Political Communication
Code: 104794 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2503868 Communication in Organisations | OT | 4 | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Marc Blasco Duatis
- Email:
- marc.blasco@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Prerequisites
The student must have the habit of reading the general press, with special attention to national and international political news, as well as opinion articles or the follow-up of debates and television and radio talk shows on political issues understood in a broader sense.
The student must have an acceptable command of the English language, which allows him to understand documents written in that language.
The student must have basic notions of descriptive statistics (understand how to read tables with percentages and frequencies) as well as know how to interpret relationships between variables (double entry tables, typologies, etc ...).
The Catalan language is the vehicular tool of written and oral expression of the subject. In this sense, correction in the use of language is an indispensable requirement, especially in the discursive, reasoning and discussion aspects, orthographic and grammatical correction, as well as adequacy, coherence and cohesion.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The subject aims to provide the basic conceptual tools for the analysis and understanding of political communication and its different actors and functions, in contemporary societies and strategic planning of political discourse and analysis of the use of communication in government organizations and public institutions. The role of political communication will be explained, a historical introduction will be given and the main characteristics of political propaganda will be shown, from Nazi and fascist, to Political Marketing 2.0, the concept of Democracy 3.0 or public communication.
Competences
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Act within one's own area of knowledge, evaluating sex/gender-based inequalities.
- Determine the structure and functions of the technological and economic context of organisations.
- Differentiate the principal theories on communication in organisations, which underpin knowledge of the discipline and its different branches.
- Introduce changes in the methods and processes of the field of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and demands of society.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Work in compliance with professional codes of conduct.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse a situation and identify its points for improvement.
- Analyse information processes and the currents and theories that underpin them in the process of planning and executing political communication.
- Analyse the sex- or gender-based inequalities and the gender biases present in one's own area of knowledge.
- Display knowledge of how public actors' communicative strategies are devised and spread through the organisations they work in.
- Display knowledge of the political context in order to develop critical thinking skills and generate original ideas about that context.
- Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
- Identify the main inequalities and discriminations in terms of sex/gender present in society.
- Identify the social, economic and environmental implications of academic and professional activities within one?s own area of knowledge.
- Interpret and discuss documents on the main theories of political science and the organisation of political propaganda.
- Present a summary of the studies made, orally, in writing, or using other means of communication.
- Present the objectives of governmental institutions, political parties, etc. to all kinds of audiences.
- Respect the ideas, ethnic groups, religions, cultures, etc., of all collectives when planning and organising communication by political organisations.
- Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.
- Work independently to solve problems and take strategic decisions on the basis of the knowledge acquired.
Content
1. Power, politics and democracy
- Institutionalization of political communication as a discipline.
- Models of political and media systems.
- Citizenship, persuasive processes and public opinion.
- Zoon politics, public sphere and democracy 3.0.
- Characteristics of political propaganda.
- Political consulting: relations between the political system and the media system.
2. Marketing and political communication
- Political marketing as a comprehensive model of communication.
- Political communication actors: politicians, public opinion, spin doctors, journalists, the media, social movements and opinion leaders.
- The media construction of the political agenda: from the agenda-setting to the agenda-building.
- Politics and politics: party political communication vs. institutional political communication.
- Marketing and leadership: from party political communication to candidate political communication.
3. Instruments of political communication
- Storytelling and storytelling: political discourse as narrative.
- The legitimacy of the candidate and the potential to communicate.
- Advertising: the Americanization of political communication.
- The polls: from the media frame to the construction of the vox populi.
- The election campaign, the permanent campaign and the valorization of the government action.
- Citizens, voters, audiences or targets: the use of data in political communication.
4. Media spectrum, political communication and democracy
- Political communication 2.0: a cyber-democracy of prosumers.
- From infotainment to politainment.
- City branding: the city brand as a strategy for institutional political communication.
- Electoral systems, participation and electoral behavior.
- Journalism and political communication: media construction of the political agenda.
The detailed calendar with the content of the different sessions will be exposed the day of presentation of the subject. It will also be posted on the Virtual Campus where students will be able to find a detailed description of the exercises and practices, the different teaching materials and any information necessary for the proper follow-up of the subject.
Methodology
This subject is 6 ECTS, which implies a total dedication of the student of 150 hours, distributed in:
- Guided activities (30% and 46h): activities in the classroom with the presence and guidance of the teacher which may consist of lectures, seminars to discuss compulsory readings in small groups and oriented to practical issues, work of practical cases related to the syllabus of the course and with the possibility of punctual tests.
- Supervised activities (30% and 45h): extracurricular activities carried out by the student in accordance with a work plan designed and subsequently supervised and evaluated by the teacher. It also includes joint tutorials and other similar activities (face-to-face or online) to follow the course.
- Autonomous activities (35% and 52h): autonomous activities of the student in accordance with the requirements of the subject, such as basic and complementary readings, study of class notes or all those other activities that complement the training that is achieved in this course.
- Assessment activities (5% and 7h).
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Exercises and practices in class, analysis of practical cases, presentation of works. | 15 | 0.6 | 3, 1, 10, 8, 7, 6, 12, 14, 13 |
| Master classes, lectures, viewing of audiovisual pieces, presentation of cases. | 30 | 1.2 | 1, 5, 10, 9, 12 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Individualized follow-up tutorials and in small groups | 6 | 0.24 | 1, 12, 14 |
| Preparation and writing of works | 15 | 0.6 | 2, 1, 10, 6, 9, 14 |
| Reading and preparation of texts that will be the subject of seminars | 25 | 1 | 5, 10, 9, 14 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Seminar readings | 40 | 1.6 | 2, 10, 9, 12, 14 |
| Study of the syllabus of the subject | 12 | 0.48 | 14 |
Assessment
50% of the grade will correspond to the individual or team course work (maximum 4 people) conveniently proposed and agreed. It must be prepared and delivered in the last sessions of the course. The work will be presented, debated and defended in class.
The remaining 50% of the grade will correspond to the interventions, assistance during the seminars and presentation of a reading (10%) and to an individual dissertation of a subject or agreed text (40%) on the matter treated during the course.
Students will be entitled to the recovery of the subject if they have been assessed for the set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade of the subject. The activity that is excluded from the recovery process is active participation in seminars.
In the case that the student commits any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instructed. In the event of several irregularities in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active participation in seminars | 10% | 1 | 0.04 | 2, 3, 1, 5, 4, 11, 10, 8, 7, 6, 9, 12, 14, 13 |
| Dissertation/presentation on an agreed topic or text | 40% | 3 | 0.12 | 2, 3, 1, 5, 4, 11, 10, 8, 7, 6, 9, 12, 14, 13 |
| Individual or team work | 50% | 3 | 0.12 | 2, 3, 1, 5, 4, 11, 10, 8, 7, 6, 9, 12, 14, 13 |
Bibliography
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Software
The Virtual Campus platform, word processors, spreadsheets, social platforms and audiovisual.