In this course, students will develop the key competencies and basic knowledge to understand social communication processes and the processes of public opinion formation in our societies. Understanding the main mechanisms by which public opinion is shaped, as well as the role that the media (and other platforms) and various actors play in this process, is essential for interpreting the public dimension of our social reality. Based on the main reference frameworks of the subject, current debates, issues, and challenges such as post-truth, fake news, electoral process manipulation, etc., will be addressed. The goal is for students to develop a critical perspective on social communication processes and public opinion from a scientific and analytical foundation.
UNIT 1: HISTORY AND FOUNDATIONS OF PUBLIC OPINION
Topic 1: Introduction to the concept of public opinion
1.1. Definitions. What is public opinion?
1.2. Main elements of the concept of public opinion.
1.3. History of the concept of public opinion.
Topic 2: Processes of public opinion formation
2.1. Who is the subject of public opinion?
2.2. Main views and currents on the subject of public opinion
2.3. The complexity of public opinion formation processes
2.4. Key elements in the generation of public opinion
Topic 3: Media and public opinion
3.1. Functions and effects of the media on public opinion
3.2. Main theories on the relationship between media and public opinion
3.3. Main views on the relationship between public opinion and the political system
3.4. The classic functions of public opinion in liberal democracies
3.5. Current debates
Topic 4: Measuring public opinion
4.1. History of public opinion measurement
4.2. Surveys and other forms of measurement
4.3. Current difficulties in measuring public opinion
UNIT 2: POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
Topic 5: Introduction to political communication
5.1. A brief history of political communication
5.2. Main elements in political communication
5.3. Electoral or campaign communication
5.4. Communication from public institutions
Topic 6: Political communication today
6.1. The spectacularization of political communication
6.2. The power of image and audiovisual media
6.3. Transformations caused by digital media
6.4. Main current trends
Topic 7: Managing political communication
7.1. Processes, actors, and tools for managing political communication
7.2. Strategic planning of political communication.
In general, students are expected to attend class, and the development of their critical thinking and analytical skills will be encouraged through debates on current topics in public opinion, linked to the knowledge they are accumulating on the subject. The course will combine theoretical classes for the exposition of content with practical sessions in which different individual and group activities will be developed. Additionally, various debates, guest lectures, and workshops will be organized, addressing real-life case studies that illustrate the content being covered in the course. Furthermore, students will be required to work outside of classroom sessions on different activities, readings, and studies that they must complete.
To be assessed in the ordinary exam session, all activities subject to evaluation must have been completed. Assessable activities must be submitted by the deadlines set by the instructor. If, for any duly justified and communicated reason to the instructor, the activities could not be submitted within the established period, they may be submitted before the date of the subject?s final exam, so that the instructor can grade them, although in this case the instructor is not obliged to provide feedback to the student on those activities.
On the other hand, the student has the right to take the final written exam even if they have not submitted all other evaluable activities, but the final grade for the subject will only be calculated if all activities have been submitted, according to the evaluation criteria and weightings established in this course guide. If any evaluable activity has not been submitted or completed, it will be recorded as ?Not presented? in the exam record for that session.
EXTRAORDINARY EXAM SESSION:
The evaluation criteria are the same as in the ordinary session, so all evaluation activities considered during the course must be submitted. Grades for completed activities will be kept while pending activities are completed. The same weighting criteria as in the ordinary evaluation will apply.
ON THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS:
Use of AI tools: If AI tools are used in any activity, a paragraph must be included specifying what the AI was used for and what prompts or instructions were given to obtain the results incorporated into the work. Failure to do so is a violation of academic honesty policies.
Group project: 30%.
Individual activities: 25%.
Monitoring and participation: 15%.
Final written exam: 30%.
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