New Topics on Spanish Media

Course description
The technological changes after the irruption of the Internet, the process of globalization
and the emergence of new political parties —among other aspects— have consolidated a
new ecosystem on Spanish media. Channels, audiences, markets and companies have been
influenced by the changing context and different institutions of the country have been
compelled to live a mutation process in few years. The aim of this course is to take a look
at the representation and construction of different discourses in these new Spanish media
through case studies.
The learning objectives of this course are to understand and explain major issues of the
new Spanish media context, to critically analyse the specific importance of technological
and political changes, to redefine international communication terminology in the light of
21st century changes, to identify and express the intercultural strategies we use for cultural
understanding in global media and to engage with the host population. This course
examines major issues related to new topics in Spanish media: From traditional mass
media to citizen journalism, from the newest trends on social media to the historical
background of the country itself.
The course will be divided in two main independent sections. The first one will focus on the
representativeness of Spain through both traditional and new media, while the second one
will emphasise how fiction, whether is television, cinema or social media, is capable of
describing in detail the reality of Spain.

Methodology
Class will meet twice a week for 90 minutes. Once a week, quick presentations are
scheduled to summarize and further investigate the discussion topic of the week.
Presentations will be done orally. Students should be able to show their capacity to
introduce ideas and thoughts dealing with the topic, their ability to use language
effectively, and their capacity to generate debate among the classmates. The rest of the
class work will involve traditional lectures, discussions and analysis. There will be also
specific workshops where the students will reflect their learning process.