The course prepares students for careers in social, political, and economic fields that are increasingly shaped by digital culture and new information technologies. The aim is to develop critical skills and analytical tools to understand the key characteristics of these technologies and emerging forms of communication, the economic and political logics underlying them, and the transformations they produce. Understanding these mechanisms and critically interpreting their implications is particularly relevant for students interested in public diplomacy and international cooperation.
Specific Learning Outcomes
Upon completing this course students will be expected to:
Have grasped the core concepts of digital communication and social media, as well as their logics and functioning.
Be able to recognize how digital media and technologies shape the relationships between the main actors of the public sphere (political and institutional actors, news media, citizens and movements), as well as their communication practices and styles. Students will also be able to compare the communication styles adopted by political and institutional actors across different technological environments and relate them to relevant media and communication theories.
Have developed a solid understanding of the opportunities, challenges and tensions associated with digital media and their use in contemporary societies.
Be able to critically assess the growing power of digital platforms and discuss its implications for access to information and communication, knowledge and democratic life.
Have understood and be able to critically discuss processes of platformization and how digital platforms are transforming different areas of society, including media and information, politics, sociality and the economy.
Be able to critically assess the role of generative AI in contemporary communication environments, including its implications for communication practices, institutional and strategic communication, and responsibility.
Have developed the ability to apply theoretical concepts and analytical tools to the analysis of concrete communication practices and case studies, including those involving political and institutional actors.
Have developed teamwork, argumentation, oral presentation and public-speaking skills through group activities, discussions and presentations.
This course focuses on the intersection between digital media, communication, politics and society, with the aim of familiarizing students with key concepts and theories of communication in a constantly changing media environment. It introduces students to emerging media and digital technologies from a variety of perspectives, providing the theoretical and analytical tools needed to critically evaluate their functioning and their expanding role in contemporary culture, politics and communication.
A cross-cutting perspective is the onlife condition: online and offline environments are treated not as separate spheres but as an increasingly continuous communicative flow in which technologies, actors and practices mutually shape one another. Particular attention will be paid to the ways in which digital technologies and media environments reshape communication practices and styles across different actors in the public sphere, including political actors, citizens and movements, news media and, especially, institutional actors such as governments, ministries, embassies and international organizations.
The course develops along two closely connected lines. The first examines the evolution of digital media and their implications for communication in the public sphere, focusing on the relationships between technological environments, media logics, actors and communication practices. Topics include digital culture and changing communication styles; public opinion and media influence; social media and networked communication; information environments and selective exposure; information disorder and misperceptions; incivility; and the growing role of artificial intelligence in communication.
Within this framework, strategic communication is approached as a field of application through which students can examine how different actors adapt their communication styles, practices and strategies to changing technological and media environments. Particular attention is devoted to political and institutional communication, public diplomacy and communication by national and international institutions, as well as to the use of digital platforms and AI in these contexts.
The second line focuses on platformization and platform power, examining how digital platforms reshape media industries, communication practices and different sectors of society. Platforms are considered not as neutral intermediaries but as socio-technical environments whose architectures, business models and governing mechanisms shape the visibility and circulation of content and the possibilities for action available to different actors. Particular attention will be paid to datafication, algorithmic selection, monetization and commodification, and to their implications for information, public communication and democratic life.
Across both sections, students will be encouraged to address a set of cross-cutting questions: How do technological environments shape communication without mechanically determining it? How do different political and institutional actors adapt their communication practices to platforms and AI? How do platform architectures affect the visibility and circulation of information? What opportunities and inequalities do these transformations create? What forms of responsibility and regulation are required when private technological infrastructures increasingly perform public functions?
No specific prerequisites are required.
This course adopts a participatory approach, combining lectures and discussion of both theoretical and practical aspects of digital media and their relationship to society. Active participation is an integral part of the learning process. From the beginning of the course, students will be expected to engage with the topics and readings, contribute to class discussion, connect theoretical concepts to current cases and communication practices, and bring relevant examples and multimedia materials into the classroom.
Lectures are therefore combined with active-learning discussions, short individual and group activities, case-based analysis, presentations, and workshops. These activities may extend across different stages of the course: some will be introduced and started in class, continue outside class through reading, research, case selection or preparation of materials, and then return to the classroom for further discussion and development. Academics and professionals may also be invited to contribute to specific topics through guest seminars and workshops.
Within this participatory format, two group exercises constitute specific components of the course assessment. Both exercises will be introduced and started in class under the instructor’s guidance, developed by students partly outside class, and subsequently brought back to class for discussion, revision and presentation.
Group Exercise 1 – Theoretical and critical exploration of a course topic. Each group will work on one of the main topics addressed in the course. Starting from the compulsory textbook, lectures and relevant readings, students will be asked to identify and discuss the relevant theoretical frameworks, key concepts and debates, and critically assess their relevance to contemporary digital communication.
Group Exercise 2 – Case-study analysis. Each group will analyse one or more cases related to the topics addressed in the course. Students will be asked to apply the concepts and analytical tools developed through lectures and readings to concrete communication practices, considering the relationships between technological environments, actors, communication styles and strategies, and their broader implications.
These two assessed exercises are distinct from the shorter in-class activities, discussions and workshops that take place throughout the course and contribute to the assessment of active participation.
Class attendance is strongly recommended. Because the course is organized as a progressive sequence of lectures, discussions, collaborative activities and exercises, regular attendance and continuous participation are particularly important for achieving the learning outcomes and for taking full advantage of its applied and seminar-based format. Students who are unable to attend regularly will follow the non-attending assessment pathway described below.
Grading is different for attending and non-attending students. To be considered an attending student, students must attend at least 80% of the scheduled class hours.
For attending students, assessment combines active and continuous participation in the course, the two group exercises described above, and a final oral exam. The final grade is calculated as follows:
10% – Active and continuous participation in class discussions, workshops and short activities (individual assessment)
25% – Group Exercise 1: Theoretical and critical exploration of a course topic (group assessment)
25% – Group Exercise 2: Case-study analysis and application of course concepts (group assessment)
40% – Final oral exam (individual assessment).
Assessment criteria. Assessment will take into account: theoretical knowledge and accuracy; analytical and critical skills; ability to apply concepts appropriately; clarity and effectiveness of argumentation, oral presentation and public speaking. For group exercises, both the quality of the collective work and each student’s individual contribution will be considered (see “Format and Procedures” above).
For non-attending students, assessment is based entirely on a final oral exam (100%). The exam covers the entire compulsory exam programme, including the content of the instructor’s lectures and the related PowerPoint slides and teaching materials made available on the e-learning platform, as well as the compulsory textbook chapters and scientific papers specified below.
For both attending and non-attending students, the compulsory exam programme consists of:
1. Siapera, E. (2026). Understanding New Media (3rd ed.). SAGE.
2.The content covered in the lectures, together with the related PowerPoint slides and other teaching materials made available on the e-learning platform. These materials are an integral part of the compulsory exam programme and may be assessed in the final oral exam.
3. van Dijck, J., & Poell, T. (2013). “Understanding Social Media Logic.” Media and Communication, 1(1), 2–14.
4. Manor, I., & Huang, Z. A. (2022). “Digitalization of Public Diplomacy: Concepts, Trends, and Challenges.” Communication and the Public, 7(4), 167–175.
Further readings
The following readings provide opportunities for further theoretical and empirical study and may support specific lectures, class discussions, group exercises, workshops, and case-study activities. They are not compulsory for the final oral exam.
- Bentivegna, S., & Rega, R. (2024). (Un)civil Democracy: Political Incivility as a Communication Strategy. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Selected chapters.
- Di Martino, L., & Ford, H. (2025). “Navigating Uncertainty: Public Diplomacy vs. AI.” Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 21, 350–354.
- Flaxman, S., Goel, S., & Rao, J. M. (2016). "Filter bubbles, echo chambers, and online news consumption." Public Opinion Quarterly, 80(S1), 298-320.
- Humprecht, E. (2019). "Where 'fake news' flourishes: A comparative study of twelve countries." Information, Communication & Society, 22(13), 1973-1988.
- Lippmann, W. (1922). Public Opinion. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company. Chapter I, “The World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads.”
- Manor, I. (2021). “The Russians Are Laughing! The Russians Are Laughing! How Russian Diplomats Employ Humour in Online Public Diplomacy.” Global Society, 35(1), 61–83.
- McCombs, M., & Shaw, D. (2016). "The agenda-setting function of mass media at fifty." Mass Communication and Society, 19(6), 792-802.
- Nyhan, B., Settle, J., Thorson, E., Wojcieszak, M., Barberá, P., et al. (2023). “Like-Minded Sources on Facebook Are Prevalent but Not Polarizing.” Nature, 620, 137–144.
- Silverstone, R. (1999). “What’s New About New Media?” New Media & Society, 1(1), 10–12.
- Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information Disorder: Toward an Interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy Making. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. Selected sections.
- Watts, D. J., & Dodds, P. S. (2007). “Influentials, Networks, and Public Opinion Formation.” Journal of Consumer Research, 34(4), 441–458. Selected sections.
Please note: The syllabus – as wel as texts, scientific articles and additional readings – may be subject to changes based on international events and developments in the digital media landscape, in order to ensure that the course content remains relevant and up-to-date. In addition, other texts, articles, and readings will be introduced in class and made available by the teacher via elearning.unisi.it.
Students are required to regularly check their University e-mail account and the e-learning platform for course communications and materials.