Apr 18, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2017-2018 
    
Academic Catalog 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Add to Catalog (opens a new window)

MSC-557 Media and Political Psychology: Propaganda and Persuasion

4 semester credits
For decades, media has been relied upon to call attention to policy conflicts and to identify likely alternatives available to those seeking a resolution. In short-to define the public agenda. Interactive multimedia, blogs, social networks, virtual worlds, and other innovations are changing public discourse and those who shape it. Yet a major question remains unanswered: how do voters and consumers actually process information? What is the connection between political technique, political conviction and appeal to the heart and to the mind? This course focuses on political and advocacy psychology, and what happens when reason and emotion collide. What determines how people vote? How does one side in the political debate claim the political narrative? Why do people choose to support one cause over another? In any media, those who create advocacy and political messages seek to shape a narrative, to tell a convincing story that makes events come alive. Upon completion of this course, students will understand the application of Agenda Setting Theory to traditional print and television, and to newer Internet based media. We will explore and assess the link between media, message, and the political mind.
Delivery Method: Online
Grading Default: Letter



Add to Catalog (opens a new window)