| CODE | MCS3160 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Journalism: Historical Contexts | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Media and Communications | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit examines what leads up to journalism, news and current affairs, providing students with a background enabling an understanding of the events shaping our world. Students explore how major modern historical events have shaped the current international media landscape. The emphasis will be on what is making headlines in the 2020s and the most important current affairs. The main considerations are: - Maltese history and the major events that have shaped independent Malta in the 20th century: colonialism and democracy in post-colonial Malta, accession to the EU, and the major socio-economic policies. - The rise of the European Economic Community and the European Union, Malta’s adhesion, and current challenges with historical roots facing the EU such as enlargement, immigration, common policies and Brexit. - The Second World War, the Cold War and its after effects: Malta’s neutrality, the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and events that have led to the War in Ukraine. - The complex natrure of the Middle East, going back to the rise movement that became known as Zionism, the colonial impact on the Middle East, the post-World War II creation of Israel and relations with the Arab world, the issue of the Palestinians, the value of oil production in the region, the role of players such as the USA, Britannia and France in the region, the role of extremism such as the Islamic State and the Islam revolution in Iran, religions tensions within Islam. 1) Issues of climate change and environment protection. 2) The rise of China, the status of Taiwan, and the Asian tigers. 3) Post-colonial Africa. 4) The Western Hemisphere and Global South (formerly known as the First, Second and Third World countries). 5)The Balkans -from WWI to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, ethnic tensions, Kosovo. 6) The rise of populism and nationalism in Europe and issues related to the IRA, ETA, Catalonia, Scotland, the division of Cyprus, and extreme right movements in Italy France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary etc. Study-Unit Aims: - Systematically identify the most important European news, world news and current affairs reporting trends, particularly those affecting Malta and Maltese journalism; - Provide the historical context for these news stories and current affairs; - Present the value of historical sources, their bias and contribution towards our understanding of news of current affairs in the 21st century; - Recognise how misinformation, disinformation and fake news and the way these exploit historical narratives; - Establish the principles of how to apply this understanding to news and media content production. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Determine the extent of the impact of history on news coverage, news production and news consumption; - Comprehend the role of historical narratives in shaping public opinion; - Value the challenges of reporting events with a complex historical context. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify and analyse a news story/news media content for its historical narrative context; - Apply research skills to exploit historical sources to be used in news content production; - Locate the exploitation of history and historical-based narratives in misinformation and disinformation practices in mass media, especially digital media. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Abela, J. S. (2021). *A brief history of Malta* (Rev. ed.). BDL. - Kolodko, G. W. (2011). *Truth, errors, and lies: Politics and economics in a volatile world*. Columbia University Press. - Lavoinne, Y., & Motlow, D. (1994). Journalists, history and historians. The ups and downs of a professional identity. *Réseaux. Communication- Technologie-Société*, 2(2), 205-221. - Available on Google Scholar. - Madikiza, D. (2023). An analytical lens resting on a tripod: De-Westernising, internationalising, and decolonising international communication. *Communicatio*, 1-25. Supplementary Readings: - Lalchandani, S. (2022). The world is flat: A brief history of the globalized world in the 21st century. *Management Dynamics*, 6(1), 139. - Mosborg, S. (2002). Speaking of history: How adolescents use their knowledge of history in reading the daily news. *Cognition and Instruction*, 20(3), 323-358. - Richards, M. D., & Waibel, P. R. (2014). *Twentieth-century Europe: A brief history, 1900 to the present* (3rd ed.). New York Academy of Sciences. - Thussu, D. K. (2022). De-colonizing global news-flows: A historical perspective. *Journalism Studies*, 23(13), 1578-1592. |
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| RULES/CONDITIONS | Before TAKING THIS UNIT YOU MUST TAKE MCS1030 | |||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | |||||||||
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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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