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Course Overview

This course is a survey of classic works and new directions in the field of political communication, including functionalist, structuralist, constructivist, network, and comparative approaches, and reflecting a range of methods. Emerging issues as well as traditional topics in political communication research will be covered. The role of communication in and through political organizing, electoral and legislative processes and outcomes, media and politics, civic (dis)engagement, public opinion formation, political discourse, deliberation, and political identity construction-- at local, national, and transnational levels-- will be examined through critical literature reviews, interviews with UW faculty, course discussions, and student papers exploring their own research interests in light of the literature in the course.

This course is appropriate for graduate students in communication, political science, public affairs, and other social sciences who plan to specialize in political communication, as well as for students who want to supplement their core work with knowledge of literature and research in this area.

The aims of the course include gaining knowledge of several strands of literature in the field of political communication, and becoming comfortable using this literature in a variety of ways, including: knowing basic theories, definitions, concepts; understanding research applications of theories and concepts; and finding broad applications of the literature to questions or problems relevant to each student's research interests.

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