1. General information
Course:
CURRENT TOPICS IN JOURNALISM
Code:
16315
Type:
CORE COURSE
ECTS credits:
6
Degree:
377 - UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMME IN JOURNALISM
Academic year:
2023-24
Center:
12 - FACULTY OF COMMUNICATION
Group(s):
30
Year:
2
Duration:
C2
Main language:
Spanish
Second language:
Use of additional languages:
English Friendly:
Y
Web site:
Bilingual:
N
Lecturer:
SERGIO MOLINA GARCÍA
- Group(s):
30
Building/Office
Department
Phone number
Email
Office hours
Despacho 1.04 Facultad Comunicación
HISTORIA
Sergio.Molina@uclm.es
Monday 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Tuesday: 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m
Lecturer:
MARÍA ESTHER PALENCIANO TORRECILLA
- Group(s):
30
Building/Office
Department
Phone number
Email
Office hours
DPTO. EN CONSTITUCIÓN
MEsther.Palenciano@uclm.es
2. Pre-Requisites
No prerequisites have been established, but it is recommended to have passed the subject "Historia del Mundo Actual" (first year)
3. Justification in the curriculum, relation to other subjects and to the profession
Journalism is closely related to social, political and economic news, since this profession is in charge of transmitting and analyzing current events. Faced with this situation, it is essential that future journalists reflect on how to deal with the context in which we live. The Current Analysis subject tries to train students in these issues. The main objective of the course is to provide students with tools, techniques and content to be able to understand the present and, above all, analyze reality.
This subject is closely related to History of the Current World in the first year, since a large part of the keys to understanding the present are found in the most immediate past. In addition, it is also related to Políticas Contemporáneas (1º), Historia del Mundo Actual (1º), Estructura Económica (1º), Sociedad de la Información (1º), Documentación Informativa (2º) y Comunicación Política (2º)
4. Degree competences achieved in this course
| Course competences | |
|---|---|
| Code | Description |
| E02 | Capacity and ability to fluently and effectively express and communicate both orally and in writing, by adequately using the most appropriate linguistic and literary resources to each communication medium. |
| E04 | Capacity to read and analyse specialised texts and documents on any relevant topic, and to summarise or adapt them using language or vocabulary understandable to the general public. |
| E05 | Basic capacity to understand informative or communicative production, either written or audiovisual, in standard English. |
| E07 | Capacity and ability to express reasoned ideas by using rhetoric and contributions from new argumentation theories, as well as communicative techniques applied to persuasion. |
| E14 | Capacity to experiment and innovate by learning and using techniques and methods applied to improvement of quality and self-assessment processes. Develop capacity for autonomous learning, adaptation to change and creativity-driven innovation. |
| E16 | Critical knowledge of media influence on Education and of the relation of the media with schools, as well as of the potential of the new Information and Communication Technologies and multimedia systems for development of off-site learning and knowledge. |
| E18 | Egalitarian awareness with regards to individuals and peoples, respect for international human rights, and knowledge of the great cultural or civilising trends related to individual and collective fundamental values. |
| G01 | B1 level of a second foreign language, as per the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages |
| G04 | Ethical commitment and professional ethics. |
| G05 | Gain knowledge and understanding of Journalism by acquiring rational and critical knowledge of world current affairs in order to understand social phenomena that occur in society today. |
| G07 | Interpret relevant data, such as key events and processes that take place in today's societies, from a synchronic perspective. The scope of this kind of knowledge should be as wide as possible, since it contributes to developing the ability to understand diversity and to fostering civic awareness and respect for alien value systems. |
| G09 | Develop the abilities required for Journalism and Communications in general, in order to pursue further postgraduate and professional retraining studies. |
| G11 | Gain insight into the most relevant concepts, categories, theories and topics of the different subfields of Information & Communications research. |
5. Objectives or Learning Outcomes
| Course learning outcomes | |
|---|---|
| Not established. | |
| Additional outcomes | |
| Description | |
| 1. Argue and contrast the basic lines of the main current debates in debate teams. 2. Select the most relevant news from some media individually. Work on the news in a group and compare information. 3. Discover the historical roots of current news. 4. Synthesize the most relevant current information and analyze its interpretive keys. |
|
6. Units / Contents
-
Unit 1: Methodological foundations of current analysis
-
Unit 1.1: Politics and current events, what is it for?
-
-
Unit 2: Global panorama and current international issues
-
Unit 2.1: Geopolitical changes after the pandemic, 2020-2022
-
Unit 2.2: New world context after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2022-present
-
Unit 2.3: US-China: transformations in international relations
-
Unit 2.4: Climate change and energy transition: one of the current challenges
-
Unit 2.5: Feminism 4.0: the new fight for the defense of equality
-
Unit 2.6: The challenges of the European Union
-
Unit 2.7: Sport and diplomacy. beyond entertainment
-
-
Unit 3: Spanish current affairs
-
Unit 3.1: Spanish political panorama
-
Unit 3.2: Spain in the world. Its place in international relations
-
7. Activities, Units/Modules and Methodology
| Training Activity | Methodology | Related Competences (only degrees before RD 822/2021) | ECTS | Hours | As | Com | Description | |
| Class Attendance (theory) [ON-SITE] | Lectures | E16 E18 G04 G05 G11 | 0.84 | 21 | N | N | ||
| Other on-site activities [ON-SITE] | Cooperative / Collaborative Learning | E16 E18 | 0.52 | 13 | N | N | ||
| In-class Debates and forums [ON-SITE] | Debates | E02 E07 E14 E18 G04 G05 G07 | 0.4 | 10 | Y | Y | ||
| Group tutoring sessions [ON-SITE] | Group tutoring sessions | E04 E05 G07 G09 | 0.56 | 14 | N | N | ||
| Writing of reports or projects [OFF-SITE] | Group Work | E05 E07 E16 E18 G04 G05 G07 G11 | 0.8 | 20 | Y | N | ||
| Study and Exam Preparation [OFF-SITE] | Self-study | E02 E04 E05 E07 E14 E16 E18 G01 G04 G05 G07 G09 G11 | 2.8 | 70 | N | N | ||
| Final test [ON-SITE] | Assessment tests | E02 E04 E05 E07 E16 E18 G05 G07 G11 | 0.08 | 2 | Y | Y | ||
| Total: | 6 | 150 | ||||||
| Total credits of in-class work: 2.4 | Total class time hours: 60 | |||||||
| Total credits of out of class work: 3.6 | Total hours of out of class work: 90 | |||||||
As: Assessable training activity Com: Training activity of compulsory overcoming (It will be essential to overcome both continuous and non-continuous assessment).
8. Evaluation criteria and Grading System
| Evaluation System | Continuous assessment | Non-continuous evaluation * | Description |
| Projects | 20.00% | 0.00% | Individual or group work according to the topics proposed by the teachers |
| Theoretical papers assessment | 20.00% | 30.00% | Review of one of the books of the bibliography |
| Oral presentations assessment | 20.00% | 0.00% | Debate on two current issues (World Universities Debating Championship) |
| Final test | 40.00% | 70.00% | Commentary on journalistic pieces based on the theory taught in class |
| Total: | 100.00% | 100.00% |
According to art. 4 of the UCLM Student Evaluation Regulations, it must be provided to students who cannot regularly attend face-to-face training activities the passing of the subject, having the right (art. 12.2) to be globally graded, in 2 annual calls per subject , an ordinary and an extraordinary one (evaluating 100% of the competences).
Evaluation criteria for the final exam:
-
Continuous assessment:The final grade will result from the average of the different grades obtained in each of the evaluable activities.
In order to carry out the weighted average, the minimum evaluable qualification is 40% of the note (4 out of 10). Therefore, all the activities must have a minimum of 4 out of 10 in each of them in order to pass the course.
This programming is open and flexible according to two issues. On the one hand, any issue of national and international impact may be incorporated into the agenda. On the other hand, this planning may be adapted and undergo slight modifications in the event that any extraordinary measure is undertaken. However, even in a
unforeseen scenario, an attempt will be made to maintain the evaluation percentages with the maximum fidelity to what is indicated in this guide.
In any case, the regulations against plagiarism and spelling mistakes established in the Faculty will be applied. The latter, reads as follows: the commission of
Faults of any type (spelling, punctuation or accentuation) will imply a drop in the grade of the test, work or exercise, according to the following
scale: more than 4 faults, 1 point; up to 8 faults, 2 points; with more than 10 faults, the maximum grade for the exercise may not be more than 4. -
Non-continuous evaluation:Any student may change to the non-continuous assessment modality as long as they have not participated during the class period in group activities that implies at least 50% of the total assessment of the subject. If a student has reached that 50% of evaluable activities or if, in any case, the class period has ended, they will be considered in continuous evaluation without the possibility of changing the evaluation modality.
Specifications for the resit/retake exam:
The same specifications will be followed as in the continuous assessment. Both in the case of continuous and non-continuous evaluation, the qualifications of the theory works will be maintained, as long as their qualification is greater than 4 out of 10. In the case of failing any of the works, they must be recovered through a new work proposed by the teacher.
Specifications for the second resit / retake exam:
The same specifications
9. Assignments, course calendar and important dates
| Not related to the syllabus/contents | |
|---|---|
| Hours | hours |
| Class Attendance (theory) [PRESENCIAL][Lectures] | 1 |
| Other on-site activities [PRESENCIAL][Cooperative / Collaborative Learning] | 1 |
| Writing of reports or projects [AUTÓNOMA][Group Work] | 20 |
| Study and Exam Preparation [AUTÓNOMA][Self-study] | 70 |
| Final test [PRESENCIAL][Assessment tests] | 2 |
| Unit 1 (de 3): Methodological foundations of current analysis | |
|---|---|
| Activities | Hours |
| Class Attendance (theory) [PRESENCIAL][Lectures] | 2 |
| Other on-site activities [PRESENCIAL][Cooperative / Collaborative Learning] | 2 |
| Group tutoring sessions [PRESENCIAL][Group tutoring sessions] | 2 |
| Group 30: | |
| Initial date: 29-01-2024 | End date: 06-02-2024 |
| Group 31: | |
| Initial date: 29-01-2024 | End date: 06-02-2024 |
| Unit 2 (de 3): Global panorama and current international issues | |
|---|---|
| Activities | Hours |
| Class Attendance (theory) [PRESENCIAL][Lectures] | 10 |
| Other on-site activities [PRESENCIAL][Cooperative / Collaborative Learning] | 6 |
| In-class Debates and forums [PRESENCIAL][Debates] | 5 |
| Group tutoring sessions [PRESENCIAL][Group tutoring sessions] | 7 |
| Group 30: | |
| Initial date: 12-02-2024 | End date: 23-04-2024 |
| Group 31: | |
| Initial date: 12-02-2024 | End date: 23-04-2024 |
| Unit 3 (de 3): Spanish current affairs | |
|---|---|
| Activities | Hours |
| Class Attendance (theory) [PRESENCIAL][Lectures] | 8 |
| Other on-site activities [PRESENCIAL][Cooperative / Collaborative Learning] | 4 |
| In-class Debates and forums [PRESENCIAL][Debates] | 5 |
| Group tutoring sessions [PRESENCIAL][Group tutoring sessions] | 5 |
| Group 30: | |
| Initial date: 29-04-2024 | End date: 04-06-2024 |
| Group 31: | |
| Initial date: 29-04-2024 | End date: 04-06-2024 |
| Global activity | |
|---|---|
| Activities | hours |
10. Bibliography and Sources
