J412/512 - Critical Perspectives in Communication and Democracy

Carl Bybee Winter 2010CRN: 26558

207 Allen Hall346-4175 16:00-17:20 TR260 Condon
E-mail: bybee@uoregon.edu
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GENERAL INFORMATION

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is class will provide an examination of the role of communication in democratic theory.

e primary goals of the course are to provide students with an understanding of the historic role communication
s played in the conceptualization and implementation of democratic government and an appreciation of the
ndamental relationship between processes of communication and democracy as consensual social relationships

is course provides an opportunity for the in-depth study of political communication particularly relevant to
izens immersed in commercial media culture.

Of particular concern for this course will be whether or not a new form of "democracy" is emerging in the
United States marked by the growing divide between the rich and the poor, media concentration, the primacy
of the market over democratic values, and the rise of political apathy. Of particular concern is an
examination of this new form of "democracy," bearing the name of democratic capitalism by its supporters
and "neoliberalism" by its' critics, which considers its implications for creating a sustainable democratic
culture defined by a commitment to social, political, and environmental justice and thoughtful citizen
engagement. At the same time we will take up the examination of which contemporary meaning of
democracy and democratic citizenship, particularly in light of the current economic crisis, has been and is
being constructed through popular media discourse.