COMUNICAZIONE POLITICA
Laurea magistrale in Strategie e Tecniche della Comunicazione (AY 2021-2025)
Il corso ha l’obiettivo di familiarizzare lo studente con i principali concetti, metodologie e risultati della letteratura sociologica e politologica sul tema della comunicazione, fornendo alcuni strumenti analitici con i quali comprendere meglio la complessa e dinamica natura del rapporto tra comunicazione, potere e società. Gli argomenti trattati includono le principali prospettive teoriche e approcci empirici allo studio della comunicazione politica; modelli e forme di comunicazione istituzionale; comunicazione di massa e trasformazioni sociali; rilevazione ed effetti individuali e sociali della fruizione mediale. Particolare attenzione verrà prestata alla comunicazione politica e governativa per mezzo dei nuovi media e alla nozione di comunicazione come forma di potere.​
Il corso offre una panoramica sulle principali teorie della comunicazione politica basata sia sullo studio dei classici che sulle ricerche più recenti, guardando ai contributi della sociologia, della scienza politica, della psicologia, dell’economia sperimentale e delle scienze cognitive. Quest’anno il corso si concentrerà sul ruolo della comunicazione in contesti di crisi (immigrazione, sicurezza, COVID-19), esaminando le connessioni tra comunicazione politico-istituzionale e atteggiamenti di opinione pubblica.
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ADVOCACY AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
IN THE INTERNATIONAL SETTING
The course offers an overview of the main theoretical perspectives on strategic communication, communication effects and foreign public engagement. Mixing a historical perspective with the study of contemporary practices in the framework of international relations theory, communication and public opinion studies, the course will introduce students to the concepts of public relations, propaganda, advertising, advocacy and other forms of strategic communication for public persuasion. Students will be acquainted with the main actors and strategies of public diplomacy and they will be asked to reflect upon the meaning and implications of public diplomacy and strategic communication for state and non-state actors. The impact of structural, social and technological changes on ‘soft power’ strategies will be examined as well.
CULTURAL DIPLOMACY
The course offers an overview of the main patterns and traditions of cultural diplomacy, mixing a historical perspective with the study of contemporary practices and applications in the framework of international relations theory and communication studies. By combining frontal teaching, group work and individual presentations, the course will introduce students to the different approaches to cultural relations in North America, Europe and other regions of the world.
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Students will be acquainted with the main actors and strategies of cultural diplomacy both at the state and non-state level. Using a role-playing format, students will be asked to reflect upon the role of cultural diplomacy for nation-states, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, the private sector, civil society and ‘unconventional’ actors. The impact of structural, social and technological changes on ‘soft power’ strategies will be examined.
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QUANTITATIVE METHODS
The course offers a treatment of quantitative methods in political science research. The focus, in particular, will be on causal inference and the use of regression analysis. About one half of the articles in a typical recent issue of APSR, AJPS or EJPR make use of regression analysis or a closely related technique. This class is designed to give you the tools to forcefully critique a very large amount of political science research across most major subfields in political science. As a very useful by-product of all this, you will also become proficient at using quantitative analysis to answer practical questions.
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To truly master the material in this course students need to analyse different data. For this reason, we will be getting our hands dirty with real data as much and as soon as possible. The emphasis is on learning by doing: I expect you to spend a large portion of your free time analysing both simulated and real data, so that you gain more practical experience and intuition about the topics covered in class.​
PUBLIC OPINION'S CONCEPTIONS
OF EU CITIZENSHIP (Chair: S. Cavatorto)
The relation between the process of Europeanization and public opinion support for the EU is conceptualized and measured, in particular in connection with the main dimensions of EU citizenship (European identity, sense of EU representation, scope of governance). Experiences of deliberative democracy at the EU level are also discussed. Results from a transnational quasi-experimental deliberative experiment (EuroPolis) coordinated by the University of Siena and financed under the EU 7th Famework Programme will be used to examine the effect of balanced information and open debate on people’s perceptions of the EU, their conception of EU citizenship and attitudes towards the EU policy-making process
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