The seminar will take us around the world, exploring the media landscapes of as diverse a set of countries as possible. Possible case studies include Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Turkey, China, India, and Brazil – but every country is welcome and we will make sure to include a number of countries of the Global South beyond those named, based on student interest, including Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab World, but also Spanish-speaking Latin America as well as Southeast Asia. In the first sessions, we will establish a shared understanding of key terms such as medium/media, (mass) communication, journalism, and fiction vs. nonfiction, noting early how these concepts are increasingly blurred at the edges. A basic introduction to the major areas of media and communication research, including their methodologies, will also be provided.
From there, we will immerse ourselves in the media systems of various countries. This will involve a structured, template-based approach that includes historical background and relevant statistics. We will begin with the legal, technical, economic, and political conditions shaping each system, before turning to specific media in roughly chronological order: print (newspapers and magazines, including their websites and social media presence); photography and film; radio and television; and finally the upheaval affecting all media as “media” increasingly comes to mean digital and social platforms.
Despite national differences, a clear process of convergence can be observed, as media systems become more alike, often appearing to gravitate toward models associated with the United States – or, more recently, China.
The seminar will not stop there, however – we are not writing a handbook. In each country case, we can delve as deeply as time and interest allow, for example into individual media outlets and their societal roles, including their significance for specific audiences.
- Dozent/in: Daniel Müller
- Dozent/in: Linda Hilkenbach