Advanced Diploma in Media Education and Political Communication

Today, the language and images we consume through television, radio, print media, and social networks define the limits and possibilities of the collective imagination and, by extension, political thought. Although digitalization brought with it the democratization of spaces previously monopolized by political, economic, and media powers, digital platforms have become one of the main vehicles for hoaxes, propaganda, and hate speech. In times of disinformation and the rise of the far right, media literacy plays an essential role in our society. In this diploma program, we will provide students with the necessary theoretical and practical tools to understand, question, and challenge the hegemony of media powers from a global and interdisciplinary perspective.

“Wars always begin before the first shot is fired; they begin with a change in the vocabulary of the media.” This quote from Ryszard Kapuściński, far from losing its relevance, has become even more meaningful in recent years. If traditional mass media already wielded considerable influence over the ideas and beliefs of the population, the hypermediation we have experienced in recent decades since the birth of the internet has given rise to a world in which it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between the physical and the virtual, between information and manipulation, between truth and falsehood.

To this end, we will address a series of theories and concepts, developed within the frameworks of information science, cultural studies, and political science, necessary to gain a critical understanding of how the media functions. Once the theoretical foundations of the course are established, we will proceed to explore different areas of interest. First, we will delve into the communication strategies of journalistic media and analyze the ideological work carried out by this sector. Second, we will address the need to interpret culture critically, with particular emphasis on how film and television series influence the shaping of audiences' political thinking. Finally, we will explore different ways of challenging the hegemony of media powers from alternative spaces such as social media, independent journalism, podcasts, and other relevant audiovisual projects in Spain and Latin America.

GENERAL PURPOSE

To acquire the necessary theoretical and practical tools to understand, question and challenge the hegemony of media powers from a global and interdisciplinary perspective.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1. Study the main debates and theoretical approaches necessary for understanding the functioning of major media outlets and digital platforms.

2. Analyze the communication strategies and ideological work of the journalistic and audiovisual sectors.

3. Explore new ways to combat disinformation and create alternative media spaces.

4. Put into practice the theoretical knowledge acquired in the different modules of the diploma

The Higher Diploma in Media Education is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students; teachers at all levels; activists and members of trade unions, social movements and political parties; public officials; members and managers of non-governmental organizations and professionals interested in the subject.

• Pablo Iglesias Turrion (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain) 
• Asunción Bernárdez Rodal (Faculty of Information Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain) 
• Amparo Marroquín Parducci (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the University of El Salvador) 
• Anita Fuentes (Institute of Feminist Studies of the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain)
• Omar Rincón (University of the Andes, Colombia) 
• Manu Levin (The Base, Canal Red, Spain) 
• Inna Afinogenova (La Base and Cafeinna, Canal Red, Spain) 
• Julián Macías Tovar (Digital Pandemic and Canal Red, Spain)

The program consists of 4 modules of 4 weekly classes each, each taught consecutively and linked to the others.

Total workload of 128 hours.

The modules that comprise the advanced diploma are: