Media, Communities and Social Networks

N/A

The development of skills in this curricular unit is empowered by methods that intend to explore the ability of students in decision, researching and compilation of information, problem solving and deep thinking. The program is delivered through theoretical expositions, active sessions of analysis and case discussion. Continuous assessment will take into account the quality of the involvement of students in completing the programmed activities, their presences and active participation (60% individual works; 40% group works).

The last few years have empowering changes in the use of the Internet and in the way we communicate and socialize in network. Tools like Twitter, Facebook or Instagram are the stage for new social networks and knowledge. These transformations open new possibilities for interaction of the new media with their audiences, however, some challenges also emerge. The implications of the technological wave in the media require resourceful and oriented professionals to work inside this context, therefore, students should be capable to use the tools of Internet that might take them closer to the professional reality.
Media, Communities and Social Networks aims to place the students in contact with a virtual and multidimensional world, with numerous subcultures interacting exclusively through the network. It is essential to understand the impact of Internet; how and why the virtual communities gather and succeed. The challenge is to explore the visible face of technologies of social media and its applications.

1. Online communities:
1.1. The concept of community;
1.2. Types of online communities;
1.3. The universe of online communities;
1.4. Communities in social networks;
1.5. The “pros and cons” of online communities.
2. Social networks:
2.1. Social networks on the Internet;
2.2. Information broadcast in social networks;
2.3. Media and social networks.
3. Social media:
3.1.Social media tools;
3.2. How social networks is changing media;
3.3 The “pros and cons” of social media.
4. Case studies lab.

• - Individual and/or Group Work - 100.0%

NAO

BLOEM, J., DOORN, M., DUIVESTEIN, S. (2009). Me The Media: Rise of the conversation society. Bariet: Research Institute of Sogeti
CURRAN, J. & HESMONDHALGH, D. (2019). Media and Society. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781501340734.
DIJCK, J.V. (2013). The Culture of the Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media. New York: Oxford University Press.
EVERITT, D., & MILLS, S. (2009). Cultural anxiety 2.0. Media, Culture & Society, 31(5), 749-768.
GILMOR, D. (2005). Nós, os media (S. Barata, Trans.). Lisboa: Editorial Presença.
LYONS, B., MEROLA, V. & REIFLER, J. (2021). How Bad is Fke News Problem? The role of baseline information in public perceptions. In Greifeneder, R., et all. (Ed.) The Psychology of Fake News, Accepting, Sharing, and Correcting Misinformation. NY: Routledge.
WENGER, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning as a Social System. Systems Thinker.