Democracy, Ideology, and Popular Culture: A Critical Media Literacy Perspective 2100-PK-M-D3DIPC
The aim of the course is to present and practically apply the perspective of Critical Media Literacy (CML) as a tool for in-depth reflection on socio-political phenomena present in popular culture texts and various types of media messages.
Contemporary popular culture and various media messages are crucial elements in shaping social and political communities. Power relations are shaped not only through "classic" means of communication, but increasingly with the participation of "new media." Knowledge of the language of individual media and discerning the ideologies and power relations hidden within these messages constitute the core of the CML perspective. It aims to understand and counteract socially destructive messages in order to protect democracy. During the course, the basic tenets of CML will be discussed in detail and applied to the analysis of selected pop culture texts and media messages.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course the students will:
• be able to identify the basic phenomena and trends in contemporary culture related to political and economic changes, as well as their mediatization;
• be familiar with the basic tenets of Critical Media Literacy and be able to apply them to the analysis of popular culture texts or media messages;
• be able to creatively and critically analyze models of institutional culture, both freely navigating existing systems and, in accordance with their content, supplementing, correcting, and suggesting changes;
• acquire skills enabling independent, in-depth analyses and syntheses of processes occurring in public cultural life in the national and/or international order;
• be proficient in a foreign language at a B2+ level, using terminology appropriate to the disciplines represented in the field of study;
• be able to present the results of their research using modern presentation methods and professional terminology in Polish and a foreign language at a B2+ level;
• be ready for lifelong learning and the development of professional and social qualifications in a changing environment.
Assessment criteria
Two projects / assignments on the Google Classroom platform.
Active participation.
Rules for Using AI Tools
Level 2: Idea and structure generation using AI
Artificial intelligence can be used for things like brainstorming, creating structure, and generating ideas for improving work.
Practical placement
None.
Bibliography
Crick, Bernard. 2002. Democracy: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fiske, John. 1995. Understanding Popular Culture. London-New York: Routledge.
Freeden, Michael. 2003. Ideology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Funk, Steven, Douglas Kellner, and Jeff Share. 2016. “Critical Media Literacy as Transformative Pedagogy.” In Handbook of Research on Media Literacy in the Digital Age, edited by Melda N. Yildiz and Jared Keengwe, 1–30. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Heywood, Andrew. 2021. Political Ideologies: An Introduction. London: Red Globe Press.
Kellner, Douglas, and Jeff Share. 2005. “Toward Critical Media Literacy: Core Concepts, Debates, Organizations, and Policy.” Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 26 (3): 369–386.
Kellner, Douglas, and Jeff Share. 2009. “Critical Media Education and Radical Democracy.” In The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Education, edited by Michael W. Apple, Wayne Au, and Luis Armando Gandin, 281–95. Routledge: New York, London.
Kellner, Douglas, and Jeff Share. 2019. Critical Media Literacy Guide: Engaging Media and Transforming Education. Boston, Leiden: Brill Sense.
Sargent, Lyman Tower. 2009. Contemporary Political Ideologies: A Comparative Analysis. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Miller, Toby, ed. 2015. The Routledge Companion to Global Popular Culture, London & New York: Routledge.
Notes
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Term 2026Z:
The final list of recommended readings will be sent to students after the first class. |