The Influence of New Media on United States Presidential Election Campaigns in the Years 2000-2024 2700-M-IMU-FAK-ANG
Nowadays, the process of shaping political awareness is moving from state and media institutions to the space of network communication, i.e. to the Internet treated as a public information platform, and not one of the classically functioning media. The aim of the subject entitled "The Influence of New Media on United States Presidential Campaigns in the Years 2000-2024" is to analyze American presidential campaigns from this period in the context of the role played in them by modern means of interactive communication, in particular the Internet.
The research presented during the lecture shows that thanks to new communication technologies, particularly the Internet, election campaigns gain a new structural and organizational dimension and additional social drive.
The time frame of the lecture with elements of a seminar was from 2000 to 2024. The description of the beginnings of the development of the Internet in the 20th century was intentionally omitted. The early phase of the development of the Internet, i.e. the 1980s and 1990s, marked by competition for spheres of influence in the network between Netscape and Microsoft, did not result in the US political system in solutions that would be important for conducting an election campaign in the US. The beginning of the new millennium coincided with the development phase of the network, which enabled electoral staffs to use the new communication tool in an interactive manner, which is why the year 2000 and the presidential campaign of the Republican presidential candidate John McCain were adopted as the lower time limit for the lecture.
During a lecture with elements of a conversation using a multimedia presentation, students will learn about the results of international research describing partial elements of the American presidential campaigns from 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024, including: comparative studies of the usability and functionality of the websites of individual candidates from campaign of 2008, or a comparison of solutions in the field of information technology in the 2012 campaign, as well as analyzes regarding, among others: network fundraising, mailing, telephone databases, social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), internet advertising such as search and display, databases and microtargeting.
During the course, students will also have the opportunity to acquire knowledge of the US political and legal system within which the presidential campaign is taking place, as well as the media system within which the so-called traditional media operate, which has so far set communication standards in the election campaign.
The aim of the lecture is to try to determine what impact modern communication technologies had on the shape of presidential campaigns in the United States and which of the analyzed Internet tools and communication techniques were used extensively and which effectively by the candidates' teams, and whether this fact influenced the parameters of the campaign's effectiveness, e.g. the level of funds collected or the number of views of the candidate's website. The second aim of the lecture is to try to answer the question whether the use of network communication coupled with other communication techniques by both the staffs and supporters of individual candidates had an impact on the final electoral result of each of the analyzed candidates
.
The 2019/2020 and 2023/24 campaigns will be characterized using presentations created by student teams. To pass the course, each team of two or three people is responsible for preparing and presenting an analysis of the activity of one of several candidates for the office of the US President in selected social media and assessing the potential impact of these activities on: 1) promoting image of the candidate, 2) activating electorally inactive citizens and recruiting volunteers, 3) collecting funds.
When assessing the presentation, the following will be taken into account: the depth of the analysis conducted in the three indicated layers, the selection of presented examples and the thoroughness and originality of the presentation.
The lecture is conducted using the presentation method with elements of interactive student activation (kahoot application) and elements of discussion. The lecture is accompanied by a multimedia presentation. The analysis of the individual cited studies presented in the form of charts and tables is complemented by screenshots of websites, social networking sites, television advertisements, as well as plays of video materials produced by the candidates' teams, their individual supporters and social organizations. The lecture contains conversational elements - it is interrupted by an exchange of opinions between the lecturer and students on the presented materials.
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
KNOWLEDGE
After finishing the course, the student:
- knows the phases of the US election cycle,
- knows the basics of the US media system,
- knows the most important participants in the American presidential races from 2000-2024,
- is able to describe the chronology of the appearance and characteristics of the operation of subsequent Internet tools in election campaigns in the USA in the years 2000 - 2024,
- knows the meaning of the terms: political marketing, primaries, swing states, Super PACs, Super Tuesday, microtargeting, display/search advertising, fundraising, databases, phone banking and others.
SKILLS
After completing the course, the student:
- is able to independently assess the degree of use and effectiveness of new media in political election campaigns (preparation of presentations),
- is able to define the threats resulting from the accumulation of knowledge about voters obtained by electoral staff via the Internet.
OTHER COMPETENCES
The student is able to use online tools recommended by the lecturer (including the Wayback Machine) to search the Internet for archived content that is unavailable in the current Internet circulation.
Assessment criteria
Teaching methods:
elements of the lecture, discussion, and interactive activation when repeating the material (kahoot application).
Grades - criteria:
- attendance during classes (two absences allowed per semester)
- substantive value of the prepared presentation. Presentations are made public by students during classes at the end of the semester and assessed by the lecturer according to the criteria presented during classes (for more information, see section: Full description of the course).
- activities during classes (e.g. taking part in interactive quizzes - kahoot, participating in discussions during classes, etc.)
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Additional information
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