EVS433 Communication of the European Affairs

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2010
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Michaela Sedlatá (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Markéta Pitrová, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Timetable
Mon 20. 9. 10:00–13:30 U43, Mon 27. 9. 10:00–13:30 U43, Mon 4. 10. 10:00–13:30 U43, Mon 11. 10. 10:00–13:30 U43, Mon 8. 11. 10:00–13:30 U43, Mon 29. 11. 10:00–13:30 U43, Mon 6. 12. 10:00–13:30 U43
Prerequisites
This course presumes good knowledge of the European integration at the level of bachelors studies in the European studies programme. The course consists of both lectures and seminars and for the successful graduation the high level of active engagement of the students is essential. Through their own analyses and creative thinking the students will considerably contribute to the content of the course.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 45 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/45, only registered: 0/45
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course is based on the analyses of the communication strategies of both the European Commission and the EU member states. The course can be divided into three parts. In the first part students will be familiarized with the development of the Commission's communication policy, the most important documents in this field and the actual state of affairs. This theoretical part is closely connected to the second part based on the analyses of selected communication campaigns of the European Commission. In the third part of the course the members states communication strategies will be analyzed and compared to the European Commission communication strategy.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introductory lesson: Orientation in the content of the course and the graduation conditions
  • Origins of the European Commission communication policy: Reasons and circumstances of its creation (20.9.)
  • 2. The contemporary European Commission communication policy: Its goals and basic documents
  • Analyses of the European Commission communication campaigns I. (27.9.)
  • 3. The contemporary European Commission communication policy: information tolls and projects
  • Analyses of the European Commission communication campaigns II. (4.10.)
  • 4. Case study: 2010 European Year of Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion
  • Analyses of the European Commission communication campaigns III. (11.10.)
  • 5. Case study: European affairs communication strategy in the Czech Republic: Origin and development of the communication policy, institutional basement, information tools, goals, topics, connection with the European Commission communication policy
  • Analyses of the European affairs communication strategies in the founder member states: France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg (8.11.)
  • 6. Analyses of the European affairs communication strategies: Denmark, Ireland, Great Britain, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia (29.11.)
  • 7. Analyses of the European affairs communication strategies: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania
  • Discussion: do the communication models in the member states exist? (6.12.)
  • 8. Final test
Literature
  • EUROPEAN COMMISSION. DG Communication. 2010. URL info
  • VAN LIER, Bas. Europe doesn't have to look cheesy. 2010. URL info
  • ÚŘAD VLÁDY ČR. Koncepce informování o evropských záležitostech v ČR na rok 2010. 2010. URL info
  • EURACTIV. EU Communication Policy. 2009. URL info
  • HIX, Simon. What's wrong with the European Union and how to fix it. Cambridge: Polity, 2008, xii, 220. ISBN 9780745642055. info
  • EUROPEAN COMMISSION. Communicating Europe in Partnership. 2007. URL info
  • EUROPEAN COMMISSION. White Paper on a European Communication Policy. 2006. URL info
  • EURPEAN COMMISSION. Action Plan to Improve Communicating Europe by the Commission. 2005. URL info
  • EUROPEAN COMMISSION. Plan-D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate. 2005. URL info
  • DE VREESE, Claes. Communicating Europe. 2003. URL info
Teaching methods
The analytical outputs of the students constitute the basic pillar of the course. During the course students process two different group outputs.

The first output is the analysis of the selected communication campaign of the European Commission. In the groups of 4 to 5 people students elaborate a presentation, which then will be introduced during the lesson. The presentation should contain the basic information about the selected communication campaign; however it should be mainly concentrated on the analysis of the reasons of its creation, impact on defined target groups and the evaluation of its (in)effectiveness. The recommended length of the presentation is 20-25 minutes. All the kinds of multimedia illustrations ale very much welcomed, the overall interactivity of the presentation will be evaluated as well. The topics of the communication campaign will be consulted with the lecturer at the beginning of the course.

The second output is the analysis of the European affairs communication strategy of selected EU member state. This case study is supposed to evaluate the ways and methods of the European affairs communication with regard to its institutional basement, information tools, topics and target groups and at the same time refer to the degree of (in)compatibility with the European Commission communication strategy. Also this output will be elaborated in the form of group presentation and introduced during the lesson. The groups will consist of 2 to 3 people. The recommended length of the presentation is 10 minutes.

In every lesson enough time will be determined to discuss the introduced communication campaigns/strategies. The activity and personal engagement of the students is part of the overall evaluation ad the final grade.
Assessment methods
Te course will finish in a written test.

There are couple of conditions, which needs to be fulfilled as to successfully graduate.
There is a total of 100 points divided into several tasks:
1. Group analysis of the selected communication campaign (15 points)
2. Group analysis of the communication campaign of selected member state (15 points)
3. Activity ad personal engagement during the lessons (10 points)
4. Written test at the end of the course (60 points).

For graduation achievement of at least 65 points is necessary.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2010/EVS433