power, Platforms, & Participation, Second Edition, Nicholas Carah, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021, fq 301-320
- 11
- Activism and mobilization on social media. This lesson will examine the role of social media in social activism and citizen mobilization. Furthermore, the lesson continues by exploring questions such as; How do social movements in the digital society differ from previous social movements; what is the relationship between internet activism and offline protests; how does social mobilization function in society and under what circumstances can the internet and social media empower activism? Digital Media and Society, Second Edition, Simon Lindgren, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2022, fq 173-195
- 12
- This lesson addresses the topic of digital citizenship. Being a citizen means being a legitimate member and participant in society. But what does it mean to be a citizen, not in a nation-state, but in something as fluid and abstract as the digital society? A functional democracy requires people to be able to play an active role in society, being informed, critical, and responsible. The advent of the digital society has transformed the conditions surrounding participatory processes like these in several ways. The Internet, its tools, and social platforms for interaction and communication have contributed to changes in what sociologists have called the public sphere, and in political behaviors and activities in general. Digital Media and Society, Second Edition, Simon Lindgren, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2022, fq 176-195
- 13
- Media and communication professionals. This lesson examines the nature and experience of work within a flexible and networked cultural industry. Thinking about the nature and qualities of media and communication work is important because, together, these industries construct and manage the way we understand the world we live in. Professional communicators produce and manage meaning within the power relations of global information capitalism. Most professional communicators work within organizations that channel and restrict their creativity towards the strategic goals of clients, investors, or their leaders. Media & Society, Power, Platforms, & Participation, Second Edition, Nicholas Carah, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021, fq 321-342
- 14
- The political impact of the media. This lesson examines the relationship between the media and political actors and the influence this relationship has on society. Interpreting the political influence of the media is essential to understanding how societies function. After all, the media provides the primary material upon which the majority of citizens rely to be informed about politics and public issues. Media and Society, 6th Edition, James Curran and David Hesmondhalgh, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2019, fq 303-321
- 15
- Presentation of semestral projects
- 16
- Final Exam
- 1
- At the end of this course, students will be able to recognize key terms, theories, and concepts related to media and society.
- 2
- At the end of this course, students will be able to explain the role of economic, social, organizational, and political actors that interact in the relationship between society and the media
- 3
- At the end of the course, students will be able to explain how media production formats are changing and how new formats affect society.
- 4
- At the end of the course, students will be able to distinguish the characteristics, logic, ethics, and ideologies represented by traditional media and network-based media.
- 5
- At the end of the course, students will be able to apply theoretical and practical approaches in studying phenomena driven by social media and digital platforms in relation to network society.
- Quantity Percentage Total percent
- Midterms
- 1 30% 30%
- Quizzes
- 0 0% 0%
- Projects
- 0 0% 0%
- Term projects
- 1 20% 20%
- Laboratories
- 0 0% 0%
- Class participation
- 1 10% 10%
- Total term evaluation percent
- 60%
- Final exam percent
- 40%
- Total percent
- 100%
- Quantity Duration (hours) Total (hours)
- Course duration (including exam weeks)
- 16 3 48
- Off class study hours
- 14 3 42
- Duties
- 1 0 0
- Midterms
- 1 0 0
- Final exam
- 1 10 10
- Other
- 0 0 0
- Total workLoad
- 100
- Total workload / 25 (hours)
- 4.00
- ECTS
- 4.00