Communications and Media - Senior

Course #: MDIA 4010E

Course Description

This course uses a project-based learning approach to help students providing useful applications and concrete contributions in support of local development. For Communication and Media students the focus will be on audio and video production. Students will work in teams (of four or five students) to integrate music, graphics and video technologies in entrepreneurial projects aimed at supporting the local communities. For Computer Sciences students, a variety of mobile applications, augmented virtual reality applications, Big Data applications, Internet of Things, Video Game Experiential Marketing applications, Machine Learning Methods, Mobile Operating Systems and Mobile Signals and Sensors applications and many more will be on offer. Whenever possible, multidisciplinary collaborations between students will be suggested and recommended. The aim is to boost local development, preferably in the Naryn Oblast. The student projects can be implemented in a variety of sectors such as tourism, agriculture, food processing, manufacturing, hospitality services (sports, leisure & recreation), public services, health, education, transportation, or any sector that contributes to support the development of local communities. However, an emphasis will be put on the tourism sector which has the potential to substantially contribute to Naryn’s economic progress.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successfully completing this course, students should be able to:

• Define what are local development priorities and strategies
• Explain how specific digital projects can contribute to these goals
• Collect relevant data on which to build a digital project
• Determine the needs expressed by actors on the ground and design potential solutions to address those needs
• Relate their theoretical knowledge to the design and implementation of concrete projects on the ground
• Develop appropriate technical solutions to serve the specific needs of economic and social actors in the region
• Present to the public at large specific finalized projects

Course Assessments and Grading

Course #: MDIA 4086E

Course Description

This course explores the development, theory and praxis of Communication for Development and Social Change (CDSC) / Communication for Development (C4D), an emerging field of studies and professional practice whose goal is to use communication processes, techniques and media to facilitate social, economic and technological development.  The traditions of employing CDSC; the factors that influence theory and practice; the organization of CDSC; and new and evolving approaches to CDSC are introduced.  The different ways in which communication can be leveraged to bring about change in attitudes, behavior and knowledge in individuals and communities are explored. The ways in which 'participation' can make a difference in the planning, implementation and evaluation of social change processes and the key role played by culture in social change, and contemporary uses of community media in the facilitation of change are analyzed. The course is designed to strengthen knowledge of key theories and concepts in this area of study and, build skills for work in the state, inter-governmental and NGO sector.

Course Learning Outcomes

• Describe key theories around communication, culture, behavior and social change
• Define and distinguish key CDSC concepts, principles, approaches, methods and techniques;
• Evaluate a variety of communication issues in distinct societal and geographical areas in order to do identify best CDSC practices;
• Evaluate the impact of CDSC strategies in distinct societal and geographical areas;
• Analyze mediated social change in order to better understand its impact and its relevance to specific contexts;
• Identify the steps involved in the design and development of effective, evidence-based and human rights-based C4D strategies in line with best practice.

Course Assessment and Grading

Course #: MDIA 4084

Course Description

This course focuses on modern political communication as purposeful communication about politics, government, and governance in both the overall global and specific Central Asian context. It will start out with the history and hybrid nature of political communication as a social science and applied discipline. It will then move to examining political communication as messaging about acquisition, distribution, exercise of and challenge to power in a society as it is exercised by both current and aspiring power holders, as well as those who are subjected to power. Looking at the three key actors in the political communication process – political organizations, power holders and candidates; media, both traditional and internet-based, and citizens – separately and in interaction, the course will examine how political communication flows between and among these actors in a society and to what effect.

By studying the models, flows, and processes of political communication as well as theories of communication, persuasion, and media effects, the goal of the course is to develop an  understanding of how political communication shapes modern societies and provides entry points for citizens to influence politics and push for meaningful policy changes.

Course Learning Outcomes

• Discuss the purpose, process, flows, models, and actors of political communication, in both the global and regional CA context
• Identify the goals and effects of current political campaigns and political advertising
• Discuss the landscape and the role of both traditional and Internet-based media in political processes in democratic, authoritarian, and hybrid regimes
• Explain citizen participation and engagement in political processes as well as the entry points and mechanisms of citizen empowerment through social media
• Evaluate political communication in a global crisis and its effects on Central Asian societies

Course Assessments and Grading