Structure of the Curriculum

Sociology of Mass Communication (MS)

Course PDF
Sociology of Mass Communication (MS)
COURSE OUTLINE
GENERAL
SCHOOLSchool of Economics and Political Science
DEPARTMENTSociology
Level of StudyUndergraduate
COURSE CODE431115
COURSE TITLESociology of Mass Communication (MS)
Independent Teaching Activities Weekly Teaching Hours CREDIT UNITS
—
Course TypeSpecial Background
Prerequisite CoursesNo
Teaching and Examination LanguageGreek
THE COURSE IS OFFERED TO ERASMUS STUDENTSNo
Course Webpage (URL)https://eclass.uoa.gr/courses/SOC119/
(2) LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course examines the rise of the mass media and their connection to democracy and the civil society public sphere, their transformations within the modern monopoly political economy, the internet, and social networks. It focuses on the complex relationship with public opinion: the post-truth regime (fake news) and political propaganda, the spectacular and simulation that construct reality, as well as potential opportunities for social interaction.

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to:

  • understand the basic tenets of the theory of communicative action and its relationship to contemporary theories of democracy.
  • They know basic elements of the evolution of the mass media during modernity and its impacts on the public sphere.
  • they correlate contemporary phenomena in the field of media with corresponding theories of the spectacle and simulation.

At the competency level, the student will be able to:

  • To judge current issues concerning the ever-evolving field of public communication and information.
  • To interrogate the dominant narratives provided by spectacular discourse based on a critical theoretical frame of reference.
  • To raise valid questions regarding the possibility of reconstructing a new democratic discourse through the new opportunities provided by the latest developments in the field of public networking and information.

General Capabilities

  • Independent work
  • Teamwork
  • Working in an interdisciplinary environment
  • Adaptation to new situations
  • Search, analysis, and synthesis of data and information using necessary technologies
  • Promotion of free, creative, and inductive thinking
(3) COURSE CONTENT
  1. Introduction to the problem of publicity, the history of communication and the mass media.
  2. Introductory concepts of communication theory.
  3. Mass media and democracy: Publicity and communication in the theory of Jürgen Habermas,
  4. Aspects of communication theory: Technological determinism and functionalism. The concept of the «mode of communication».
  5. Communication in early and mature modernity.
  6. The communication mode of late modernity. An information society?;
  7. The news in modernity: From journalism to propaganda and infotainment.
  8. The reception of the message: Reflexivity and monitoring.
  9. The society of the spectacle as the reproduction of domination. From Debord to Baudrillard.
  10. Fake news as a social process
  11. Mass media and ideology: Is there a «public opinion»? (Ellul, Bourdieu).
  12. The new mass media and the prospects of publicity in the post-truth era.
(4) TEACHING & LEARNING METHODS – EVALUATION
DELIVERY METHODFace to face
Information and Communication Technologies

When communicating with students:

  • Providing students with material for further study through the course website
  • Email

In the classroom:

  •  Multimedia presentations
Activity Semester Workload
Lectures 39
Independent study - individual assignment 111
Course Summary 150
Student Evaluation
Process Description Evaluation

The evaluation process is conducted in the Greek language through a written assignment and an oral examination on it.

Papers are evaluated for the formulation of their argument, the use of sources, as well as their structure and organization.

(5) RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Suggested Bibliography

  1. Eco, Umberto, Semiotics in Everyday Life, Malliaris, Athens 2013.
  2. Curran, James (ed.), SMEs and Society, Patakis, Athens 2020.
  3. Fortner, Robert and Fackler, Mark (editors), The Handbook of Media and Mass Communication Theory, Blackwell-Wiley, London 2014.
  4. Kavoulakos, Konstantinos, «Communicative discourse and human rights. The theory of rights of communicative critical theory», Human rights, Special Issue II (2004), pp. 189-217.
  5. Livieratos, Kostas, Fragoulis Takis (editors), The medium's message, Alexandria, Athens 1991.
  6. McQuail, Denis, Mass Communication Theory for the 21st Century, Kastaniotis, Athens 2003.
  7. Bourdieu, Pierre, «Public opinion does not exist», Translated by N. Panagiotopoulos, V.S. Tampourakis.
  8. Debord, Guy, The Society of the Spectacle, Metaichmio, Athens 2016.
  9. Papathanassopoulos, Stelios, Among four screens, Kastaniotis, Athens 2020.
  10. Pleios, Giorgos, The information society. News and modernity, Kastaniotis, Athens 2011.
  11. Pleios, Giorgos, Fake news, Gutenberg, Athens 2021.
  12. Stylianou, Aris, «The theory of communicative action according to J. Habermas», in Konstantinos Voudouris (ed.), Rhetoric, communication, politics and philosophy, Ionia, Athens 2002, pp. 250-258.
  13. Ramone, Ignacio, Tacit propaganda: Masses, television, cinema, Polis, Athens 2001.
  14. Christian Fuchs, Revisiting Marx in the Era of Digital Capitalism, Diavlos, Athens 2020.
  15. Habermas, Jürgen, Change structure of publicity, Nisos, Athens 1997.

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