The course will introduce students to individual media theories in terms of an interdisciplinary approach to studying media, which means: what media are; how, when and why they emerged and how they function today; how they create and transmit meanings; what effects they have on audiences and how these effects are observed and measured; how and why media are used for mass communication; what are the implications of media products on social reality; how media are changing and what media convergence brings; media freedom and the democratic process. Understanding and problematizing the listed topics will enable students to develop media literacy, i.e. awareness of the ways of using them, the necessary analysis of complex messages, their evaluation, audience research and the possibilities of creating media messages that will enrich their private and professional lives.

The course will introduce students to individual media theories in terms of an interdisciplinary approach to studying media, which means: what media are; how, when and why they emerged and how they function today; how they create and transmit meanings; what effects they have on audiences and how these effects are observed and measured; how and why media are used for mass communication; what are the implications of media products on social reality; how media are changing and what media convergence brings; media freedom and the democratic process. Understanding and problematizing the listed topics will enable students to develop media literacy, i.e. awareness of the ways of using them, the necessary analysis of complex messages, their evaluation, audience research and the possibilities of creating media messages that will enrich their private and professional lives.