*** scholarship deadline February 14 ***

Summer school announcement

Media, Democratization and Civil Society
June 16 - 27, 2008

Organized by the COST A30 Action "East of West: Setting a New Media Research
Agenda for Central/Eastern Europe";
the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; and
the Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) at the Central European
University (CEU)

Application deadline for scholarship applications:         14 February, 2008
Application deadline for fee-paying applications:          30 April, 2008


For information and to apply, go to
http://www.sun.ceu.hu/02-courses/course-sites/media/index-media.php

Course Directors:
Monroe Price, Center for Global Communication Studies, Annenberg School for
Communication, University of Pennsylvania
Miklos Sukosd, Department of Political Science, CEU, Budapest

Co-organizers / Faculty:
Kate Coyer, Research Fellow & Lecturer, Annenberg School; Center for Media and
Communication Studies (CMCS)
Arne Hintz, Program Director, Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS)

Additional Core Faculty:
Michael Delli Carpini, Dean, Annenberg School for Communication
Nicholas W. Jankowski, Associate Professor, University of Nijmegen, Netherlands;
Working Group Leader, COST A30 Action
Karol Jakubowicz, former Chairman of the Steering Committee on the Media and New
Communication Services, Council of Europe; Working Group Leader, COST A30 Action
Beata Klimkiewicz, Assistant Professor, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland;
Working Group Leader, COST A30 Action
Hakan Seckinelgin, Lecturer, London School of Economics, London, UK
Peter Molnar, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Media and Communication Studies
(CMCS)
Kristina Irion, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Policy, Central
European University, Budapest

Course Coordinator
Laura Ranca, Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS)


The demand for accountability, transparency and democracy resonates in many
corners of the world. Media and civil society constitute core elements of
societies which are grounded on such principles. However, lack of media
pluralism and a dominant position by either state or private media can have
adverse effects and have been criticized by civil society groups. The increasing
commercialization and dominant position of global media institutions have given
rise to new forms of resistance, which may take the form of grassroots
media-making, transnational broadcasting, and institutional and regulatory
responses. Thus, there is a complex relationship between media, democracy and
civil society responses that exists across national boundaries.

Examining this interconnection between media, democratization and civil society
will be the main purpose of this course. It will focus on the Central/Eastern
European region, but will also be relevant in other contexts where media and
civil society have played crucial roles in processes of democratization but
where the deficiencies and shortcomings are also clearly visible. This course
will examine the role of non-governmental organizations and individuals in the
process of democracy building and sustainability, and address the complex
negotiation around media privatization and liberalization. In doing so, this
course will consider what kind of enabling environment is necessary for a
diverse and pluralistic media, and what is the role and potential for civil
society intervention in the development of such an environment. The course will
provide an introduction to a range of research agendas and methodologies
applicable to the study of media systems and civil society in the context of
post-communist/post-conflict transformation, and political/social/economic change.

The Civil Society Yearbook 2007 will, for the first time, focus on the
connections between media and civil society, while the European media research
network "COST A30: East of West" is developing new approaches to understand the
role of media in transitional and post-transitional contexts. The course will be
embedded in these current discourses, and students will benefit from insights
into current research on these issues.

For information and to apply, go to
http://www.sun.ceu.hu/02-courses/course-sites/media/index-media.php