ZURn4105 History of Media in the Era of Modernity

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Pavel Večeřa, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Pavel Večeřa, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Boris Rafailov, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 16:00–17:40 U42; and Thu 25. 9. 18:00–19:40 U42, Thu 2. 10. 18:00–19:40 U42, Thu 9. 10. 18:00–19:40 U42, Thu 11. 12. 18:00–19:40 U42
Prerequisites (in Czech)
TYP_STUDIA(MN)
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course History of Media in the Era of Modernity is to familiarize listeners with the development of media from the late 18th century to the end of the 20th century. The focus will be primarily on key countries of the Euro-American civilizational space (Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany).
The course situates the development of media within the context of socioeconomic, political, cultural, as well as transport and communication changes related to the transition from traditional to modern society and to the processes of the first and second industrial revolutions. In the context of the 'long 19th century,' it concentrates on printed media, particularly newspapers, but also does not overlook magazine production. Since their inception, attention has also been paid to radio and television. The course examines the technological prerequisites, economic conditions, information sources, forms of control and regulation of media, and the development of the journalism profession. It deals with the circulation, longevity, periodicity, content, form, structure, costs, and audience of newspapers and magazines, as well as the reflection on the phenomenon of printed media. In the context of broadcasting media, it focuses mainly on their structure and media production.
The course is planned as sixteen two-hour lectures in the form of lectures.
Learning outcomes
Students will:
- be oriented in the history of modern-day communication
- be orientated in the media history of the modern era
- understand the origin of modernity in communication and media contexts
- be able analyze the source by the optics of communication and media history
Syllabus
  • 1. Introductory lesson
  • 2. Population explosion, urbanization, literacy
  • 3. Industrialization and commodification
  • 4. Democratization and the emergence of the modern nation-state. The rise of mass culture
  • 5. Development of communication. Technological and economic basis of media
  • 6. Power and media: regulation and control of print media in the "long 19th century"
  • 7. Development of the journalist profession in the "long 19th century"
  • 8. General characteristics of newspapers in the "long 19th century"
  • 9.-10. Development of newspapers in the "long 19th century" I-II
  • 11. Development of magazines in the "long 19th century"
  • 12. Characteristics of the interwar period. Communication and media between the wars
  • 13. Print media between the wars
  • 14. Radio broadcasting between the wars
  • 15. Print media in the post-war period
  • 16. Broadcasting media in the post-war period
Literature
    required literature
  • VEČEŘA, Pavel. Úvod do dějin tištěných médií (Introduction to the History of the Print Media). Praha: Grada Publishing, 2015, 272 pp. první vydání. ISBN 978-80-247-4178-9. info
  • BRIGGS, Asa and Peter BURKE. A social history of the media : from Gutenberg to the Internet. 3rd ed. Malden, Mass.: Polity, 2009, viii, 346. ISBN 9780745644950. info
  • KÖPPLOVÁ, Barbora and Ladislav KÖPPL. Dějiny světové žurnalistiky. 1, Celý svět je v novinách. Vyd. 1. Praha: Novinář, 1989, 332 s. : i. info
  • PROKOP, Dieter. Boj o média : dějiny nového kritického myšlení o médiích. Translated by Barbara Köpplová - Monika Loderová. 1. čes. vyd. Praha: Karolinum, 2005, 409 s. ISBN 8024606186. info
  • KOVARIK, Bill. Revolutions in communication : media history from Gutenberg to the digital age. 2nd edition. New York: Bloomsbury, 2016, ix, 470. ISBN 9781628924787. info
  • CHAPMAN, Jane. Comparative media history : an introduction : 1789 to the present. Cambridge: Polity, 2005, xii, 302. ISBN 9780745632438. info
  • STÖBER, Rudolf. Mediengeschichte : die Evolution "neuer" Medien von Gutenberg bis Gates : eine Einführung. 1. Aufl. Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag, 2003, 280 s. ISBN 3531140477. info
Teaching methods
lecture, reading
Assessment methods
Oral examination (in exceptional circumstances, e.g. due to epidemiological threat, as well as online oral examination).
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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