POLS232-25S1 (D) Semester One 2025 (Distance)

Media and Politics

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 17 February 2025
End Date: Sunday, 22 June 2025
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 2 March 2025
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 11 May 2025

Description

The course provides an understanding of the role of the media in domestic and international politics. It does this by analysing key theoretical assumptions and debates on the role of media institutions in the struggle for power domestically and internationally. This course includes group work and requires active in-class engagement. It has on-campus and distance options. It features internationally-recognised top experts in the field of political communication as our guest speakers. Research, critical debate, collaborative work, networking, creativity, writing and presentation are among the core skills this course aims to advance.

Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of this course, students should be able to:
  • Explain how journalists and the media industry report politics
  • Understand how political actors attempt to use the media
  • Comprehend the influences the flows of political communication have on their discipline
  • Argue a position on media’s power in politics and public opinion formation
  • Describe media’s role in democracy and democratic processes such as elections
  • Elaborate on how propaganda works and its effectiveness
  • Apply analytical and critical thinking and problem-solving skills in diverse contexts
  • Gain greater knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms behind strategic influence of
           political communication, domestically and internationally
  • Develop competence in engaging with global and multi-cultural contexts of political
           communication from a research-informed analytical standpoint
  • Gain better understanding of traditional and contemporary realities of NZ’s society through
           political communication of and by NZ towards international partners.
  • Enhance research capacities through individual and group research and train in methods
           specifically relevant to studying political communication

Prerequisites

Any 15 points at 100 level from COMS or POLS, or
any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA, or
LAWS, GEOG, or
the Schedule V of the BCom.

Restrictions

Equivalent Courses

Course Coordinator

Natalia Chaban

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Quiz 15% Quiz Opens Closes Quiz 1 5 March, 5pm 10 March, 11:59pm Quiz 2 19 March, 5pm 24 March, 11:59pm Quiz 3 1 April, 5pm 11 April, 11:59 Quiz 4 7 May, 5pm 12 May, 11:59pm Quiz 5 21 May, 5pm 26 May, 11:59 Bonus of up to 5% for active tutorial participation/contribution
Forum 10% One forum post (8%): by 22 March, 11:59pm A follow up question (2%): 18 April, 11:59pm NB: post that attracts most questions gets 3% added to the final grade Bonus of up to 5% for active tutorial participation/contribution
Group case study 40% Group presentation recorded on video (10%): submitted by 1 April, 11:59pm Group written report (30%): 9 May, 11:59pm Bonus of up to 5% for active tutorial participation/contribution
Essay 20 Jun 2021 35% Bonus of up to 5% for active tutorial participation/contribution

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $894.00

International fee $4,100.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Language, Social and Political Sciences .

All POLS232 Occurrences

  • POLS232-25S1 (C) Semester One 2025
  • POLS232-25S1 (D) Semester One 2025 (Distance)
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