ZUR402 Mass culture, mass media and society: critical theory of the mass media

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2017
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 10 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Jaromír Volek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Jaromír Volek, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 13:30–15:00 AVC
Prerequisites (in Czech)
ZUR410 Mass communication theory || ZUR110 Mass communication theory
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course provide introduction to basic critical theories of mass culture and mass society (Le Bon, Freud, Adorno, Habermas, Marcuse, Macdonald, Lasch and so on) and the theory of popular culture. The course will focus on problems of television culture too (Gripsrud, Ang). At the end of the course students should be able to: analyze specific nature and the role of new elektronic technologies in modern society (Benjamin, Innis, Mc Luhan, Flusser, Baudrillard). Course outline: introduction to concept of mass culture/ crowd from the psychoanalytical point of view/ frankfurt school and cultural industry/ midcult vs. mass cult/ electronic technologies and extension of man/ reality and its simulation/ soap opera as typical product of popular culture. Main objectives can be summarized as follows: A/ to understand the basic teachings of critical theories B/ to apply different "methods" of critical theories to different types of popular culture and media
Syllabus
  • 1. Critical theory of media: basic definition 2. Mass culture vs. popular culture 3. (Mass) culture as a defensive mechanism 4. Culture of narcissism 5. Narcissism and media 6. Cultural industry I. (Adorno, Horkheimer) 7. Cultural industry II. (Benjamin, Marcuse) 8. Ideology, hegemony, contrahegemony and mass media 9. Media and structural transformations of public sphere 10. Technological determinism: medium is the message 11. Simulation and simulacra 12. Hyperreality 13. Post-critical perspective: unanticipated consequences of informatization of risk society
Literature
  • Fiske, J.: Understanding popular culture. Routledge 1989
  • Eco, U. (1995): Skeptikové a těšitelé. Svoboda.
  • Lasch, Ch. (1979): The Culture of Narcisism. W.W. Norton.
  • * Adorno, T.(1992). Culture Industry. Sage.
  • McLuhan, M. (1991): Jak rozumět médiím. Odeon.
  • Kloskowska, A. (1967): Masová kultura. Svoboda.
Teaching methods
lectures, class discussion, text analysis
Assessment methods
The course comes in the form twelve two hour sessions that involve a combination of lectures and class discussions. Students must be prepared to talk about and critically discuss the material you have read.
Assesment: formal essay 2000 - 2500 words, final written test.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Přednostní právo účasti mají studenti mediálních studií a žurnalistiky i v případě, že se přihlásí později než studenti jiných oborů.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 1999, Autumn 2000, Autumn 2001, Spring 2002, Autumn 2002, Autumn 2003, Autumn 2004, Autumn 2005, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2017, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2017/ZUR402