Media studies, digital communication and journalism

The course is intended for students enrolled in the first year of the Master's Degree in MEDIA, DIGITAL COMMUNICATION AND JOURNALISM. The objective of the course is to provide students with the historical, theoretical and empirical frameworks of digital media studies, adopting a perspective traceable to the field of sociology and media studies and a transdisciplinary approach based on the contribution of communication disciplines. Specifically, it will promote learning about established approaches to the study of digital media and web environments; the main research conducted in recent decades and their interpretive frameworks, up to the most recent applications of this knowledge to evolving fields of research (from algorithm studies to AI); the sociocultural cultures and practices of the internet and user production/consumption of content; the phenomena of participation and activism emerging in the web sphere; and the logics and practices of operation and use/consumption related to digital platforms and Social Network Sites. The achievement of these objectives is functional both for the continuation of studies and thus for the development of research-oriented skills (academic and market-oriented), and for application to professional fields related to the media system and creative industries, and more generally to communication applied to different sectors of the public sphere. Knowledge and ability to understand: the student will learn the main theories that constitute the framework of digital media studies, with particular reference to the macro- and micro-sociological dimensions involved and the cultural and technological logics and practices that are structured in digital environments.

 Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: the student will be able to produce independent reflections and analyses applicable to specific digital communication contexts and phenomena.

 Critical thinking and judgment skills: the student will develop the ability to understand the authority of a source and the quality of research and will be able to produce critical readings of sociocultural and consumer phenomena referable to the field of digital media. 

Ability to communicate what has been learned: the student, through the promotion of collegial classroom discussion and video-writing initiatives, will develop oral and written communication skills, learning a style of profile dissemination appropriate to the educational level of the LM.

 Ability to pursue study independently in life: through examples of organizing materials and sources, and supporting the completion of projects and reports, the student/student, will learn knowledge and skills functional to the acquisition of autonomy in future study.