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Lehrende: Prof. Dr. Irene Neverla; Dr. Monika Pater
Veranstaltungsart:
Projektseminar
Anzeige im Stundenplan:
MeCoDem
Semesterwochenstunden:
3
Credits:
8,0
Unterrichtssprache:
Englisch
Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl:
5 | 10
Kommentare/ Inhalte:
The course investigates the role of traditional and social media in conflicts that accompany and follow transitions to democracy (and transitions within democratic societies). Media cannot be seen as isolated institutions but as one among multiple components in public spheres. Other components in public spheres are governmental institutions, military, civil society, economic and cultural stakeholders etc. All components have gone through particular historical developments which are specific to each country. Accordingly, the impact of these different developments is that ‚democratization’ may have very different qualities.
Democracy is widely seen as a form of government and participatory citizenship that promotes the peaceful negotiation of antagonistic interests and tolerance towards divergent worldviews, identities and beliefs. However, the experience of many transitional societies shows that this is not always the case. In a significant number of countries the introduction of democratic politics has even exacerbated existing divisions, while the re-configuration of power generates its own conflicts between the winners and losers of the regime change. In many of these conflicts the media – both traditional and new – have played a pivotal role. Also, in societies that have been considered to have old and stable democratic traditions, we observe that democracy is "under fire", and so are the media. With other words: Democratization is a never ending process, with media and social media playing pivotal roles. In this course we will investigate the interplay between journalism and the democratization process in various countries, under various cirumstances.
Lernziel:
We will investigate four main research questions: a) How do traditional media cover these conflicts in the democratisation process? b) What are the working practices, ethical codes and professional roles of journalists covering these conflicts? c) How are conflict messages diffused via social media? d) What are the communication strategies of conflict partners, and again, how do media deal with these strategies?
At the end of the seminar, students should be able to develop understanding about general tendencies and developments concerning the questions given above. Furthermore, students will have gained a thorough understanding of theoretical approaches to study conflict coverage, the diffusion of conflict message and communication strategies of participants in a conflict and are able to apply this knowledge in their scientific works (e. g. the project developed in this course).
Vorgehen:
In this course students are asked to develop and carry through their own small research project related to the overall framework of Media, Conflict and Democratization (MeCoDem). The suggestion is to use a case-based approach.
Participants are invited to draw on prior knowledge as well as previous (work) experiences when investigating communication strategies of conflict partners respectively media coverage of a conflict related to processes of democratisation.
In this course you will have the chance to develop your own research and written work step by step, with the support of your instructor and peer-reviewed comments. Basically you will develop your research in working groups. In a first step, you are asked to develop questions for your own case study with first ideas on the research design (Paper 1, not graded). This paper will undergo peer-review and review by the instructor. On the basis of these reviews, the working groups will further develop the research question and an adequate research design (paper 2) and implement it in order to arrive at first results which will be presented at the end of the course by the means of a poster presentation. After this process you will submit your final research-report (paper 3) at the end of the seminar.
Literatur:
Voltmer, K.: (2013) The Media in Transitional Democracies. Contemporary Political Communication. Cambridge: Polity.
Voltmer, K.; Kraetzschmar, H. (2015): Investigating the Media and Democratisation Conflicts: Research Design and Methodology of Media, Conflict and Democratisation (MeCoDEM). Working paper, available online: http://www.mecodem.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Voltmer-Kraetzschmar-2015_Investigating-the-Media-and-Democratisation-Conflicts.pdf (28.6.2019)
http://www.mecodem.eu
Zusätzliche Hinweise zu Prüfungen:
1) Reading diaries on two texts on presentation topics - Choose any topic out of topics A-J.
Due date: The day, when the presentation on the topic is due. Meaning, the final date will be Dec. 11th 2019.
Not graded.
2) Presentation and handout based on set literature on a specific topic. Topic and date will be determined in the first session. This topic is not identical with your research topic. A draft of the handout is due a week before the presentation (email to the instructor).
10% of the overall grade.
3) Paper 1: Project outline, first draft, sketch first ideas and research fields.
Due date: Oct 31, 2019 (latest).
Not graded.
4) Peer review of two others' paper 1.
Due date: Nov 06, 2019.
Not graded.
5) Paper 2: Project outline - extended version.
Paper 2 includes your research questions, theoretical background, literatur review, and a first draft of your empirical study.
Due Date: Dec 4th, 2019
30% of the overall grade.
6) Peer review of two others' paper 2.
Due date: Dec 12th, 2019.
Not graded.
7) Poster presentation: Condensed visual presentation of the project and its results
Due date: Jan 22, 2020
30% of the overall grade.
8) Paper 3: Final version of your research, including the empirical study:
Due date: Feb 07, 2020.
30% of the overall grade.
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