Teaching
Overview of Courses for the Summer Semester 2024
BA Courses
BA S1 I: Lecture on Media Research and Media Practice: Press Freedom in Europe
In 2023, more journalists than ever before were imprisoned or killed, according to the NGO "Reporters Without Borders" in their annual report. Wars and crises have further exacerbated the situation. The freedom of the media is extremely endangered worldwide, with the situation in Europe having dramatically worsened.
In this lecture, we will examine the legal, economic, and cultural foundations of press freedom, as well as the Press Freedom Index and the criteria for assessing the current state. We will also discuss criteria for analyzing and typifying media systems in an international comparison, focusing on countries such as Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Turkey, Austria, and Germany. Esteemed journalists, some of whom are in exile because they can no longer practice their profession in their home countries, will be guest speakers and report on the situation in these countries.
The lecture is based on a collaboration between the Institute of Media Studies and the journalist, political scientist, and chief reporter of the Viennese weekly newspaper "Falter," Nina Horaczek, who has been actively fighting for press and freedom of expression for many years.
BA F1: Seminar: Media Theory, Course X: Theories of Publicness: Digitalization and Protest
In this seminar, we explore different conceptions of publicness and discuss classical and current literature on media, public spheres, and democracy. We will also examine articulations of protest and their media resonance, using historical and contemporary examples to experience public opinion and test theories about the transformative power of digitalization and the "new structural transformation of the public sphere."
Introduction to Media Research Methods Courses A + B: The Platformization of Intimacy: Researching Online Dating with Qualitative Methods.
This seminar provides an in-depth look at the foundations, subject areas, characteristics, and quality criteria of qualitative (so-called non-standardized) research methodology. Through mandatory readings, students will learn the theoretical foundations of qualitative social research and apply this knowledge in a media studies research project. The focus of this seminar is on qualitative guided interviews as a data collection method and structuring qualitative content analysis as an evaluation and analysis method.
The goal of the seminar is for students to explore a research field in group work and to plan and realize their own media studies study with the appropriate methodology. According to the theoretical assumptions, a research question will be developed, and data collection, interpretation, and presentation of the results will be conducted. We will use the software MAXQDA for implementation. The seminar deals with the current challenges of digitally supported dating or matchmaking platforms.
Media Analysis and Analytical Methods (Exercise): Quantitative Content Analysis
The quantitative content analysis is an established method in media and communication studies. It aims to provide a systematic, intersubjectively comprehensible description of the content and formal features of messages. The seminar includes an introduction to this method and its statistical analysis. The empirical research process will be demonstrated and practiced independently (in project teams) using an original research project. The specific topic of the project will be announced in the first session. Skills in scientific working (literature research, handling sources, citing, etc.) are prerequisites. Basic knowledge of statistics (descriptive, inductive) and the independent application of empirical methods, targeted data analysis, and clear presentation of results are skills that will be taught in the seminar.
MA Courses
Master's Colloquium Participants develop ideas for their master's thesis in exchange with each other. It involves clarifying what constitutes a media studies-relevant topic that can be addressed within a limited timeframe, what theories and methods are useful, how the work should be structured, and what literature should be considered in what form. Participants report on their progress throughout the semester and receive feedback from the group and the seminar leader. The goal is to present a detailed exposé including a timeline or individual chapters of the thesis by the end of the semester. Participants also receive information about the process from registration to submission of the thesis and learn to assess the situation of the "oral exam."
M5-II Publicness and Responsibility I: Forms and Practices of Media Responsibility
M5-II.1 Theoretical Foundations
M5.II.2 Case Studies and Methods
Media – Stereotypes – (Anti-)Discrimination
The accusation of discriminatory reporting is directed against all types of media. Laws, ethical codes, and self-commitment declarations specify which rules apply. Nonetheless, it is also necessary to continually clarify in societal discourse which types of reporting and advertising are discriminatory for whom and why, and how racism, sexism, classism, etc., are manifested. In this course, we engage with approaches and theories of stereotype and prejudice research, as well as media legal and ethical foundations. We will discuss practical examples to determine where the boundaries lie between discriminatory and non-discriminatory reporting. The issue of who raises accusations of "cancel culture," "political correctness," or "lack of humor" and why, is also up for debate.