Class History of Communication

It is assumed that, within the scope of human history, a set of communication tools, techniques and protocols have constituted (and constitute) that history itself, both in the way they have altered culture, society and human perception/consciousness, and in the way they define, as artifacts, ways of presenting and accessing that history. From language and writing to computers and cybernetic networks, passing through cameras, the cinematograph, radio and television, all these medialogical devices have determined paradigms of relationship — verbal and non-verbal — between humans and between humans and the world. This curricular unit seeks to trace the historical evolution of these material ways of configuring communication throughout history, identifying key moments in this course and how they have impacted the way we perceive the world and the construction of social reality.

1. Assumptions of a materialist history of communication

2. Orality

The zero degree of communication

The ritualization of the world

3. Alphabet and writing

"From the magical world of hearing to the neutral world of sight"

Writing as order and as pharmakon

4. Book Volumen - codex - volumen

The library and the legibility of the world

5. Press From Guttenberg to Luther

The foundation of the modern world and the circulation of knowledge

5. Electromagnetism, sound and atmospheric media

The distribution of sensible reality at home

6. Photography and Cinema

The multiplication of images and the recording of time

The rediscovery of the optical and the (new) motifs of reality

From the moving image to the moving image

7. Radio and Television

The mass media paradigm

"Drama for a dramatized society"

Newsreels and the first "reports"

8. Computers and the Internet

Convergence culture and its impact on journalism

DSLRs: video journalism for the web

Presentation and discussion of the programmed subjects, based on selected texts and case studies that illustrate the topics under discussion. Continuous assessment in accordance with the Lusófona University Pedagogical Regulations.

In addition, an active methodology will be promoted, on the one hand, placing the student at the center of the learning process, while the teachers assume, idem, a mediating role and, on the other, a heuristic approach.

This methodology seeks to unite technology and education, since the virtual world plays an important role in student development, helping with activities and dynamics outside the classroom (studies, exercises and research). This promotes autonomous learning of the content.

Examples: i) pre-readings and presentations in class, in order to complement the content presented by the teachers; ii) development of practical work with theoretical reflection, such as a video essay and submission of a report.

Benjamin, W. (2007). A obra de arte na época da sua possibilidade de reprodução técnica. In A . Ed. e Trad. João Barrento, Assírio & Alvim

Bogalheiro, M. (2020). "Para lá dos meios e dos fins: um epítome da ontologia dos media". In  Crítica Mediações Totais - Perspectivas expandidas dos media, Ed. M. Bogalheiro. Documenta

Chartier, R. (1997). A Ordem dos Livros, Vega

Contreras, S. P. (1999). El Periodismo De Los Nuevos Medios: El Cine, El Magazine Y La Radio, Historia Del Periodismo Universal, In Gómez Mompart, J. L. E Marín Otto, E., SínTesis

Jenkins, H. (2009). Convergence Culture. New York University Press
Quinn, S. & Filak, V. (2005). Convergent Journalism, An introduction, Writing and Producing Across Media, Focal Press

Kittler, F. (1999). Gramophone, Film, Typewritter, Stanford University Press

McLuhan, M. (1972). A Galáxia de Gutenberg, Universidade de São Paulo

Valéry, P. (2005) "A Conquista da Ubiquidade". In Revista de Comunicação e Linguagens 34/35. Relógio d'Água