Class Politics and Entertainment

The curricular unit Politics and Entertainment provides an overview of the main theoretical and empirical contributions to understanding the relationship between entertainment and politics, a key feature of contemporary political communication in various democracies. Key concepts such as the politicisation of private personality, the celebrity culture of politics, lifestyle politics, the commodification of politics, and audience democracy are critically examined, along with their impact on the quality of democracy.

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Introduction Politics and Entertainment: A Conceptual Map Political Fiction and Its Impacts Political Satire and Its Effects Soap Operas and Politics Music and Politics Celebrity Politicians Political Scandals Citizens, Fans, or Spectators? Politics, Entertainment, and the Quality of Democracy

In addition to sessions dedicated to providing students with key concepts and theoretical frameworks specific to the Politics and Entertainment course unit, this course unit also adopts a mixed approach to the teaching-learning process focused on the development of personal skills and oriented towards project/problem-based learning (PBL). The teaching methodology combines a theoretical component (under the guidance of the teacher) with a set of practical tasks (namely, guided reading, presentation and discussion of texts, as well as other audio-visual supports). The teaching-learning process will ensure the transmission of theoretical and conceptual tools and, at the same time, their application in concrete tasks, therefore students are placed at the centre of the learning process.

Bartsch, Anne, et al. (2024). The Influence of Eudaimonic Entertainment Experiences on Political Information Processing and Engagement. Communication Research: 00936502241259921. Becker, Amy B. (2020). Applying mass communication frameworks to study humor's impact: advancing the study of political satire. Annals of the International Communication Association 44.3: 273-288.