Ateneo - UPO

Migration has become one of the primary themes of political identification in Europe. It stands at the center of both a reshaping of old and new ideological forms, and an increasingly sharp contrast between vertical forms of broadcasting and nationalism, and horizontal forms of global networking.
The objective of the course is to read and interpret the migration narratives produced by our societies, investigating their meaning in relation to ideological constructs, political parties' need for consensus, and the commercial success of the media. Finally, the course will examine the alternative narratives emerging from social movements, civil society, and the art worlds, discussing their potential effectiveness or ineffectiveness in constructing new models of imagination and thought.

All students should study the following book:
Pogliano Andrea, "Media, politica e migrazioni in Europa. Una prospettiva sociologica". Roma: Carocci, 2019.

The course's aim is to stimulate analytical reasoning about the contemporary media environment, the digital political communication, the role of storytelling and the articulation of the plot and specifically on characters (victims and perpetrators) in news media narratives, the role of news images and narrative strategies. All these tools will be analysed in order to better understand how power dynamics are played through the use of differences in storytelling processes. The students should be able to discuss all of this and also the role of public opinion within these processes.
In line with the educational objectives of the course, one of the aims of this module is to help students understand the use of the concept of culture and migrant cultures in public discourse and its impact on the issue of social cohesion (and integration) and discrimination. A specific aim of the course is to recognise culturalism in media and political discourses in the field of migration and to be able to read and interpret it in relation to both security and humanitarian narratives.

No preconditions are required to access this course.
There are no formal prerequisites for admission. However, it would be advisable for students to understand, before tackling the course, the specificity of a sociological view of migration and, in particular, the importance of the narratives produced in the public discourse (by media, politics and civil society). These narratives provide inescapable points of reference, a sort of cultural environment within which all practices of justification and consent to actions (including legislative ones) make sense or not. Narratives are therefore an essential part of the process of constructing social reality. On this point, useful readings are all those that have to do with the concept of ideology and discourse (from Karl Mannheim to Michael Foucault, from Stuart Hall to Edward Said).

The course utilizes a combination of lectures and interactive case study discussions. A variety of materials (still images, videos, and articles) will be shown and collectively discussed. Furthermore, students are encouraged to bring texts and media products related to the course topic to class for an open discussion on the content.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/servicesstudents-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The exam will be written and will last two hours. It will consist of 6 questions, and students must choose and answer three of them. There is no difference in requirements between attending and non-attending students.
The questions are based on the required textbook. Answers based solely on lecture notes that clearly indicate a lack of in-depth study of the textbook will not receive a passing grade. Attending students may expand upon their answers by referring to materials analyzed during lectures or class discussions; however, the core basis for the answers remains the study of the textbook, which class attendance is intended to facilitate.

Grades are awarded on a 30-point scale based on the following criteria:
Knowledge and understanding of the main topics covered: up to 18 out of 30 points;
Ability to articulate concepts in a complex manner and general lexical appropriateness: up to 7 out of 30 points;
Ability to make connections between the topics covered and examine them critically and with independent judgement: up to 5 out of 30 points.

To achieve a high grade, in addition to presenting the topics comprehensibly and consistently with what has been studied and learned, students must demonstrate that they have grasped the critical cruxes of the relationship between migration narratives and migration policies across the various areas of analysis. Furthermore, they must demonstrate that they understand and can effectively account for the triangulation between politics, media, and public opinion regarding contemporary migration issues. Finally, they must show that they have understood the main mechanisms of discourse reproduction.

These are the main points through which the course will develop:
- introduction to contemporary communicative environment and the role of news in democracy;
- main concepts to be adopted when debating representations and narratives;
- Analysis of main media narratives on migration in Europe, where they come from and their political use;
- analysis of the main strategic ritual employed by journalism when covering migrants in the news;
- production mechanisms and processes of reproduction of narratives, by lookig at the broad picture (interactions among media, political parties and leaders and civic society);
- the role of public opinion and framing effects on percetions and opinions;
- counter-narratives in journalism, art, grassroot environments.

During the course, the issue of the gender dimension will be addressed, both with reference to representations of migration, with reflections on how gender is an important axis of difference for understanding the logic of power in journalistic representations, and by analysing and discussing representations of violence against women.

Basic Expected Learning Outcomes:
Acquire the fundamental tools for the analysis of the journalistic and political production of migration narratives (knowledge and understanding);
Apply the theoretical knowledge acquired to real-world processes in contemporary societies related to migration (applying knowledge and understanding).

Advanced Expected Learning Outcomes:
Knowledge and understanding: Know the main theoretical approaches to representations in journalism and political communication;
Communication skills: Present the acquired knowledge clearly and correctly, demonstrating full mastery of the discipline's terminology and vocabulary;
Making judgements / Independent judgement: Critically compare the different theoretical perspectives analyzed, also in order to develop an independent view of the public representations of migration phenomena;
Learning skills: Acquire sound text analysis skills, including the ability to make connections between different topics.