Information Package

Master's of International Relations with Thesis

PSIR567

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND MEDIA

Course Code
PSIR567
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
10
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelMaster's Degree With Thesis
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS10
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Develop a different perspective and question current events with a different view.
  2. Understand that nothing is at it seems at first glance.
  3. Comprehend that media can become a means of propaganda and power.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsNo recommended optional programme components.
Course DescriptionAccording to Noam Chomsky violence is the tool of dictatorship, whereas media is the tool of democracy. Starting with the discourse which refers to the significance of the media, this course will shed a light on how media is used by politicians and other agenda setters for the construction (constructivism) of the reality. Moreover, in the course, topics such as media and ethics, the responsibilities of media and discrimination will be widely covered.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week What is Communication? What is Media? What is Mass Media?
2nd Week From the First Newspaper to Cyber Media
3rd Week International Relations Theories: Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism
4th Week Media Theories I: "Hypodermic" Model, Functionalism, Conflict Theory
5th Week Media Teories II: Symbolic Interactionism, Moral Panic Theory and Postmodern Theory
6th Week Media Analysis I: Who Says What on Which Channel to Whom with What Effect and Why? Code, Encoding and Decoding
7th Week Media Analysis II: Television News
8th Week Media Analiysis III: "Rally Round the Flag Syndrom" and Media as a Means of Propaganda
9th Week Media Analysis IV: Media as a Means of Resistance
10th Week Media Analysis V: War and Peace in Media
11th Week Case Study I: The 1991 Gulf War and CNN
12th Week Case Study II: The 2003 Iraq Occupation and Al-Jazeera
13th Week Case Study III: Media's Trial with September 11
14th Week Case Study IV: Media's Trial with the Government in Turkey
Recommended or Required ReadingJohn J. Macionis and Ken Plummer: Sociology. A Global Introduction, Third Edition, 2005.
Cynthia Boaz: "War and Foreign Policy Framing in International Media", Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 17, 2005.
Cynthia Boaz: "War and Peace in the Media", Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 17, 2005.
David Miller (ed.) Tell Me Lies: Propaganda and Media Distortion in the Attack on Iraq, London: Pluto Press, 2004.
Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber: Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq, New York: Penguin, 2003.
Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky: Manufacturing Consent, New York: Pantheon, 1988.
Denis McQuail: Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction, 4th edition, 2000.
Edward S. Herman and Robert W. McChesney: The Global Media, 2001.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
  • Presentation
  • Other
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Assignment 3 40
Project 1 30
Total(%) 70
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 70
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 30
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work 14 4 56
Preparation for Final exam 1 52 52
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 3 3
Homework 3 35 105
Project 1 50 50
Total Work Load308
Total Work Load / 30 (h)10.26
ECTS Credit of the Course10
Language of InstructionTurkish
Work Placement(s)No
LO1 LO2 LO3
K1 X X
K2
K3
K4
K5
K6
K7 X X X
K8 X X X