Course Title: Politics and Communication

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Politics and Communication

Credit Points: 12.00

Important Information:

This course was titled 'Politics Communicated'

From Semester 1 2022 this course is titled 'Politics and Communication'

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
COMM2409	City Campus	Undergraduate	335H Applied Communication	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2009
COMM2409	City Campus	Undergraduate	345H Media and Communication	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011, Sem 2 2018, Sem 2 2019, Sem 2 2020, Sem 2 2021, Sem 2 2022, Sem 2 2023

Course Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Cathy Greenfield

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 5038

Course Coordinator Email: cathy.greenfield@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Availability: Email

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None

Course Description

In this course you will examine how politics and power is communicated and how communication is part of governing all kinds of populations. You will consider where power lies and how it is exercised in an increasingly technologized world.
You will explore electoral politics, the use of major political frameworks, and the discursive framings, rhetorics and techniques used in journalism, opinion polling, public relations and advertising, ‘mass’ media and networked media.
Amongst current environmental, geopolitical, and other collective action problems, the course investigates political technologies, the ‘death of democracy’, and focuses on the formation of publics.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Program Learning Outcomes In this course you will develop the following program learning outcomes:

• Identify, evaluate and critically analyse cultural, historical and theoretical practices which contextualise your professional practice and further study

Course Learning Outcomes Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: 1. Describe and analyse various kinds of politics from a range of perspectives. 2. Discuss politics and policies in terms of the governing of populations and the formation of publics. 3. Identify and discuss key assumptions in a variety of political discourses. 4. Examine various media as arenas of political contestation.

Overview of Learning Activities

You will be actively engaged in a range of learning activities which may include project work, lectures, tutorials, class discussion, individual and group activities. Delivery may be face to face, online or a mix of both.

Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems.
A list of recommended learning resources will be provided by your lecturer, including books, journal articles and web resources. You will also be expected to seek further resources relevant to the focus of your own learning.
There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.

Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against the program learning outcomes. Assessment may include written and oral reports, reflective papers, creative projects and presentations, individually and in groups.
Assessment Tasks
Task 1: Reading & Topic Responses [30% Individual - Linked course learning outcomes: 1,2,3,4]
Task 2: Short Answer Task [25% Individual - Linked course learning outcomes: 2]
Task 3: Communicative Artefact and Written Reflection [45% Individual - Linked course learning outcome: 1, 2, 3, 4]
Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.
If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.
Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions.