Sylabus
* Lesson
1. Understanding differences and similarities in Media: Reality, Culture and MediaWhat is reality?What affects the lenses we see the world through? The Russian propagandistic web: How does the word get out? * Lesson
2. Introduction to media literacy as a practical guideline on how to interact with news stories What is media literacy? The Media Literacy index by OSIS.BG Media Literacy in the EU and Russia: are we well-informed? * Lesson
3. Media RepresentationsLevels of Media AnalysisRepresentations as social constructions of reality * Lesson
4. Fairclough’s approach to Media Discourse Analysis The framework of Media Discourse The role of Power, Ideology, Identities Linguistic complexities * Lesson
5. Media stylistics and its theories and concepts Text World Theory as a tool for research analysis Foregrounding and backgrounding Metaphors and other linguistic tropes * Lesson
6. Media theories and key concepts Framing theory Agenda-Setting theory Disinformation, misinformation, and fake news * Lesson
7. Tools for (de)constructing political realities in the news Assessing headlines, leads, and messages: logic and cohesion The importance of visuals and encrypted messages: case studies * Lesson
8. Russia’s and EU’s media narratives Media representation Russia’s and EU’s narratives in the media Us and Them: the concept of Russia as an alternative to the West * Lesson
9. Media statements: distinguishing facts from fiction (and opinions) How much weight do facts carry in the news? Opinions? The Rise of Interpretative Journalism Who are the media identities, and what do they tell us? * Lesson
10. What does the Web say? The WEB is a source of research Russia and the EU * Lesson
11. Putin’s Rhetoric on the West and its reflection in media Putin’s speech at the Munich conference in 2017 Putin’s televised speech on February 21, 22 How does the media cover and interpret the words and messages? * Lesson
12. Russia’s Foreign Agent Law Who are the victims? How did they fall into the club? Investigative journalists’ life: under the constant threat * Lesson
13. Media polarisation No end of trouble?
Anotace
In the modern digital era, the media, specifically its content, shapes the way we see how the land lies, how the outside world functions, and how political events are constructed and represented in the news media — it’s the lens we look at the world through. Therefore, this course approaches a range of questions associated with the media, placing its focus on Russia’s media landscape in the context of the current EU-Russia relations. By doing so, this course intends to help European students better understand modern Russia, its media practices and struggles for freedom of the press, and government policies aimed at eradicating any media promoting any views opposed to the Kremlin. Russia’s media and Russia’s approach to media practices can be viewed as a telling example of why it is so important to critically interact with news pieces, develop media literacy skills, decode media manipulation, and identify other fundamental media techniques.
Provided the importance of the media in today’s world, exploring Russia’s media landscape is very likely to shed more light on the topic in question and underscore the significance of further strengthening media literacy practices and guidelines.
Among the teaching methods of this course are mini-lectures on the key Media Studies concepts and concepts, case studies and their subsequent discussions, and role model exercises to train students to navigate the current news landscape.