| CODE | MCS1026 | ||||||
| TITLE | Philosophical Perspectives of Communication | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 2 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Media and Communications | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will draw on an number of areas of philosophy, such as the philosophy of language, ethics, epistemology, philosophy of science and philosophy of mind, which ground and contribute to theories and research in the domain of communications. It will present problems and issues from these areas which are particularly relevant for Communications. Seminal writings, and a selection of journal articles will be presented, analysed and discussed in relation to their relevance and implications the study of Communications. Participants will be required to read, analyse and discuss texts and relevant material both verbally and in the form of short writings. After introducing some distinctive aspects of human communication, the lectures will focus on aspects of communication related to: Mythology; Rationality; Knowledge; Language, Time; Technology; Art; Memory; Privacy; Media, Truth, and Ethics. Study-unit Aims: The study-unit aims to enable students to identify and analyse the philosophic relevance of specific communication theories and the diverse range of writings which have contributed and influenced this area of studies. Examples of such issues may be: Communicating within different world views; Communicating with self; Communicating with others; Communicating with art; Communicating with technology; Communication and Temporality; Communication and the relevance of truth or Post-truth. It also aims to enable the students to acquire and practice the analytic skills required to identify, discuss and report on philosophic issues related to developments in communicating trends and technologies. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify the philosophical issues, problems and presupposition related to proposed communication theories and perspectives. - Analyse research reports and results, when presented in the form of articles, publications or in conferences with a view to reporting on such philosophical implications in philosophy conferences and journals. - Bridge the domains contributing to the study of communications and engage in discussions and present philosophical issues and implications to researchers in the different domains. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify, highlight and explain related philosophical issues, implications and presupposition arising from and underling theories and arguments in various areas of communication studies. - Present clear and cohesive arguments and reports in both written and spoken form, on such issues and their implications. - Write short papers and reports presenting philosophical analyses, of new research and emerging theories in the relevant areas. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Cobley, P. (1996). The communication theory reader. Psychology Press. - Griffin, E. A., & McClish, G. A. (2011). A first look at communication theory. Boston: McGraw-Hill. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Clive Zammit |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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