2019-2020 / COMU0035-1

Communication from the European institutions : speech and practice analysis

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

 Master in multilingual communication (120 ECTS)5 crédits 

Lecturer

Geoffrey Geuens

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The course has three objectives: first of all, to initiate students in the analysis of the institutional discourse of socio-economic, political or cultural players; secondly, to analyse the communications strategy of European institutions in periods of crisis and the stakes of this communication; finally, to study the role of the media and players in European civil society in the co-construction process of public debate.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1° critically analyse institutional discourses and the communications strategy of European institutions in periods of crisis;
2° better understand the role played by the media and civil society players in the co-construction of the public debate;
3° deconstruct the communication of their 'opponents' and/or contradictors (political opponents, economic competitors, etc.), in the future.
This course also meets the need to train future political and/or institutional communications professionals, who are well aware of the responsibilities associated with their future profession. 

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

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Planned learning activities and teaching methods

In the beginning, the students are given press articles relaying the words of political leaders from the European Union, whose crisis communication is considered to be rather ineffective and even counter-productive, according to the teacher. The students are then asked to look through these communication discourses and find what might restrict their effectiveness (problematic presuppositions and insinuations, etc.). Secondly, students have to offers solutions to the 'problems' identified by suggesting, for instance, either other elements to be integrated into the crisis communication of European leaders, or counter-discourse elements which their political opponents could use (phrases, arguments, etc.), in both cases, bearing in mind, at all times, the objectives and target audience.
In class, the teacher, the assistant and the students make joint progress in the analysis of the corpus studied in class. This collective "exercise", organized in face-to-face, is preparatory to the work that students (in groups) will have to submit at the very beginning of the January 2020 exam session; a work that will have value of examination. For details, see below ("Evaluation methods and criteria")

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

Face-to-face

Recommended or required readings

Compulsory reading
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Assessment methods and criteria

A work, done in groups, will have to be deposited at the very beginning of the exam session of January 2020. This work will have value of examination. For instructions on work, see "course materials".

Work placement(s)

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Organizational remarks

First term: every Monday: 9:00-11:00 (A2 5/11 room)

Contacts

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Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session

Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning

Assessment subjects

Assessment methods

Contacts

Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the Aug-Sept 2020 session

Assessment subjects

Assessment methods

Contacts

Items online

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