Communication

Contradicting is a fundamental practice in journalism’s construction of reality. This ranges from showing “both sides of a story” to making contradictions themselves newsworthy. Yet, in a media environment where multiple competing claims exist side-by-side, how do journalists adjudicate between contradicting statements and sources? And how does journalism itself become an object of contradiction in this environment? This seminar tackles these questions by combining praxeological theoretical approaches with research on journalistic epistemology. First, the course discusses the key concepts and theories of contradicting as they relate to journalism as an institution of knowledge production. Building on this theoretical foundation, students analyze how journalism navigates contradiction in two ways: first, how it manages contradicting claims in its coverage, and second, how it responds when its reporting is contradicted by outside sources. For this, students analyze self-selected examples of journalistic reporting to apply these theoretical frameworks to concrete examples. By the end of the seminar, students are able to formulate a concise research question and critically analyze journalistic content.

This course aims to enable learners to comprehensively and systematically master the theories and methods of news analysis, and to understand the Party and government's policies and current affairs through the analysis of news articles. It also aims to deepen their understanding of the professional connotations of news writing, thereby enhancing their news professional skills and enabling them to be competent in future news and publicity work and even enter higher-level professional studies.

This course examines the foundations and development of digital literacy (DL) in academic and professional contexts. It discusses the evolution of the web, multiliteracies, digital competencies, and the role of DL in education, Industry 4.0, data literacy, and AI literacy. This course analyzes global standards, practical initiatives, and methods for evaluating digital content and competencies in educational and professional environments. 

This course will focus on the intersection of big data and storytelling, aiming to enable students to produce informative, effective, and compiling narrative frameworks using big data. Students will learn essential skills, techniques, and experiences to produce successful data-driven content products, journalistic reports, science communication articles, and social sciences research. The course welcomes students who are new to data science, but we strongly encourage students who do not yet have experience with data analytics to start exploring different software and coding languages for data storytelling during the course. Meanwhile, students familiar with data analytics and visualisations will also learn how to improve their techniques and strategies for completing data storytelling.

This course examines strategic communication within the professional sphere, focusing on its role in public discourse. It explores how strategic communication, public relations, and advertising function across not-for-profit, commercial, and government sectors. The curriculum emphasizes ethics, persuasion, and understanding diverse audiences and their communication preferences. It covers the impact of media on public perception and societal outcomes, with a particular focus on responsible engagement with Indigenous Australian communities.

This course examines misinformation and propaganda in a networked society, with a focus on communication, journalism, and media studies. It covers how to deal with technologies like automation, algorithms, and advances in AI and how they have changed the scale of misinformation and propaganda. Topics include: health misinformation; climate misinformation; how social media platforms short-circuit the connection between reality and fiction.

This course explores the evolving media landscape of 21st century Korea, challenging students to critically analyze and engage with current media forms and trends. We begin with fundamental questions: What is media? What is the current media environment? And what should the ideal media environment look like? These inquiries frame our exploration, which addresses the multidimensional nature of media, the transition from the mass media era to the post-mass media era, and the relevant issues of relevance that arise in contemporary media contexts in Korea. This course redefines "media" in the 21st century by considering it as a pervasive environment rather than just tools or platforms. The course explores the five dimensions of media-tools, content, institutions, people, and spaces-and traces the evolution from the era of centralized mass media to today's fragmented, participatory media environment. This shift has created both opportunities and challenges, particularly around the concept of "relevance" in media. The course examines how the mass media era created a "crisis of relevance" by delivering standardized content that was often disconnected from individual lives. In the post-mass media era, this has morphed into a "super-crisis of relevance," where personal and local stories gain visibility but risk commodification and distortion by global
platforms. Students gain insight into the ethical concerns of the current media environment and strategies for thoughtfully navigating it. By reshaping how we conceptualize the role of media, this course empowers students to critically assess the impact of the media environment on our collective and personal realities. 

This course examines different theories of mass media systems, their philosophical foundations and basic principles. It looks at varying relationships of mass media to politics and society and their important role in social and political change. The media systems of different countries and regions, as well as global media issues are addressed.

The course examines strategic brand management through the study of leading Spanish and Barcelona-based brands and industries. Students explore brand equity, positioning, identity, reputation, corporate and place branding, and integrated communications, while analyzing how businesses and institutions use culture, innovation, and strategic communication to build competitive advantage in global markets. Case studies span tourism, fashion, technology, culture, entertainment, food, banking, and other major sectors.

The course develops the knowledge and skills needed to communicate effectively in multicultural workplaces and global business settings. Students explore intercultural communication strategies, cultural differences, and effective collaboration in international professional environments.