Entry requirements

60 credits in media and communication studies including 7.5 credits in journalism studies

Learning outcomes

After the course the student should be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• account for and explain central theories in, and with relevance for, the field of Journalism Studies,
• account for and explain of how these theories deal with the different contexts - for example the social, cultural, and political contexts - of journalistic production.

Competence and skills

• independently and critically analyze and present - orally and in writing - theoretical explanations on key issues and debates in journalism theory,
• independently demonstrate how theories in the field of Journalism Studies can be applied in empirical research.

Judgement and approach

• critically discuss the normative implications of different theoretical approaches to journalism
• independently discuss questions about power relationships in journalism, in relation to for example gender, ethnicity and class, and the relationship between journalism and political and economic power.

Content

This course, building on the foundations set in MCS B/Journalism Studies, elaborates further on the main theories in, and relevant to, Journalism Studies, and offers an in-depth exploration of the basic academic debates in the field, examining, also, how these debates are re-articulated in the digital era. The starting point of this exploration consists of a thinking through, and re-thinking of, the very foundations of journalism, through a philosophical, ontological and ethical reflection, on key issues in journalism studies.

Instruction

Lectures, seminars and workshops are combined with individual and group work activities and assignments.

Assessment

The course is examined through active participation in compulsory activities, assignments, and a written examination.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator or a decision by the department's working group for study matters.