6 ECTS credits
154 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4019913FNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester
2nd semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
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
2 contact hours Lecture
24 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
128 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

This course focuses on populist and radical political discourses in Europe. Drawing on different perspectives in communication and political theory and discourse studies it provides the concepts to understand and study populist and radical political discourses, as well as the ways in which mainstream political voices discuss such politics. A thorough discussion of theories of and perspectives on populism is put to use in the analysis of different kinds of populist politics, especially the populist radical right and left-wing populisms in Europe.

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:

  • Lecture: 2 hours (introductory lecture)
  • Seminar, exercises or practicals: 24 hours
    • discussion of academic texts and/or analysis of empirical cases using conceptual frameworks (12 x 2 hours)

Self: 128 hours

  • preparatory reading seminars, amounting to 4 hours per seminar: 48 hours (12 x 4 hours)
  • individual essay (including extra reading for essay):  48 hours
  • preparation exam:  32 hours (4 days of 8 hours)
Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

After having followed the course, students:

  • have insight into different theories and definitions of populism
  • have insight into the relation between populism and nationalism
  • understand the role of media and communication in populist politics
  • are able to use these theorizations to analyse and understand populist politics and media coverage of populist politics

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
Practical Exam determines 50% of the final mark.

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

  • Oral Exam with a relative weight of 50 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

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

  • Essay with a relative weight of 50 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

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

  • Open book oral exam with two questions: one more purely theoretical and one applying concepts to a case (50%).
  • Individual written assignment: essay on populist politics (50%)  

You need to participate in the exam and submit the essay to be able to pass. Not participating in one of the components (exam and or essay) 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 need to retake all of the parts you did not pass. Not (re-)taking one of the components you did not take or pass in the first session 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 exam as first session: Two questions based on reader and seminars);
  • Essay not passed or not submitted: (re)submit essay in second session.

If you need to participate in the second session, but scored minimum 10/20 for one of the two parts of the evaluation, the partial result of the part of the evaluation you scored minimum 10/20 for (the written assignment or the oral exam) is transferred to the second session. If you wish to retake that part 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 or oral exam) are transferred to the next academic year. If you want to retake that part, you need to request this before the end of February (of the year in which you retake the course) 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: Media, Journalism and Politics (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Political Science: Democracy and Leadership (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Communication Studies: Journalism and Media in Europe