Pre-requisites
Students do not need any prior knowledge to follow this lecture. However, those who have taken courses such as psychology or strategic communication may find them helpful as additional support during the lecture.
Explanation of activity
The role of affective meaning-making in information influence activities. Affective meaning-making involves the emotional aspects of interpretation of the information, influencing perceptions and attitudes. Understanding how emotions are leveraged in information influence activities is essential for comprehending the full impact of persuasive messaging. Politization of the history is a process where historical events and narratives are deliberately manipulated to create a distorted picture of the past that supports a specific political ideology or agenda. The advent of social media communication has transformed the presentation of historical narratives, amplifying the potential for rapid dissemination and manipulation, further complicating the landscape of information influence. In lecture we discuss how strategic storytelling across platforms and audience engagement are achieved by using various affective techniques.
In seminar we will discuss about the text on affective meaning-making. Groupworks consists analysis of one videoclip.
Teacher materials
Relevant reading to understand the materials:
- Roselle, L., Miskimmon, A., & O’Loughlin, B. (2014). Strategic narrative: A new means to understand soft power. Media, War & Conflict, 7(1), 70-84.
- Hutchison, Emma 2016. A!ective Communities in World Politics: Collective Emotions After Trauma. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Further reading to further develop the activity/understanding of the topic:
- Clément, M., & Sangar, E. (Eds.), Researching Emotions in International Relations: Methodological perspectives on the emotional turn. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
- Steinhauer, Jason 2021. History, Disrupted_ How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past-Palgrave Macmillan
Student Materials
- Koschut, S. (2017). Discourse and Emotions in International Relations. International Studies Review, 19, 481–508
- Steinhauer, Jason 2021. History, Disrupted_ How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past-Palgrave Macmillan, ch 2. e-History: Not Quite History and Not Quite the Past
Analysis of Student Understanding
Seminar questions. Seminar texts are:
Koschut, S. (2017). Discourse and Emotions in International Relations. International Studies Review, 19, 481–508,
Steinhauer, Jason 2021. History, Disrupted_ How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past-Palgrave Macmillan, ch 2. e-History: Not Quite History and Not Quite the Past
- Why semiotics is important in understanding strategic communication?
- How does affect operate and why is it important in understanding strategic communication?
- How does professional history differ from e-history?
- How do the characteristics of e-history enable the politicization of history and its effective use in strategic communication?
- Which devices or strategies of the semiotic strategic narrative model are most associated with emotion-based meaning-making?
Assessing and Evaluation
- Understanding of Key Concepts – The student demonstrates a clear grasp of the main ideas, arguments, and themes presented in the text.
- Critical Analysis – The student engages with the text critically, identifying underlying assumptions, biases, and implications.
- Use of Evidence – The student supports their interpretations with relevant examples or references from the text.
- Ability to Connect Ideas – The student relates the text to broader theoretical concepts, real-world applications, or previous discussions.
- Clarity of Expression – The student articulates their thoughts coherently, using precise language and structured arguments.
Groupwork
- Example „Heil Zelensky!“
Assessing and evaluation
Analysis of videoclip
In assessing whether students have understood the materials, educators should reflect on the following:
- Students are able to analyze a video clip by identifying references to historical discourse and their strategic use.
- Students are able to justify how these historical references contribute to the clip’s intended impact, particularly in shaping audience perception.
- Students are able to identify and describe the target audience for the video clip, considering relevant demographic and psychographic characteristics.
- Students are able to evaluate the emotional responses elicited by the video clip and discuss how historical discourse influences these reactions.
- Students are able to analyze potential risks associated with the strategic use of historical references in the video clip, such as ethical concerns, misinterpretation, or unintended consequences.)
Modulations
- Next time, a comparative analysis can be used to examine examples of strategic communication from different countries. The goal would be to highlight cultural differences in the characteristics of strategic communication.
