Educational guide 2023_24 Faculty of Arts

Contents

Topic	Sub-topic
Unit 1. The concept of public opinion from the classical tradition	Defining public opinion - The classic concept of public opinion (1750-1922) - Political liberalism and economic liberalism - The public sphere in complex societies: populism, polarization, post-truth.
Unit 2. Public opinion in the 20th century. From propaganda to the empirical tradition	Public opinion in the era of mass communication. Propaganda, information and communication.
Unit 3. The influence of media. From powerful media effects to cognitive psychology	The empirical tradition in the study of public opinion - The effects of the media on public opinion - Theories of cognitive effects
Unit 4. The digital public sphere. The transformation of communication and political change	Digital public sphere: challenges, weaknesses and strengths - Political communication in the digital public sphere