Veidlapa Nr. M-3 (8)

Course Description Status: Approved

Course Description Version: 25/26.R.1.00

Description Period: 2025./26 academic year rudens semestris

Study Course Accepted: -

Study Course Description

Current Trends in Communication Theories and Research Methods

Main Study Course Information

Course Code
DN_201
Branch of Science
Communication Theory; Media and communications
ECTS
6.00
Target Audience
Communication Science; Information and Communication Science
LQF
Level 8
Study Type And Form
Full-Time

Study Course Implementer

Course Supervisor
Sergejs Kruks
Structure Unit Manager
Dace Bandere
Structural Unit
Department of Doctoral Studies
Contacts

Riga, 16 Dzirciema Street, dn@rsu.lv, +371 67409120

About Study Course

Objective

Acquaint students with the latest trends in communication theories and research methodology, promote the integration of new theoretical and methodological knowledge in the development of a doctoral thesis in the relevant sub-field.

Preliminary Knowledge

Courses in philosophy, sociology, quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge

1.After completing the course, the student will be familiar with the theoretical paradigms and research methods of modern communication.

Skills

1.Able to analyze and apply various theoretical paradigms to the research and interpretation of communication phenomena.

Competences

1.Critical evaluation, comparison and development of theoretical paradigms in scholarly publications, dissertation, applied research and public communication with the industry professionals, policy makers and wide audience.

Assessment

Individual work

Title
% from total grade
Grade
1.

Individual work
-
-
Literature analysis and compilation, preparation of presentations, preparation of discussion materials for seminars, individual project. After the end of the study course, fill in the study course assessment questionnaire on the RSU Student Portal.

Examination

Title
% from total grade
Grade
1.

Examination
-
-
Submitted and discussed two essays; independent work.

Study Course Theme Plan

FULL-TIME
Part 1

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Theorectical models of democracy and political communication

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Theorectical models of democracy and political communication

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Deliberative democracy

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Deliberative democracy

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Media systems

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Media systems

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Media effects: Contemporary theories and methodology

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Media effects: Contemporary theories and methodology

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Active audiences, message decoding and feedback

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Active audiences, message decoding and feedback

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Health communication: interpersonal and digital approaches

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Health communication: interpersonal and digital approaches

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Multimodality: theory and research

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Multimodality: theory and research

  1. Lecture

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Language corpus and discourse analysis

  1. Class/Seminar

Modality
Location
Contact hours
On site
Auditorium
2

Topics

Language corpus and discourse analysis
Total ECTS (Creditpoints):
6.00
Contact hours:
32 Academic Hours
Final Examination:
Exam (Written)

Bibliography

Required Reading

1.

Habermas, J. (1992). The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

2.

Habermas, J. (1992). Further Reflections on the Public Sphere. In C. Calhoun (Ed.), Habermas and the Public Sphere (pp. 421–461). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

3.

Rawls, J. (1999). A Theory of Justice (Revised ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

4.

Rawls, J. (2001). Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press.

5.

Rawls, J. (2005). Political Liberalism (Expanded ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.

6.

Oliver, M. B., Raney, A. A., Bryant, J. (eds). (2019). Media Effects. Advances in Theory and Research. London: Routledge.

7.

Jensen, Klaus Bruhn. (2021). A Theory of Communication and Justice. London: Routledge.

8.

Lewis, Belinda and Jeff Lewis. (2015). Health Communication. A Media and Cultural Studies Approach. London: Macmillan.

9.

O'Hair, Dan. (2018). Risk and Health Communication in an Evolving Media Environment. London: Routledge.

10.

Mitu, Bianca and Valentina Marinescu. (eds.) (2016). The Power of the Media in Health Communication. London: Routledge.

11.

Iedema, Rick. (ed) (2007). The Discourse of Hospital Communication. Tracing Complexities in Contemporary Health Care Organizations. London: Palgrave.

12.

Egbert, Jesse and Paul Baker. (2020). Using Corpus Methods to Triangulate Linguistic Analysis. London: Routledge.

13.

Baker, Paul and Tony McEnery. (eds) (2015). Corpora and Discourse Studies. Integrating Discourse and Corpora. London: Palgrave.

14.

Skulte, I., Kozlovs, N. (2018). Depoliticization of the Saeima Debates: Loosing the Gist of ‘Welfare’. In S. Kruk (ed.) Pluralism Anxiety. Riga: RSU.

15.

Kruks, S., Skulte, I. (2016). „Politikas izzušana Saeimas diskursā”, Latvijas Zinātņu akadēmijas Vēstis 3:49-56. (latviešu plūsmai)

16.

Darģis, R., Rābante-Buša, G., Auziņa, I., Kruks,S. (2016). „ParliSearch – a system for large text corpus discourse analysis”. Pp. 115-121 in I. Skadiņa, R. Rozis (eds) Human Language Technologies – The Baltic Perspective. IOS Press.

17.

Van Dijk, T. (2014). Discourse as Knowledge. A Sociocognitive Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

18.

Caple, H., Changpeng, H., Bednarek, M. (2020). Multimodal News Analysis Across Cultures. Cambridge University Press.

19.

Maiorani, Arianna and Christine Christie. (2014). Multimodal Epistemologies Towards an Integrated Framework. London: Routledge.

20.

Zhao, S., Djonov, E., Björkvall, A., Boeriis M. (2017). Advancing Multimodal and Critical Discourse Studies: Interdisciplinary Research Inspired by Theo van Leeuwen’s Social Semiotics. London: Routledge.

21.

Hallin, Daniel C. and Paolo Mancini. (2004). Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Cambridge University Press.

22.

Hallin, Daniel C. and Paolo Mancini. (2012). Comparing Media Systems Beyond the Western World. Cambridge University Press.

23.

Luhmann, Niklas. (2000). The Reality of the Mass Media. Cambridge: Polity Press.

24.

Dimants, Ainars. (2018). Chapter 18. Latvia: Different journalistic cultures and different accountability within one media system. Eberwein, Tobias; Fengler, Susanne; Karmasin, Matthias (eds.). The European Handbook of Media Accountability. London

25.

Ségur, Céline. (2020). French Perspectives on Media, Participation and Audiences. Palgrave Macmillan.

26.

Wissenburg, Marcel. (2009). Political Pluralism and the State Beyond Sovereignty. London: Routledge.

27.

Christians, Clifford G., Glasser, Theodore L., et.al. (2009). Normative Theories of the Media. Chicago: University of Illinois press.

28.

Müller, Julian F. (2019). Political Pluralism, Disagreement and Justice. The Case for Polycentric Democracy. London: Routledge.

Additional Reading

1.

Bass, Sarah and Parvanta, Claudia F. (2020). Health communication strategies and skills for a new era. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

2.

Thompson, Teresa L. and Nancy Grant Harrington. (2022). The Routledge Handbook of Health Communication. 3rd ed. London: Routledge.

3.

Islentyeva, Anna. (2020). Corpus-Based Analysis of Ideological Bias: Migration in the British Press. London: Routledge.

4.

Friginal, Eric and Jack A. Hardy (eds.) (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Approaches to Discourse Analysis. London: Routledge.

5.

Benson, Phil. (2017). The Discourse Of YouTube. Multimodal Text In A Global Context. London: Routledge.

6.

Wildfeuer, Janina. (2013). Film Discourse Interpretation. Towards a New Paradigm for Multimodal Film Analysis. London: Routledge.

7.

Van Leeuwen, Theo. (2005). Introducing Social Semiotics. London: Routledge.

8.

Dimants, Ainars. (2019). Konkurrierende journalistische Kulturen: Gehört das Mediensystem Lettlands zum Klientel-Modell? Publizistik, 64, 2, 241–253.

9.

Siebert, Fred S., Peterson, T., Schramm, W. (1956). Four Theories of The Press. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

10.

Rožukalne, Anda. (2013). Kam pieder Latvijas mediji?: Monogrāfija par Latvijas mediju sistēmu un ietekmīgākajiem mediju īpašniekiem. Rīga: Zinātne. (latviešu plūsmai)

11.

Kruks, Sergejs. (2007). Daugavpils masu mediju sistēma. Daugavpils kā attīstības ceļvedis. Rīga: Zinātne, 86–99. (latviešu plūsmai)

12.

Brikše, Inta. (2016). Latvijas mediji: izaicinājumi, ieguvumi un draudi (1987–2002). Brikše, I. Komunikācija. // Mediji. Universitāte. Rīga: Mansards, 64–86. (latviešu plūsmai)

13.

Press, Andrea L., Tripodi. F. (2021). Media-Ready Feminism and Everyday Sexism. How US Audiences Create Meaning Across Platforms. New York: State University of New York.

14.

Habermas, J. (1986). The Theory of Communicative Action (Vol. 1). Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

15.

Weisser, Martin. (2016). Practical Corpus Linguistics. An Introduction to Corpus-Based Language Analysis. Oxford: Wiley.

16.

Habermas, J. (1998). The Theory of Communicative Action (Vol. 2). Cambridge: Polity Press.