Undergraduate Course: Russian Media Culture: Television and Internet (ELCR10020)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The general aim of the course is to provide students with knowledge of roles and functions of 'old' and 'new' media in the Post-Soviet Russian society, as well as with an understanding of cultural forms of the Russian media system, namely, of television and the internet. This course focuses on the Russian central television, the internet ('Runet'), and their hybrid forms. The television and the internet texts and practices are placed in the broader Post-Soviet Russian cultural, social and political contexts. The objectives of this course are: 1) to explore the cultural phenomena and processes of the Russian media culture; to demonstrate their significance for the contemporary Russian society; 2) to reveal specific features of the Russian television and the internet cultures in the global information society; 3) to teach students to interpret the multimedia texts, using critical media theories. Methodologically, this course relies on the theoretical approaches of the media/new media theory and cultural studies. Special attention is given to Critical Discourse Analysis. |
| Course description |
The course includes 5 thematic modules. Each model consists of two two-hour periods:
1. "Old" and "new" media in Post-Soviet Russia
Contexts of the Post-Soviet Russian culture: the state and society; globalization, information society and the national identity problem. Media culture and the problem of a national specificity. Mass-media in Russia in the 1990s-2000s.
The role and the functions of the central television. Political, economic, social and cultural tasks entrusted to the television in the 2000s. The internet and the means of personal communication in the Russian media system. Social dynamics of new media in the 2000s. Runet (i.e. the Russian-speaking internet segment) as social communication space. Public hopes, fears, and expectations related to the Russian new media. Special features of the Runet community; its "cult" figures and "the Runet elite"; the mythology of the Runet. Runet as a place of cultural production and consumption.
Reading:
Koltsova, Olessia. 2006. News Media and Power in Russia. London: Routledge. Pp. 45-72, 192-204.
Schmidt, Henrike and Teubener, Katy. 2006. "Our RuNet"? Cultural Identity and Media Usage". In Control + Shift: Public and Private Uses of the Russian Internet. Ed. by H. Schmidt, K. Teubener, and N. Konradova. Norderstedt: Books on Demand. Pp. 14 - 30.
Strukov, Vlad. 2009. "Russian Internet Media Policies: Open Space and Ideological Closure". In Beumers, Birgit, Hutchings, Stephen and Rulyova, Natalia. The Post-Soviet Russian Media: Conflicting Signals, London: Routledge. Pp. 208-223.
2. Russian television: information politics
The structure of the Russian central and regional television. Technological development of the Russian television and the problem of digitalization. Rules and regulations. TV-journalism in the 2000s: democracy, freedom of speech, propaganda and the state control.
A representation of political and social reality on the central TV channels. Information programmes: production and distribution of the news on the Russian TV; discourse of the official news and analytics. Languages of the "realism" and codes of infortainment programmes.
Reading:
Koltsova, Olessia. 2006. News Media and Power in Russia. London: Routledge. Pp. 98-117, 192-204.
Dunn, John A. 2009. "Where did it all go wrong? Russian television in the Putin era". In The Post-Soviet Russian Media: Conflicting Signals. Ed. by B. Beumers, S. Hutchings, N. Rulyova. Routledge. Pp. 42-55.
Hutchings, Stephen and Natalia Rulyova. 2009. Television and Culture in Putin's Russia: Remote Control. London & New York: Routledge. Pp. 29-56.
3. Culture of the Russian TV-entertainment
Entertainment, consumption and cultural didactics on the Russian TV-screen. Popular leisure programmes: constructions of attractive everyday life and their visual consumption; strategies of dealing with the audience.
Cultural specifics of the Russian TV series. Screening of the Russian literature. "Police", "military forces", "the criminal world" and "the society" in the popular procedurals. Popular dramas and sitcoms. "Russian talk" and gender representations in TV talk-shows. The characteristics of reality shows.
Reading:
Beumers, Birgit. 2009. "The Serialization of Culture or the Culture of Serialization". In The Post-Soviet Russian Media: Conflicting Signals. Ed. by B. Beumers, S. Hutchings, N. Rulyova. Routledge, pp. 159-177.
Zvereva, Vera. 2012. 'Nastoyashchaia Zhizn' v Televizore'. Issledovaniia Sovremennoi Mediakultury. Moscow: RSUH, pp. 83-100.
Hutchings, Stephen and Natalia Rulyova. 2009. Television and Culture in Putin's Russia: Remote Control. London & New York: Routledge, pp. 160-175.
4. Russian blogosphere: character and functions
The blog as a cultural form: its potential, possibilities and restrictions. Russian blogosphere: the "LiveJournal.com" phenomenon. Uses and functions of the individual and collective blogs. The Runet blogs as an alternative mass-media. The news and gossip spreading in the blogosphere. The social and political significance of "LJ-top".
Communication styles on the Runet. Online speech behavior in blogs. Uses of memes and formulas; linguistic games; flood and trolling; speech aggression. Linguistic fashion in new media. Transformation of the literary language and emerging of the new ways of creative writing. The rise of the networking literature - the phenomenon of "Seteratura".
Reading:
Schmidt, Henrike and Teubener, Katy. "(Counter)Public Sphere(s) on the Russian Internet". In Control + Shift: Public and Private Uses of the Russian Internet. Ed. by H. Schmidt, K. Teubener, and N. Konradova. Norderstedt: Books on Demand, 2006. Pp. 51-72.
Goriunova, Olga. "'Male literature' of Udaff.com and Other Networked Artistic Practices of the Cultural Resistance". In Control + Shift: Public and Private Uses of the Russian Internet. Ed. by H. Schmidt, K. Teubener, and N. Konradova. Norderstedt: Books on Demand, 2006. Pp. 177-197.
5. Virtual communities and social networking sites
Virtual communities as a form of social relationship. Popular communities of the Runet: shared interests and experiences. The role of social networking sites in today's Runet culture. The characteristic features of the top social media sites of the Runet, "Odnoklassniki", "V Kontakte", and "Facebook". The problem of social stratifications in Russian social networks. The electronic diasporas: belonging and identity.
Social networking, activism and civil society. New media as a platform for political and civil action. The role of the new media in the civil movements in the Post-Soviet Russia, the "online democracy" and non-political activism. The debates about activism and protest movements on the Runet social networking sites. The state's interests online: the twittering officials; direct and indirect propaganda and political technologies on the internet.
Reading:
Alexanyan, Karina. 2009. "Social Networking on Runet: The View from a Moving Train." Digital Icons 2: 1-12
Panchenko, Egor. "Convergence of Internet News Media and Social Networks on Runet". In Digial Icons. Issue 5. 2011. http://www.digitalicons.org/issue05/egor-panchenko/
Golynko-Volfson, Dmitry. "Social Networks in an Un-Networked Society". In Digital Icons. Issue 2. 2009. http://www.digitalicons.org/issue02/dmitry-golynko/
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | In order to be eligible to take 4th Year Options, Visiting Students should have the equivalent of at least two years of study at University level of the appropriate language(s) and culture(s). |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
30% coursework essay; 70% degree exam |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
| Students will acquire knowledge the Russian television and the internet practices; they will learn about the place and the functions of the media in contemporary Russian politics, culture and social life. Students will learn how the key problems of democracy and authoritarianism, national identity and nationalism in the multicultural Russian society are shaped in the 'old' and the 'new' media, and contextualize those within the connecting issues of cultural production and consumption. Students will be able to conduct media research (monitoring of the web-sites, exploration of content and forms of TV programmes, etc.) and interpret complex digital media texts. This practical work will advance their ability to apply concepts and theories of media studies to the analysis of the Russian media culture.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | DELC Russian Media |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Vera Zvereva
Tel: (0131 6)50 9900
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Julie Gifford
Tel: (0131 6)50 4026
Email: |
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