Announcing the new MA Social Media and Political Communication at Loughborough University

Our new Masters is now accepting applications for 2019 entry

Over the last nine months I've led the development of a new MA programme in Social Media and Political Communication at Loughborough.

We are now accepting applications for the first group of students. The programme begins October 2019.

We’re all super-excited about this. The MA is a highly distinctive programme and a nice addition to the already-thriving Communication & Media postgraduate portfolio.

MA Social Media and Political Communication

Overview

New for October 2019. On this exciting and unique master’s programme you will gain advanced knowledge of how social media shape how political power is exercised in today’s turbulent world. The curriculum blends world-leading scholarly research with case study analyses of how political communication works in the real world.

The digital age has produced some of the most remarkable developments in modern history. The Arab Spring, Occupy, Brexit, the #MeToo movement, the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, the growth of online misinformation and automated propaganda, fierce debates over online "filter bubbles" and fake news, the resurgence of the populist right and a new populist left, the growth of online hate speech, mass microtargeting of political messages via email and social media, and concerns about the growing power of social media platforms, algorithms and big data over the lives of citizens. These developments have sent shockwaves around the world.

Amid the chaos there is now an urgent debate about whether the mass use of social media is leading to new types of politics. Do social media help concentrate power in the hands of a small elite? Or do they help decentralise power and engage ordinary citizens in democratic citizenship? Do social media enable individuals and organisations to express themselves, exchange opinions and coordinate with others? Do they encourage the diffusion of propaganda, false information, incivility and hatred? How do social media shape how political beliefs are formed among mass publics?

On this innovative MA programme you will conduct advanced, in-depth analysis of the complex relationships between social media, political influence and power. You will weigh up the consequences for democracy by critically examining how social media shape citizens’ knowledge, participation and empowerment.

What You’ll Study

Compulsory Modules:

Social Media and Political Communication
Data, Power, and Democracy
Marketing Politics
Key Debates in Social Media and Political Communication
Researching Communication: Media Users and Cultural Institutions
Researching Communication: Texts and Digital Platforms
Dissertation in Social Media and Political Communication

Optional Modules:

Political Psychology
Digital Futures: Explorations in New Media
Digital Economies
Global Communication
Media and Cultural Industries: Political Economy and Public Policy
Digital Cultures
The Politics of Representation
Media and Cultural Work

Follow this link for more information and details of how to apply.

Also, visit our Postgraduate Open Evening on November 7. Details here.