Public Opinion (20360)
Degree/study: Bachelor's Degree in Advertising and Public Relations
Year: First
Term: Second
Number of ECTS credits: 4 credits
Hours of studi dedication: 100 hours
Teaching language or languages: Spanish/ Catalan
Teaching Staff: Carles Pont Sorribes
1. Presentation of the subject
The Public Opinion course focuses on studying the science of public opinion. It aims at knowing the differences between the public and the private, the social conducts and behaviours and the media intermediation in this process. The course is compulsory for the Bachelor's Degree in Advertising and Public Relations students and it is taught during the first year. The course has a theoretical and analytical nature. It expects students to acquire tools and reflection methods in order to being able to put them into practice when working as a publicist or a PR.
2. Competences to be attained
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General skills |
Specific skills |
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Instrumental 1. - Capacity for carrying out assignments aiming at quality and excellence in presentation 2. Proper written and oral expression 3. Idea organization skills Interpersonal 4. Oral skills, in order to argue in class, defend one's postulates and explain the proposed assignments. 5.- To integrate and/or coordinate a working team Systemic 6. Capacity for putting the acquired knowledge into practice. 7. Great care for the quality and results of the tasks to be handed in |
1. Acknowledging the public opinion's theories 2. Linking the public opinion forming processes 3. Understanding and knowing how to apply the mass media analysis methodology 4. Linking the different elements taking part in the agenda setting (professionals -PR, publicists- , social and politic journalists, pressure groups as NGOs) 5. Targeting the main characteristics of the new technologies in the public opinion creation
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3. Contents
• Content Block 1.
Approaching the public opinion science. Taking the definitions classification and their critical analysis as a starting point, the different theoretical postulates are reviewed. Classical and empirical traditions are mainly studied. (Units 1-2)
• Content Block 2.
Learning about the public opinion formation processes. From the incidence of the media, the public relations and the public opinion processes. (Unit 3)
• Content Block 3.
Contextualizing the public opinion in the new global and technological environment. Specifically, students will study the political science role in the agenda setting and the generation of information by big corporations. As well, they will research how the Internet can have an influence on the creation of a "new" public opinion. (Units 4 and 5).
4. Assessment
The assessment is continuous. The final mark is obtained from these marks:
1. - Interventions in class (20%)
2. - Analysis work (30%)
3. - Readings (20%)
4. - Final exam (30%)
Students must attend at least 80% of the in-class sessions in order to qualify for the continuous assessment. If they fail at this requirement, students will not get a pass in the course during the round of exams in June and will have to take an exam, besides handing in the tasks proposed by the teacher.
5. Bibliography and teaching resources
5.1. Basic bibliography
Adamo, O; Garcia, V; Freidenberg, F. Medios de comunicación y opinión pública. Madrid: McGraw-Hill, 2007.
Berrio, Jordi (1990). L'opinió pública i la democràcia. Barcelona: Editorial Pòrtic.
Borrat, Hector (1989). El periódico, actor político. Barcelona: Gili.
Lippmann, Walter. La opinión pública. Madrid: Langre, cop. 2003
Habermas, Jürgen. (1990). Historia i crítica de la opinión pública. La transformación estructural de la vida pública. 2nd edition. Barcelona: Gustavo Gili
Noëlle-Neumann, Elisabeth. (1995). La espiral del silencio. Opinión pública: nuestra piel social. Barcelona: Paidós.
Rodrigo, Miquel. La construcción de la noticia. Barcelona: Paidós Comunicación, 2005.
5.2. Complementary bibliography
Altheide, David L. Creating Fear. News and the construction of crisis. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Inc, 2002.
Badia, Lluís (1992). De la persuasió a la tematització. Introducció a la comunicació política moderna. Barcelona: Editorial Pòrtic.
Beck, Ulrich (2003). Sobre el terrorismo y la guerra. Barcelona: Paidós, 2003.
Bernays, Edward. L. Crystallizing Public Opinion / Cristalizando la opinió pública. Barcelona: Gestión, 2000, 1998.
Berrio, Jordi (2000). Comunicar en democràcia. Una visió sobre l'opinió pública. Bellaterra, Castelló de la Plana, Barcelona, València: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Publicacions de la Universitat Jaume I, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Universitat de València.
Blondiaux, Loïc. La Fabrique de l'opinion une histoire sociale des sondages. Paris Éditions du Seuil cop. 199
Bourdieu, Pierre. Sobre la Televisió. Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1997.
Canel. M. J. (1999). Comunicación política. Madrid:Tecnos.
Chomsky, Noam. (2003). Dues hores de lucidesa. Barcelona: Ed. 62, 2003.
Gifreu, J; Pallarès, F. (ed.) (2001). La campanya més disputada. Mitjans, partits i eleccions a les eleccions catalanes de 1999. Barcelona: Pòrtic.
Mir i Soler, Narcís (1999). Societat, Estat i risc. Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis de la Seguretat,
Noëlle-Neumann, Elisabeth. (1970). Encuestas en la sociedad de masas. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.
Pallarès, Francesc; Gifreu, Josep; Capdevila, Arantxa. De Pujol a Maragall. Comuniació política i comportament electoral a les eleccions catlanes de 2003. Girona: Documenta, 2007.
Price, Vicent (1994). Opinión Pública. Barcelona: Paidós.
Rodrigo, Miquel. La construcción de la noticia. Barcelona: Paidós Comunicación, 2005
5.3. Teaching resources
Readings:
Bourdieu, Pierre. "La opinión pública no existe" Voces y Culturas nº 10 II September 1996.
Audiovisual materials:
Election campaigns: election spots, campaign photos and videos.
Opinion polls:
From the Opinion Studies Centre and from CIS.
6. Metodology
· Master classes will consist of two parts: the first one will be an analysis of the public opinion of the day, from the published opinion or from important topics (20 minutes). The second part will be the explanation of the theory units (80 minutes).
· The 80 students will be divided into 4 groups of 20 students. (On the days the students do not have to attend a seminar, they will have to do out of class work: readings, tasks, group tasks).
· Readings analysis and in-class seminar (1 session for student).
• Tutoring sessions will take place in order to orientate the students' analysis work and to solve any subject related doubts. (2 for student).
7. Planning of activities
Example Course 2009-2010
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Articles reading
Reading the article by Pierre Bourdieu "La Opinió Pública no existe" (The Public Opinion does not exist). In-class discussion about the reading.
Reading and commenting other readings to be determined by the teacher throughout the term.
Exam
The final exam will take place on the day established in the subject's syllabus.
Analysis task
The analysis project must be done in 4 people groups. The maximum length is 15 pages and the deadline is on the last day of the course.
Students must choose one of these four options:
1. Write and conduct a survey of about 40 people. Ask them what the public opinion is and compare the answers, looking for similarities and differences with the theories explained in class.
2. Design a public health campaign against alcoholism and drug addiction (or other topics to be determined with the teacher) using a message appealing to the audience's fear.
3. Write two political speeches. In one of them, the candidate must bring up bilateral arguments to explain to the audience the reasons why they should vote him. In the other one, use unilateral arguments. Explain for what kind of audience each of the speeches would be effective.
4. Analyze a topic (previously agreed with the teacher) from the published opinion and explain what influence the media has on the public opinion configuration. Link it to the theories seen in class.