Project
The Winter School "Media and Politics in Europe, East Asia and the US" aims to provide scholars, researchers and students with a thorough understanding of the many interconnections between media and politics in the three aforementioned contexts.
The project explores the historical background and the evolution of the main East Asian and Western national contexts, with a focus on the implications of the media system on political consensus-building processes in different areas. With the aim of improving the academic interdisciplinary knowledge exchange on the topic, the Winter School is also designed to prepare students to analyze East Asian, European and U.S. contexts from a multidisciplinary perspective, allowing them to understand the complex domestic and international political dynamics and their media representations, as well as the influence of media on the political processes, through the creation of ad-hoc teaching and learning activities.
Secondly, the project is designed to enhance teaching staff skills in using theoretical and methodological tools to disseminate their knowledge on the interaction between the media and the political-institutional spheres in the areas which are relevant to the project. The Winter School and the Student Conference that will be organised within the project are aimed at combining multidisciplinary know-hows from different geographical areas,. The inputs and outcomes of these activities will be disseminated thanks to an innovative online platform managed by a team of professors, researchers and PhD students.
Lastly, the project aims to build a network of young professionals who are interested in analyzing the political and social implications of media as well as assessing the influence of contemporary communication processes on political dynamics. In this context, UNIBO students will have the opportunity to interact with Japanese and American peers, as well as with teaching staff. At the same time, Japanese and American students will have the opportunity to learn about the evolution of European media and communication processes from a European point of view. The mirroring of these different perspectives allows BA and MA students to not only strengthen their critical and analytical skills but also to hone their research and academic writing skills through their active participation in an international conference. In this spirit, the project pays particular attention to PhD students, providing them with a key opportunity to build international connections among peers.