Current issues in research of media and audiences

                                Autumn 2020 Wednesday 12:00 PM AVC

Online Classroom:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/channel/19%3a148e0242d27c4270b28dd96ea788467b%40thread.tacv2/General?
groupId=fd830431-fd9f-4380-b448-4c445ef96231&tenantId=11904f23-f0db-4cdc-96f7-390bd55fcee8

Course Organizer: Tae-Sik Kim, PhD

Office Hour: Wed 14:00 – 15:40 & Thu 14:00 – 15:40

Contact Information: beinkid@mail.muni.cz

Ø  Course Objectives

The course is designed as a series of lectures and discussions acquainting students with current
research in the media and media audiences, which take place at the Department of Media Studies and
Journalism and at the Institute for Research on Children, Youth and Families. This research focuses
on: (1) trust in professional and alternative media, (2) the role of news and social media in
political polarization, (3) the effects of digitization on audiovisual industries, (4) the
transformation of television audiences in the era of networked digital media, (5) public service
media in the context of the crisis of their legitimacy, (6) the journalistic profession in the
context of crisis and war news, (7) local and regional media and the journalistic profession and
news audiences at local and regional level, (8) the Vietnamese diaspora in the Czech Republic and
its media practices, (9) online activities of adolescents and risk aspects of these activities.
Each topic will be delivered by one of the researchers directly handling particular research
stream. The course ends with a credit. The condition for granting the credit is (1) participation
in discussions and (2) successful submission of team assignment, i.e. a popularization media output
covering one of the lecturing teams and its topic.

Ø  Syllabus

Lecture 1. (7. October) Tae-Sik Kim: Course Introduction

Lecture 1. (14. October) Michael Elavsky:

Lecture 2. (21. October) David Šmahel:

Lecture 3. (4. Novermber) Tae-Sik Kim: Urban Landscapes and Media Representation

Lecture 4. (11. November) Jakub Macek: Research of trust and distrust in media in a fragmented
media environment

Lecture 5. (18. November) Tae-Sik Kim: Reflexive cultural proximity: The case of young Vietnamese
Korean-media audiences in the Czech Republic

Lecture 6. (25. November) Barbora Vacková & Lenka Waschková Císařová: Local Media & Local Community

Lecture 7. (2. December) Iveta Jansová: Transformative fans and the allure of dismantling
heteronormative hegemony

Lecture 8. (9. December) Iveta Jansová & Michael Elavsky: When Things Get Real: (Re)Considering the
Challenges to Cultural Industries Research

Lecture 9. (16. December) Johana Kotišová: Beyond the Myth of the War Reporter

Lecture 10. (6. January) Alena Macková: (social) media use and environment and polarization

Ø  Literature:

Each lecture will provide either a full research paper or a short handout in advance

Ø  Teaching Methods

The format of the course is a combination of  lecture and open discussion. All students are
expected to read all articles assigned and to develop appropriate discussion questions.

Students submit an issue paper (topic of student’s choice in consultation with the organizer;
minimum 12 pages).

Ø  Assessment Methods

·         Attendance: 10%

·         3 Response Papers: Choose 3 topics from the list of lectures. Write a short essay
reflecting your own opinions and introducing relevant cases. 2-3 Pages each(15x3 = 45%)

·         Final Issue Paper: Develop a research agenda in the field of Media Studies and Journalism
(45%) 10-12 Pages (1. Introduction 2. Literature Review 3. Relevant Cases 4. Conclusion)