6 ECTS credits
152 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4019902EER for all students in the 1st semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Possible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
English
Faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
Department
Communication Sciences
Educational team
Benjamin De Cleen (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
24 contact hours Lecture
128 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

This course provides students with the concepts and theories to understand and critically reflect on the relations between journalism, politics and ideology.
It covers:

  1. the relations between journalism and media and the field of politics,
  2. the broader political-ideological dimensions of journalism and media,
  3. ideologies of journalism – reflecting on how different journalistic models, values, and identities impact on the relations between journalism, politics and ideology.

The course is structured around seminars with discussion of academic literature and application of concepts to current topics.

Course material
Digital course material (Required) : Advanced Theoretical Debates: Journalism, Politics and Ideology, Reader, Canvas
Additional info

Teaching Methods

  • Lecture: collective contact-dependent moments during which the lecturer engages with learning materials
  • Seminar, Exercises or Practicals (Practical): collective or individual contact-dependent moments during which the students are guided to actively engage with learning materials
  • Independent or External Form of Study (Self): independent study

This description of the teaching methods is indicative, in order to assess the expected study load.

  • Practical: 24 hours (12 seminars of 2 hours)
  • Self: 128 hours
    • preparatory reading seminars, amounting to 4 hours per seminar: 48 hours (12 x 4 hours)
    • 2 short individual essays, amounting to 16 hours (2 days) per essay:  32 hours (2 x 16 hours)
    • preparation exam:  48 hours (6 days of 8 hours)
Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

After having followed this course, students should:

  • have an understanding of the political and ideological dimensions of journalism and media
  • understand and be able to use the concepts used to reflect on the political and ideological dimensions of journalism and media
  • be able to communicate their critical and academically argued reflections in a written and oral manner

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 60% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 40% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Mondeling Examen with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 60% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Individuele papers with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 40% of the final mark.

    Note: 2 papers voor elk 20% van het eindtotaal

Additional info regarding evaluation

The grade for the class is made up of two components:

  • Oral exam: Two questions based on reader and seminars (60% of the total grade)
  • Two individual papers for 20% each (40% of the total grade)

You need to participate in the exam and submit the two essays to be able to pass. Not participating in one of the components (exam and or paper(s)) implies an 'absence' for the entire course.

The distribution of grades remains identical in the second session.

The general principle for the second session is: if you failed for the course in its totality, you retake all of the parts you did not pass. In the second session too, you need to participate in the exam and the two essays to be able to pass. Not participating in one of the components (exam and or essay(s)) implies an 'absence' for the entire course.

In a bit more detail:

  • Oral exam first session not passed or not participated: Oral exam second session (same set-up for exam as first session: Two questions based on reader and seminars)
  • Paper(s) not passed or not participated: (re)submit one or two failed/not participated papers(s)

If you need to participate in the second session, but scored minimum 10/20 for one of the three parts of the evaluation, the partial result of the part(s) of the evaluation you scored minimum 10/20 for (written assignment 1, written assignment 2, and/or the oral exam) is transferred to the second session. If you wish to retake that part(s) you scored minimum 10/20 for in the second session, you need to send an e-mail to bdecleen@vub.be within five days after the publication of the exam results. In case you retake that part in the second session, your first session result is cancelled and the second session result becomes the official result (even if it is lower than the first session result).
If you need to retake the course in the next year, the same rules apply. Partial results from 10/20 (for assignment(s) or oral exam) are transferred to the next academic year. If you want to retake a part, you need to request this before the end of October by mail to bdecleen@vub.be.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Communication Studies: Journalism and Media in Europe