Course description
This course will introduce students to the main topics and research methods in political
communication. The course is structured in three main blocks:
1. Studying actors in political communication: media, politicians, political groups (Sessions 2-4). This section will examine these actors’ strategic communications and introduce students to the qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches used for their
study.
2. Studying messages in political communication (Sessions 5-9).
This section will examine the main theoretical approaches to understanding news reports and persuasive messages, and introduce students to qualitative and quantitative
methods of content analysis.
3. Studying political communication effects (Sessions 10-12).
This section will give an overview of communication effects and of the tools used to
study them (surveys and experiments).
Course objectives
The course will give students a solid set of theoretical tools to understand current political communication as well as the ability to analyze it. It will also give them an opportunity to critically engage with current issues in political communication, such as populist communication, disinformation, and the phenomenon of fake news. Students will also have the opportunity to become familiar with communication in several countries, through case studies.
Long individual essay
Students should prepare an essay on one of the following topics:
1. Despite the advent of the new media over the last years, politicians and journalists still control the public’s agenda
2. When it comes to detecting bias in media coverage, some methodological approaches are better than others
3. The public would think differently about [INSERT TOPIC OF CHOICE], if only the media and politicians would change their discourse on this topic
The essay should approach the statement in a critical manner. It should formulate a position (e.g., fully agree with the statement, fully disagree, partially agree/disagree) and defend it with reference to published academic research. Each essay should cite at least 7 research articles to support the chosen position on the statement. When using a source, students should discuss not only the conclusions, but also the methodology used by the authors. Students are encouraged to focus on a public opinion topic they are interested in, rather than discuss the statement in general terms. Students are also encouraged to discuss their choice of topic and essay plan with the instructor at their earliest convenience.
Essays should be about 4300 words, not including the reference list.
Below reading available at the following links:
(links will be sent to the assigned writer)
| 12.04 | Session 1: Introduction |
| Block 1: The political communication actors | |
| 19.04 | Session 2: Political communication actors in context, an overview |
| 26.04 | Session 3: Studying political communication actors: Qualitative approaches |
| 03.05 | Session 4: Studying political communication actors: Quantitative approaches |
| Block #2: Media content | |
| 10.05 | Session 5: Media content analysis, an overview |
| 17.05 | Session 6: Media content analysis: Qualitative approaches |
| 31.05 | Session 7: Media content analysis: Quantitative approaches (1) |
| 07.06 | Session 8: Media content analysis: Quantitative approaches (2) |
| 14.06 | Session 9: Media content analysis: Visuals |
| Block #3: Political communication effects | |
| 21.06 | Session 10: Political communication effects, an overview |
| 28.06 | Session 11: Political communication effects: Survey approaches |
| 05.07 | Session 12: Political communication effects: Experimental studies (1) |
| 12.07 | Session 13: Political communication effects: Experimental studies (2) |
| 19.07 | Session 14: Conclusions and future directions |
Session 1: Introduction
Optional readings
Reinemann, C. (Ed.). (2014). Political communication (Vol. 18). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. CHAPTER 1
Jamieson, K. H., & Kenski, K. (2017). Then, Now, and Beyond. The Oxford handbook of political communication.
*Bucy, E. P., & Holbert, R. L. (Eds.). (2014). Sourcebook for political communication research: Methods, measures, and analytical techniques. Routledge. CHAPTER 1
Block #1: The political communication actors
Session 2: Political communication actors in context, an overview
Compulsory readings
*Hanitzsch, T., & Örnebring, H. (2019). Professionalism, professional identity, and journalistic roles. The handbook of journalism studies
Reinemann, C. (Ed.). (2014). Political communication (Vol. 18). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. CHAPTER 6
*Chadwick, A., Dennis, J., & Smith, A. (2016). Politics in the age of hybrid media. The Routledge companion to social media and politics, 7-22.
Optional readings
*Vos, T. P. (2019). Journalists as gatekeepers. The handbook of journalism studies.
Holtz-Bacha, C., Langer, A. I., & Merkle, S. (2014). The personalization of politics in comparative perspective: Campaign coverage in Germany and the United Kingdom. European Journal of Communication, 29(2), 153-170.
*Chadwick, A. (2017). The hybrid media system: Politics and power. Oxford University Press. Chapters 2,3,4
Session 3: Studying political communication actors: Qualitative approaches
Compulsory readings
Method
Berry, J. M. (2002). Validity and reliability issues in elite interviewing. PS: Political Science and Politics, 35(4), 679-682.
Leech, B. L. (2002). Asking questions: Techniques for semistructured interviews. PS: Political science and politics, 35(4), 665-668.
Empirical examples
Parmelee, J. H. (2013). Political journalists and Twitter: Influences on norms and practices. Journal of Media Practice, 14(4), 291-305.
Andén-Papadopoulos, K., & Pantti, M. (2013). Re-imagining crisis reporting: Professional ideology of journalists and citizen eyewitness images. Journalism, 14(7), 960-977.
Optional readings
Herzog, C., & Ali, C. (2015). Elite interviewing in media and communications policy research. International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 11(1), 37-54.
Ferrucci, P. (2020). It is in the numbers: How market orientation impacts journalists’ use of news metrics. Journalism, 21(2), 244-261.
Session 4: Studying political communication actors: Quantitative approaches
Compulsory readings
Method
*Maurer, P., & Vähämaa, M. (2014). Methods and Challenges of Comparative Surveys of Political Communication Elites. In Political Communication Cultures in Europe (pp. 57-75). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Empirical examples
Maurer, P. (2019). In the grip of politics? How political journalists in France and Germany perceive political influence on their work. Journalism, 20(9), 1242-1259.
Karlsen, R., & Enjolras, B. (2016). Styles of social media campaigning and influence in a hybrid political communication system: Linking candidate survey data with Twitter data. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 21(3), 338-357.
Optional readings
Van Dalen, A., Albæk, E., & de Vreese, C. (2011). Suspicious minds: Explaining political cynicism among political journalists in Europe. European Journal of Communication, 26(2), 147-162.
Block #2: Media content
Session 5: Media content analysis, an overview
Compulsory readings
Weaver, D. H., & Choi, J. (2017). The Media Agenda. The Oxford handbook of political communication, 359.
*Baden, C., Wahl-Jorgensen, K., & Hanitzsch, T. (2019). Framing the news. The Handbook of Journalism Studies.
Optional readings
*O’Neill, D., & Harcup, T. (2019). News values and news selection. Handbook of journalism studies, 213-228.
Lichter, S. R. (2017). Theories of media bias. The Oxford handbook of political communication, 403.
Session 6: Media content analysis: Qualitative approaches
Compulsory readings
Method
*Reese, S. D. (2010). Finding frames in a web of culture. Doing news framing analysis: Empirical and theoretical perspectives, 17-42.
Empirical examples
Perron, C. (2020). Reimagining German identity through the politics of history: changing interpretations of German past migrations during the ‘Refugee crisis’, 2015/2016. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1-17.
Hadj Abdou, L. (2020). ‘Push or pull’? Framing immigration in times of crisis in the European Union and the United States. Journal of European Integration, 42(5), 643-658.
Optional readings
*Van Gorp, B. (2010). Strategies to take subjectivity out of framing analysis. Doing news framing analysis: Empirical and theoretical perspectives, 84-109.
Session 7: Media content analysis: Quantitative approaches (1)
Compulsory readings
Method
Semetko, H. A., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2000). Framing European politics: A content analysis of press and television news. Journal of communication, 50(2), 93-109.
Matthes, J., & Kohring, M. (2008). The content analysis of media frames: Toward improving reliability and validity. Journal of communication, 58(2), 258-279.
Empirical examples
Famulari, U. (2020). Framing the Trump Administration’s “Zero Tolerance” Policy: A Quantitative Content Analysis of News Stories and Visuals in US News Websites. Journalism Studies, 21(16), 2267-2284. (focus on the text analysis)
Kroon, A. C., Kluknavska, A., Vliegenthart, R., & Boomgaarden, H. G. (2016). Victims or perpetrators? Explaining media framing of Roma across Europe. European Journal of Communication, 31(4), 375-392.
Optional readings
Matthes, J. (2009). What’s in a frame? A content analysis of media framing studies in the world’s leading communication journals, 1990-2005. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 86(2), 349-367.
Session 8: Media content analysis: Quantitative approaches (2)
Compulsory readings
Method
*Petchler, R., & González-Bailon, S. (2015). Automated content analysis of online political communication. In Handbook of digital politics. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Empirical examples
Boynton, G. R., & Richardson Jr, G. W. (2016). Agenda setting in the twenty-first century. New Media & Society, 18(9), 1916-1934.
Lind, F., & Meltzer, C. E. (2020). Now you see me, now you don’t: applying automated content analysis to track migrant women’s salience in German news. Feminist Media Studies, 1-18.
Optional readings
Kitchin, R. (2014). Big Data, new epistemologies and paradigm shifts. Big data & society, 1(1), 2053951714528481.
Boumans, J. W., & Trilling, D. (2016). Taking stock of the toolkit: An overview of relevant automated content analysis approaches and techniques for digital journalism scholars. Digital journalism, 4(1), 8-23.
*Benkler, Y., Faris, R., & Roberts, H. (2018). Network propaganda: Manipulation, disinformation, and radicalization in American politics. Oxford University Press. CHAPTERS 1-3.
Blinder, S., & Allen, W. L. (2016). Constructing immigrants: Portrayals of migrant groups in British national newspapers, 2010–2012. International Migration Review, 50(1), 3-40.
Session 9: Media content analysis: Visuals
Compulsory readings
Method
Rodriguez, L., & Dimitrova, D. V. (2011). The levels of visual framing. Journal of visual literacy, 30(1), 48-65.
Joo, J., Bucy, E. P., & Seidel, C. (2019). Automated Coding of Televised Leader Displays: Detecting Nonverbal Political Behavior With Computer Vision and Deep Learning. International Journal of Communication (19328036), 13.
Empirical examples
Greenwood, K., & Thomson, T. J. (2020). Framing the migration: A study of news photographs showing people fleeing war and persecution. International communication gazette, 82(2), 140-163.
Peng, Y. (2018). Same candidates, different faces: Uncovering media bias in visual portrayals of presidential candidates with computer vision. Journal of Communication, 68(5), 920-941.
Optional readings
Dumitrescu, D. (2010). Know me, love me, fear me: The anatomy of candidate poster designs in the 2007 French legislative elections. Political Communication, 27(1), 20-43.
Peng, Y. (2020). What Makes Politicians’ Instagram Posts Popular? Analyzing Social Media Strategies of Candidates and Office Holders with Computer Vision. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 1940161220964769.
Farkas, X., & Bene, M. (2021). Images, Politicians, and Social Media: Patterns and Effects of Politicians’ Image-based Political Communication Strategies on Social Media. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 26(1), 119-142.
Block #3: Political communication effects
Session 10: Political communication effects, an overview
Compulsory readings
*Valentino, N. A., & Nardis, Y. (2013). Political communication: Form and consequence of the information environment.
Optional readings
Bennett, W. L., & Iyengar, S. (2008). A new era of minimal effects? The changing foundations of political communication. Journal of communication, 58(4), 707-731.
Holbert, R. L., Garrett, R. K., & Gleason, L. S. (2010). A new era of minimal effects? A response to Bennett and Iyengar. Journal of communication, 60(1), 15-34.
Bennett, W. L., & Iyengar, S. (2010). The shifting foundations of political communication: Responding to a defense of the media effects paradigm. Journal of Communication, 60(1), 35-39.
Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J., & Walther, J. B. (2016). Media effects: Theory and research. Annual review of psychology, 67, 315-338.
Session 11: Political communication effects: Survey approaches
Compulsory readings
Method
*Eveland Jr, W. P., & Morey, A. C. (2011). Challenges and opportunities of panel designs. In Sourcebook for Political Communication Research: Methods, Measures, and Analytical Techniques
Empirical examples
Dimitrova, D. V., Shehata, A., Strömbäck, J., & Nord, L. W. (2014). The effects of digital media on political knowledge and participation in election campaigns: Evidence from panel data. Communication research, 41(1), 95-118.
Wirz, D. S., Wettstein, M., Schulz, A., Müller, P., Schemer, C., Ernst, N., … & Wirth, W. (2018). The effects of right-wing populist communication on emotions and cognitions toward immigrants. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 23(4), 496-516.
Optional readings
*Kenski, K., Gottfried, J. A., & Jamieson, K. H. (2011). The rolling cross-section: Design and utility for political research. In Sourcebook for Political Communication Research: Methods, Measures, and Analytical Techniques
*Hoffman, L. H., & Young, D. G. (2011). Political Communication Survey Research: Challenges, Trends, and Opportunities. In Sourcebook for Political Communication Research: Methods, Measures, and Analytical Techniques
Geers, S., & Bos, L. (2017). Priming issues, party visibility, and party evaluations: The impact on vote switching. Political Communication, 34(3), 344-366.
Müller, P., Schemer, C., Wettstein, M., Schulz, A., Wirz, D. S., Engesser, S., & Wirth, W. (2017). The polarizing impact of news coverage on populist attitudes in the public: Evidence from a panel study in four European democracies. Journal of Communication, 67(6), 968-992.
Boulianne, S. (2020). Twenty years of digital media effects on civic and political participation. Communication research, 47(7), 947-966.
van Erkel, P. F., & Van Aelst, P. (2020). Why don’t we learn from social media? Studying effects of and mechanisms behind social media news use on general surveillance political knowledge. Political Communication, 1-19.
Session 12: Political communication effects: Experimental studies (1)
Compulsory readings
Method
Mullinix, K. J., Leeper, T. J., Druckman, J. N., & Freese, J. (2015). The generalizability of survey experiments. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 2(2), 109-138.
Empirical examples
Hameleers, M., Powell, T. E., Van Der Meer, T. G., & Bos, L. (2020). A picture paints a thousand lies? The effects and mechanisms of multimodal disinformation and rebuttals disseminated via social media. Political Communication, 37(2), 281-301.
Thorson, E. (2016). Belief echoes: The persistent effects of corrected misinformation. Political Communication, 33(3), 460-480.
Optional readings
*Iyengar, S. (2010). Experimental designs for political communication research. Sourcebook for political communication research: Methods, measures, and analytical techniques, 129-48.
Chong, D., & Druckman, J. N. (2010). Dynamic public opinion: Communication effects over time. American Political Science Review, 663-680.
Nassar, Rita. “Framing Refugees: The Impact of Religious Frames on US Partisans and Consumers of Cable News Media.” Political communication 37, no. 5 (2020): 593-611.
Session 13: Political communication effects: Experimental studies (2)
Compulsory readings
Method
*Gerber, A. (2011). Field experiments in political science. Handbook of Experimental Political Science, 115-40.
Empirical examples
Broockman, D. E., & Butler, D. M. (2017). The causal effects of elite position‐taking on voter attitudes: Field experiments with elite communication. American Journal of Political Science, 61(1), 208-221.
Bail, C. A., Argyle, L. P., Brown, T. W., Bumpus, J. P., Chen, H., Hunzaker, M. F., … & Volfovsky, A. (2018). Exposure to opposing views on social media can increase political polarization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(37), 9216-9221.
Optional readings
Gerber, A. S., Gimpel, J. G., Green, D. P., & Shaw, D. R. (2011). How large and long-lasting are the persuasive effects of televised campaign ads? Results from a randomized field experiment. American Political Science Review, 135-150.
Session 14: Conclusion and future directions
Optional readings
*Nielsen, R. K. (2014). Political communication research: New media, new challenges, and new opportunities. MedieKultur: Journal of media and communication research, 30(56), p. 18
