The course consists of 11 lectures and exercises. The lectures will focus on reading and discussing theoretical approaches and analyses of the use of digital media. The theoretical material will be discussed up against different kinds of new media. During the exercises the students will work in groups and investigate various subjects, such as social media or global collaboration technologies, both at an experimental and analytical basis, and discuss and analyze their communicative aspects. The subjects can revolve around a specific technology, such as blogging, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, etc., or the students may chose to focus on a specific communicative genre, such as journalism, social entrepreneurship, business communication, or political communication. Practical use of new media will be an integrated part of as well investigating as analyzing cases just as they will be used in communicating the research to other students and the world outside. Just as the students will develop an interview guide and conduct interviews both face to face and mediated by various technologies such as Skype or Facebook, in order to learn how people in different cultural settings experience their subject matter. The students will furthermore be practiced in presenting and communicating their research during the course in order to prepare for the oral exam.
The duration of the oral examination is 30 minutes per examinee (incl. any group presentation).