Media and Modernity

Course goals

Learning outcomes

• Knowing and understanding historical developments related to the rise of modern media technologies.
• Engaging with the historiography and theoretical discourse about course topics by critically reflecting on concepts, historiography and theories connected with the course topics.
• Actively participating in classroom discussions about the topic and collaborating in reading groups.
• in-depth knowledge of the theoretical discourse about this topic;
• Applying the acquired skills and knowledge to devise and develop a research question for an in-depth case study of your choice and conduct independent research.

Learning objectives and skills: after completing the course, you will be able to:  

• critically reflect and actively participate in classroom discussions about the topic;
• apply concepts, historiography and theories connected with the course topic;
• collaborate in reading groups (tutor groups);
• devise and develop a research question on the basis of an in-depth case study of their choice;
• apply their newly acquired knowledge of the theoretical discourse and historiography to a case study of their choice;
• conduct independent research focusing (mainly) on in-depth secondary literature.

Content

This is the second course of Specialisation track 'The Power of Culture'. The case-study course is an intensive, in-depth course centred on a specific historical topic.

LAS and TCS students who follow this course as part of the core curriculum of their major, need to complete a compulsory preparation course/assignment. See for more information: https://tcs.sites.uu.nl/

We are currently living through a communications revolution: the proliferation of the internet and the rapid growth of online communication over the past decades has undeniably changed our society, but it is not clear yet where this process is headed and which consequences it has for Western culture. This course aims to put this transformative process into historical context by comparing it with the rise of other mass media technologies and how they have shaped our modern world. Through this comparison students will learn to better understand and predict the consequences of the rise of the internet for modern culture.

This course considers mass media as cultural phenomena: books, pamphlets, newspapers, the telegraph, television, or the internet are not just technologies, but also include historically specific practices and knowledge. There are many examples how different mass media have shaped modern culture and society: the invention of the printing press helped spread the ideas of the Reformation across Europe and the speed that the first transatlantic telegraph cable brought to communication between North America and Europe transformed the ideas of space and time. However, the mass media have not only helped to spread the images, ideas, concepts, and values that constitute modern culture, but they are themselves important symbols of modernity: Gutenberg’s printing press and the telegraph, for example, were once seen as modern marvels ­– just like the iPhone, when it was introduced in 2007. 

In this course, we will discuss the cultural impact of these mass media technologies and critically investigate the way they have been represented throughout modern history, asking questions such as: why did media technologies develop in the way they did? Who used them and in which way? How are they constructed discursively through literature, laws, images, etc.? And what are the narratives that historians have chosen to talk about these technologies and their impact?
 

Additional information

Early Exit option for international exchange students (5 ECTS)
Exchange students who are required to return to their home university before January, are allowed to choose an Early Exit option for this course. The Early Exit option means that students can finish the course before Christmas break, receiving 5 ECTS for the course. Students must make arrangements with the course coordinator at the start of the course.