Section 2 - Syllabus and recommended literature

Paolo Volonté, Facoltá del Design, Politecnico di Milano
Pamplona, February 1st-3rd, 2010

Syllabus

Globalization is a main subject in communication studies today. But too often it is interpreted in terms of majors monopolizing the media markets all around the world, of trans-national interconnections among information systems, of Internetworking, and of a resulting mcDonaldization of world cultures. Too often communication is just identified with the media. This is a consequence of the original postulate that communicating primarily means speaking (verbal communication).

In our lectures we will rather take our stand on two main points: a) Globalization is not only a matter of communication, but first of all a matter of a mutual economic and cultural approaching of national and local societies, leading to a new kind of social structure, where communication holds a crucial role. b) Communication is not primarily a matter of language, but a matter of bodily relationship, whereas spoken language must be understood as a refined advanced processing of bodily communication. As a consequence, we must be aware of the fact that the process of globalization – that implies a general increase of economic welfare, an improvement of social mobility, a loss of reference points for the construction of self-identities – involves for the individual in western and westernized societies a broader and broader use of environmental means of communication to interact with the other: objects, actions, spatial displays.

Communication has become a pivotal factor in the “social tactics” (Baudrillard) that today’s people have to implement to cope with their everyday lives. But such pivotal communication has less to do with spoken language than with the display of our physical environment.
This circumscribes the set of issues we are going to deal with.
Accordingly, our three lectures will face the following three topics:

1) What does it mean communicating? The traditional “hydraulic model” that explains communication in terms of a transmission (or sharing) of contents between two (or more) subjects will be discussed. Jakobson’s well-known schema will be referred to. As a better explanation a phenomenological-inferential model of communication will be presented and recommended.

2) The fundamental role of environmental communication. As a consequence of the new model, it becomes clear that communication is primarily a matter of display of the other’s physical environment on the basis of a (partially) common culture. The function of objects as means of communication (“media”) will be considered as well as the social role of their independent biographies.

3) Objects as means of communication are a response to the increasing incidence of immaterial needs in the setting of human beings’ everyday life. The new condition in postmodern societies, where social relationship, inclusion and order are more and more mediated through communication, will be described. At the end the crucial relevance of communication, i.e. of environmental communication in today’s society should become manifest.

Some References:

Baudrillard, Jean (1972), Pour une critique de l’économie politique du signe, Gallimard, Paris (chp. 1).
Jakobson, Roman (1960), “Closing Statements: Linguistics and Poetics”, in Th.A. Sebeok (ed.), Style in Language, John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 350-377.
Sperber, Dan and Wilson, Deirdre (1986), Relevance: Communication and Cognition, Blackwell, Oxford (chp. 1).
Volli, Ugo (2000), Manuale di semiotica, Laterza, Roma-Bari (chp. 1).
Volonté, Paolo (2009), El creador de moda como creador de comunicación, in “Revista Impresa y Humanismo” XII, n. 2, pp. 193-225.
Volonté, Paolo (2009), Oggetti di personalità, in A. Burtscher, D. Lupo, A. Mattozzi and P. Volonté (eds.), Biografie di oggetti | Storie di cose, Bruno Mondadori, Milano, pp. 11-26. (English version available here)
Volonté, Paolo (2010), Designing Communicating Objects, in S. Vihma and T.-M. Karjalainen (eds.), Design Semiotics in Use, Helsinki (in print, available here).

Abstracts and proposals

Thanks for submitting your abstracts and proposals. I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you in every case. I got proposals from the following people (if your name is not there and it should -because your actually submitted an abstact- please let me know):

ABADÍA DE MEDRANO, Rocío

ALONSO, Guillermo

ÁLVAREZ ESEVERRI, Sonia

ANTÓN AGUINAGA, Íñigo

APARICIO YARZA, Verónica

ARVONEN, Marleena

BOWER, Mindie Roxanne

BREEZE, Raffaella

BURRELL, A'Keiba

CHARZAT, Cécile

CHAURE, Inés

CHIU, Li Hsuan

COELLO DÍEZ, Elvira

CORTÉS ACHA, Carlota

CUERVO, Gustavo

DAVIS, Amanda

DIAS, Leslie

DÍAZ REQUEJO, Raquel

DIEZ DE URE LOINAZ, Alba

DIRR, Eva

DONAT DE CARALT, Alejandra

DURRER, Isabel

ESNAOLA LACUNZA, Marta

FABREGAS, Isabella

FINDLAY, Natasha

FRANCO ESTÑÁN, Nora

FREY, Luisa

GARCÍA GARAIZAR, Alejandro

GONZÁLEZ BEES, Eliana

GONZÁLEZ, Zelai

GUZMÁN BASTIDA, Álvaro

HALILI, Tommy

HERNÁNDEZ BLANCO, Álvaro

HERRERA, Estefanía

IRIARTE, Ohiane

ITURRIAGA AXPE, Monica

JIMÉNEZ EZQUERRO, Javier

JIMÉNEZ ROBLES, Paula

LACHIONDO CAMUÑAS, María

LERGA RAMOS, Leyre

LEXEN, Saskia Ines

LILLO ALONSO, Pilar

LONGELIN, Jade

LÓPEZ, María

LÓPEZ, Paula

MACÍAS ALARCÓN, Jaime

MANICH GALLEMÍ, Marc

MORAN, Pauline

MORENO ROMERO, Juan

NAVAS ALBA, María

OFFENBERG, Philipp

PÁRAMO ALFARO, Raquel

PARRA ZABALZA, Andrea

PASTRANA, Gonzalo

PEÑA GONZÁLEZ, Elena

PÉREZ ÁLAVA, Daniel

PICCIOCHI G.Ferreira, Joana

PITARQUE , Almudena

PROCARIO, Laura

QUINTELA SÁNCHEZ, Alejandra

RANKIN, Kasey

REALE, Rachel

ROBLA ONÍS, Paula

SÁNCHEZ SOLARES, Inés

SCHULZE NIEHNES, Paul

SHIH, Wan-Ni

SIERRA, María Alejandra

SUN, Angela

TOMÁS, Jon Ander

TYRRELL, Helen

VÁZQUEZ DOTRAS, Alejandra

VIDAL, Ana Maria

WEISSON, María Beatriz

WERNER, Jan

I look forward to reading your (around 2500 word) essays. I'll be checking my email for essays until Friday the 29th. Best regards,

Presentations from section 1

In case you find it useful, you can look at the presentations displayed during the lectures here: part 1, part 2 and part 3.

From now until friday the 22nd I'll be cheking my mail (mnarroyo@alumni.unav.es) for abstracts and proposals. Remember that choice of topic for the essay is completely free. Once you send your proposals I'll be getting back to you only in case there's something I particularly dislike. No news is good news. On friday evening I'll post a list of names from which I got proposals. Thanks and good luck,

On essays

Several thoughts trying to make things clear:

1) Though I asked for an abstract, I DO NOT expect you to write a research paper. I just thought the general structure of an abstract (take a look at "Example 1: Humanities abstract" in this webpage) would be of great help in clarifying your ideas. Sorry if this was misleading. The (pseudo)abstract will be especially useful for me to point out any foreseeable shortcomings that can be avoided in the final version of your works.

2) Even so, if you wish to write a research paper, please do. This might be too much to ask as a universal requirement (class range goes from freshmen to seniors) , but if you already have some experience in research or want to give it a try, go for it. Should you undertake this endeavor, let me know if I can be of any assistance.

3) I don't want you to summarize the lectures in your essay. Instead, pick some specific point and think it over throughout your personal experiences (and past readings) and some of the recommended literature.

4) I don't expect you to exhaust the list of recommended readings. Consider that you'll be asked to write 4 essays during the term, each one of them being the reasonable outcome of one month of work for one of your courses. You may find other readings besides the recommended useful and inspiring: use them. I'd say that 4 to 8 sources of any kind (newspapers, tv shows, articles, books, movies, etc.) would be satisfactory.

5) A basic guide to writing an essay is available here. It could be useful if you have not much experience in essay writing or foresee some trouble writing in English. General advise: write short sentences.

6) If further explanation is needed, please post a comment. Particular inquiries can be made through email.

Thanks.

Section 1 - Syllabus and recommended literature

Danijel Labas, University of Zagreb

The lessons/classes will mostly follow the articles recommended to read (see the list below) and on my personal research on E. Levinas, J. Habermas and S. Petrilli.

Recommended literature can be of help to participants in writting an essay about one topic (personal choice of everyone) to be discussed in class in January 2010.

1) Introduction: Who is „centrum mundi“ in global communication order? Spain or Croatia?;

2) Identity and Otherness in global communication: who are You, who am I; who are They in globalized world of Computer-mediated-Communication? (E. Levinas);

3) Cultural diversity, new (virtual) communities and global media: what we (can) know of each other and in which way?;

4) Global communication, proximity and accountability (J. Habermas, E. Levinas) – ethics of dialogue (Diskursethik) – ethics of responsability;

5) (Some) Open questions in global communication: from „globality“ to global solidarity (MacBride Report, Unesco);

6) Conclusions – discussion.

LITERATURE (recommended)

1) Denis McQuail, Mass Communication Theory, Sage, London – Thousand Oaks – New Delhi, ⁵2005, pp. 77-109; 111-134; 245-271;

2) International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems – Sean MacBride, Communication and Society Today and Tomorrow, Many Voices One World, Towards a new more just and more efficient world information and communication order, Kogan Page, London/Uniput, New York/Unesco, Paris. Unesco, 1980.

Spanish version at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0004/000400/040066sb.pdf

English version: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0004/000400/040066eb.pdf

French version: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0004/000400/040066fb.pdf

ARTICLES

From “Global Media and Communication”:

3) Colin Sparks, What’s wrong with globalization?, Global Media and Communication, Volume 3(2), 2007, 133-155;

4) Shelton A. Gunaratne, A systems view of `international' communication, its scope and limitations, Global Media and Communication, Volume 3(3), 2007, 267-271;

5) Andrew Calabrese, Communication, global justice and the moral economy, Global Media and Communication, Volume 1(3), 2005, 301-315;

6) Divina Frau-Meigs, Cultural diversity and global media studies, Global Media and Communication, Volume 3(3), 2007, 260-266;

7) Claudia Padovani, Debating communication imbalances from the MacBride Report to the World Summit on the Information Society: an analysis of a changing discourse, Global Media and Communication, Volume 1(3), 2005, 316-338;

8) Natalie Fenton, Mediating solidarity, Global Media and Communication, Volume 4(1), 2008, 37-57;

From “The Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies”:

9) Everett M. Rogers, The Digital Divide, The Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Volume 7(4), 2001, 96-111;

10) Bill Seaman, Pattern Flows: Hybrid Accretive Processes Informing Identity Construction, The Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Volume 11(4), 2005, 12-31;

11) Ian M. Clothier, Created Identities: Hybrid Cultures and the Internet, The Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Volume 11(4), 2005, 44-59;

From “European Journal of Communication”:

12) Manuel Puppis, National Media Regulation in the Era of Free Trade. The Role of Global Media Governance, European Journal of Communication, Volume 23(4), 2008, 405-424;

13) Slavko Splichal, ‘New’ Media, ‘Old’ Theories. Does the (National) Public Melt into the Air of Global Governance?, European Journal of Communication, Volume 24(4), 2009, 391-405;

From “Journal of Business and Technical Communication”:

14) Doreen Starke-Meyerring, Meeting the Challenges of Globalization. A Framework for Global Literacies in Professional Communication Programs, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Volume 19(4), 2005, 468-499;

From “Journal of Communication Inquiry”:

15) Victor Pickard, Neoliberal Visions and Revisions in Global Communications. Policy from NWICO to WSIS, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Volume 31(2), 2007, 118-139;

From “Journal of Creative Communication”:

16) Tej K. Bhatia – Mukesh Bhargava, Reaching the Unreachable. Resolving Globalization vs. Localization Paradox , Journal of Creative Communication, Volume 3(2), 2008, 209-230;

From “Journalism”:

17) Herman Wasserman – Shakuntala Rao, The Glocalization of journalism ethics, Journalism, Volume 9(2), 2008, 163-181;

From “Media, Culture & Society”:

18) Dal Yong Jin, Neoliberal restructuring of the global communication system: mergers and acquisitions, Media, Culture & Society, Volume 30(3), 2008, 357-373;

19) Robert Pike – Dwayne Winseck, The Politics of Global Media Reform, 1907-23, Volume 26(5), 2004, 643-675.

Introduction, January 11th

On January 11th we made a brief introduction to some of the topics to be discussed throughout the semester, such as a healthy distinction between communication and media, identity creation through communication, and culture dialogue within "inculturization" processes.

We tried to think over this issues with the help of two cool examples:

1) The trailer for the movie Avatar, as depicting some kind of coming to an identity through processes of communication and interaction, showing that the sharing of biological conditions (as, in a way, we all humans do) does not guarantee horizons of comprehension . (If you wanna go to Pandora, click here)

2) A column by Thomas L. Friedman (author of The World is Flat, also mentioned today), where he asks himself if Google is God: what should keep us from thinking so in a world in which seeking and finding information has become the "most human" way of life? (If you wish to know more about Googleianism, click and pray here)

Most of the attendents turned in some written thoughts about these ideas. Some of them were really clever (I read them all, I promise), and the only thing to regret was that those comments were not made out loud.

Calendar

January	Week 1 (days 11-14)	Lectures. Danijel Labas
	Week 2 (days 18-22)	Abstract submission. No class
	Week 3 (days 25-29)	Essay submission. No class
February	Week 4 (days 1-4)	Lectures. Paolo Volonté
	Week 5 (days 8-12)	Abstract submission. No class
	Week 6 (days 15-19)	No class
	Week 7 (days 22-26)	Essay submission. No class
March	Week 8 (days 1-5)	Lectures. Olaf Jandura
	Week 9 (days 8-12)	Abstract submission. No class
	Week 10 (days 15-19)	No class
	Week 11 (days 22-26)	No class
	Week 12 (days 29-31)	Essay submission / Easter
April	Week 13 (days 5-9)	Easter break
	Week 14 (days 12-16)	Lectures. Kent Wilkinson
	Week 15 (days 19-23)	Abstract submission. No class
	Week 16 (days 26-30)	Essay submission. No class
May	Week 17 (days 3-5)	Presentations

Structure and grading policy

The course is going to be divided in four separate and independent sections, each one of them taught by a visiting professor.

All four sections will share a similar structure: six hours of lectures and the requirement to write a personal essay (of variable extension) on any topic discussed in class that the student finds especially appealing either because of theoretical interest or personal experience.

Since there’s going to be very few lectures (26 hours through the whole semester) attendance –and active partaking in class– is considered crucial and will be considered a relevant factor in grading (20% of the final grade).

Each essay is going to provide the grade for the corresponding section: 4 essays, 20% of the final grade each. There will be NO final examination. Think of the essays as partial exams, and take them seriously. Any kind of plagiarism (copy/paste from any website, quotations without a reference, etc.) will result in an automatic failing grade for the whole course.

The next Monday after the lectures of each part are delivered, students are expected to send a 500 word abstract about the ideas they’ve got for the corresponding essay. This can be done through mail (mnarroyo@alumni.unav.es) or by turning the document in the Department of Public Communication Secretary’s Office in the drawer that reads “Mariano Navarro”. Diligence in handing in the abstract will both help you in clarifying your ideas and secure a good disposition from me towards your essay. Failure in doing so will also bear consequences.

Feel free and encouraged to talk about your essays or projects with either the visiting professor for the section or me, the course coordinator. We will always be willing to help you BEFORE deadlines(*) arrive. Avoid coming after deadlines with excuses of any kind.

In summary, the final grade will result from the following sum:

Essay - Section 1	20%
Essay - Section 2	20%
Essay - Section 3	20%
Essay - Section 4	20%
Attendance and active participation during lectures	20%
**OPTIONAL: A 20 minute presentation of one of your essays in front of the whole class.	10% (extra)

* For a complete chart regarding dates of lectures and essay deadlines view the "Calendar" entry.

** The optional oral presentations are to be discussed and arranged with me through the semester. Depending on the amount of people interested several sessions outside the official calendar can be arranged.

The warmest of welcomes

Welcome to the blog for the course "Global Communication" at the University of Navarra. The purpose of this blog is to both deliver the latest announcements regarding the class and providing a space where comments and suggestions can be made by anyone. Visit regularly and let everyone know what you think. Have a great semester!

**The class will permanently move to room 5, Social Science Building.