Кто читает:: Институт медиа

Статус:: Курс обязательный

Когда читается:: 1-й курс, 1, 2, 4 модуль

Преподаватель

Переяслов Алексей Денисович

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Abstract

The Critical Political Economy of Media course offers students a perspective on media and communication from the standpoint of the production, accumulation and concentration of capital in the broadest sense. The main emphasis throughout the discipline is on the ‘classical’ Marxist critique of political economy, but this is not the exclusive theoretical perspective offered within the discipline. Students will be introduced to various socio-economic aspects of the emergence, development and dynamics of modern media (mass media, Internet, technological platforms and infrastructures) as economic agents and/or objects of economic interest.

Learning Objectives

To provide students the critical reasoning in field of analysis of media structures
To teach students main theoretical framework in field of media domination and commodification
To make students able to critically assess media business, media companies in terms of their power relations
To provide students the political economic critique of media technologies and technological determinism
To introduce students to major issues underpinning the political economy of media and communication (M.B.)
To develop the students’ understanding of the underlying ideological assumptions behind media technology, mediated representations and informational and communicative labor (M.B.)
To provide an array of tools to deconstruct complex social totalities saturated by capitalist media and communicative practices (M.B.)
To assist students in developing an immanent critique of Western-centric media (M.B.)
To navigate and understand the philosophical underpinnings of critical political economy of the media approaches (J.M.)
To identify the key steps of the media and culture industrialisation process and the socio-technical factors which were at play in this historical evolution (J.M.)
To take into consideration key paradigm shifts within these approaches, in particular those arising from the question of the place or function of receivers or so-called consumers of media and cultural content (J.M.)
To understand recent evolutions (collaborative web, media convergence, participatory culture, platformisation, etc.), through a broader historical perspective taking into account earlier critical political economy work looking at lesser-known phenomena and alternatives (J.M.)
To gain insight into the potential future developments in the field of media and culture industries via the study of recent work in the field covering specific areas such as the role of ideological production, audience labour or blockchain-enabled disintermediation (J.M.)

Expected Learning Outcomes

Use main political economy tools to analyze Google and technological platforms (N.S.)
Defines the notion of the Google solutionnism (N.S.)
Able to analyze the ideology of Google (N.S.)
Knows basic categories of political economy (A.P.)
Understands the socio-economic significance and position of the media and communication industries within the capitalist economic system (A.P.)
Applies the theoretical framework of political economy to their analysis of phenomena in the fields of media communications and cultural processes (A.P.)

Course Contents

A. Pereiaslov's Block
N. Smyrnaios' Block
L. Paolicchi's Block

Assessment Elements

Activity in the seminar (A.P.)
Written Assignment (A.P.)
The written assignment is conducted in person during the final seminar. Students must arrive on time, bring a pen or pencil (preferably several), and take seats spaced apart as much as possible. The teacher distributes printed versions of the test. Each student must write their name on the provided sheet and complete only the tasks assigned in their variant. If needed, the teacher may provide an additional piece of paper for answers that do not fit on the main form; however, students are encouraged to keep their responses concise. The use of mobile phones and any electronic devices (including smartwatches) during the test is strictly prohibited. Leaving the classroom is allowed only with the teacher’s permission and after showing personal devices to confirm that the student is leaving without them. If necessary, the teacher may provide an English–Russian dictionary. Students are not allowed to bring or use their own or borrowed dictionaries, or any other supplementary materials. Any form of cheating, including the exchange of answers or ideas (even via means of ✨telepathy🔮), or obstruction of examination procedure results in the annulment of the work, which will not be graded. The duration of the test corresponds to the length of the seminar. All completed assignments must be submitted by the end of the seminar. The teacher undertakes to review all assignments and report the results before the end of the examination period.
In class activity (L.P.)
Reading of material, discussion of its main theses and application of the concepts seen in class.
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Interim Assessment

2025/2026 2nd module
0.385 * Activity in the seminar (A.P.) + 0.45 * In class activity (L.P.) + 0.165 * Written Assignment (A.P.)
2025/2026 4th module
1 * -
2026/2027 2nd module
0.215 * - + 0.57 * - + 0.215 * -

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Fuchs, C. (2014). Social Media : A Critical Introduction. SAGE Publications Ltd.
Morozov, E. (DE-588)1034109286, (DE-627)744071933, (DE-576)381755533, aut. (2011). The net delusion the dark side of internet freedom Evgeny Morozov.
Классическая политическая экономия : современное марксистское направление: базовый уровень. Продвинутый уровень, Бузгалин, А. В., 2018
Состояние постмодерна : исследование истоков культурных изменений, Харви, Д., 2021

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Краткая история неолиберализма : актуальное прочтение, Харви, Д., 2007

Authors

PEREIASLOV ALEKSEI DENISOVICH

Магистерская программа «Современные медиаисследования и аналитика/ Contemporary Media Research»

Контакты

Поступление на программу

Critical Political Economy of Media