Proseminar: Media and Politics in the United States

obligatory courses
proseminars

A student participating in the proseminar should have good command of English and knowledge from previous years of studies, which allows to specify her/his interests in the context of writing a BA thesis.

The course is interdisciplinary and focuses on issues related to the broadly understood US politics and media. The classes are designed to familiarize students with the research process in the context of their planned BA theses.

The course will cover the following topics:

1) INTRODUCTION

2) UNDERSTANDING THE SCOPE - diversity of US politics and media (internal politics, international relations and foreign policy, political culture, marketing and political communication, social movements, traditional media, new media, audiovisual culture, etc.)

3) GETTING PERSPECTIVE - specifics and interdisciplinarity of political science and media studies

4) SELECTING THE TOPIC - combining student's interests with the proper length of the BA thesis and the availability of sources

5) DEVELOPING RESEARCH PROCESS - the context and the elements of the research process

6) CHOOSING RESEARCH STRATEGY - deductive and inductive theory, quantitative and qualitative research

7) PLANNING - the structure of the BA thesis, research problem, research questions

8) CONDUCTING ANALYSIS - research methods in social sciences

9) LITERATURE DIGEST - libraries, databases, primary and secondary sources, assessing the usefulness and credibility of sources, bibliography and footnotes

10) ETHICS - academic honesty, plagiarism, copyright

11) WRITING UP - language, terminology, researcher's checklist

12) CONCLUSIONS

Core reading:

Buttolph-Johnson J.B. et al., Political Science Research Methods, Sage, 2016.

Bryman A., Social Research Methods, OUP Oxford, 2015.

Creswell J.W., Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches, Sage, 2014.

Heffernan, J. A. W. et al., Writing. A College Handbook, W.W. Norton & Company, 1990.

Somekh B., Lewin C. (ed.), Research methods in the Social Sciences, Sage, 2004.

The Chicago Manual of Style. The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers. 15th Edition.

Further reading depends on the selected topic.

WIEDZA:

Upon completing the course, the student:

- Has structured knowledge of the norms and stages of the research process.

- Familiarizes with selected methods and techniques of social science research.

- Understands basic concepts and principles related to intellectual property protection and copyright law.

- Knows the language, formal requirements, and basics of editing a bachelor's thesis.

UMIEJĘTNOŚCI:

After completing the course, the student:

- Can search, analyze, evaluate, select, and integrate information from various sources and formulate critical judgments based on it.

- Possesses research skills including the analysis of works by other authors, synthesis of different ideas and views, selection of research methods, development, and presentation of results.

- Demonstrates the ability to argue substantively and formulate conclusions and summaries.

- Can paraphrase and cite other authors with respect for intellectual property.

- Can work both independently and in groups.

- Is able to organize the research process for the purpose of a bachelor's thesis.

- Is prepared to work with a supervisor on the bachelor's thesis.

KOMPETENCJE SPOŁECZNE:

After completing the course, the student:

- Is able to participate in discussions on politics and media in the USA, formulating their own opinions.

To approve the proseminar the BA thesis project (50%) and activity during the classes (50%) are required.

Grading:

57-66% 3

67-75% 3.5

76-85% 4

86-94% 4.5

95-100% 5

Student is allowed to miss no more than 2 classes.