Contemporary media and communication students need to grasp abstract concepts such as autonomy, freedom of speech, subjectivity and agency. These terms are open to interpretation so can be difficult to translate in different cultural contexts. As such, the gap between theory and practice is often wider in diverse classrooms, to which students bring different cultural experiences, educational backgrounds and interpretations of concepts. Limited class time compounds the challenge.
Teaching media and communication is about much more than introducing theories and asking students to memorise definitions. Students must analyse complex concepts to understand media systems and democracy.
Students often find it easier to understand media examples than the philosophical ideas that underpin them. For instance, they might recognise that news coverage shapes public opinion, or that social media influences political debate, yet they struggle to articulate why these processes occur or how concepts such as freedom or representation function in different contexts. This limits students’ ability to apply those concepts to real-world media examples.
My experience studying philosophy in Germany and China and teaching communication and philosophy in Turkey have shown me that an analytic philosophy approach can help make these ideas tangible and accessible in such contexts.
While analytic philosophy is usually the domain of philosophy departments, many of its methods can be adapted for teaching media and communication. Rather than simply encouraging students to memorise complex theories, it helps them build understanding and discuss and apply them.
Teaching media representations of immigration
Analytic philosophy makes concepts concrete by revealing links between a social reality (such as immigration) and a research object (such as the media). For instance, in a class on media representation of immigrants, students might examine a series of conceptual questions, such as:
• How does the media represent specific groups?
• Who does the media consider visible and invisible?
• To what extent does the media give immigrants, or other marginalised groups, voice, agency and accountability?
With immigration, students are often introduced to terms such as freedom of speech, agency or representation without thorough exploration of their meaning. Analytic philosophy encourages lecturers to slow the process by beginning with conceptual clarification before moving to theory or case studies.
For example, before beginning a discussion on the media’s representation of immigrants, I write “What does freedom mean?” on the board. Students usually provide a wide range of answers shaped by their own experiences and cultures. Before revealing the definition, I encourage them to compare theirs and explain why they think this way. To support this, I recommend writing three key words relevant to immigration that can be linked together.
- Spotlight guide: Soft skills for hard times
- Real-world projects offer ideal conditions for teaching soft skills
- The case for human-centred skills in higher education
Then I use visuals to support understanding. I write “Freedom” in the centre of the whiteboard and divide the discussion into two broad categories: internal constraints and external constraints. Students suggest examples for each category. Internal constraints might include fear, prejudice or lack of confidence, while external constraints include censorship, discriminatory laws or social pressures.
Because students contribute to this visual map, they understand the concept more deeply than if they simply looked at a diagram I prepared myself.
Another method I use is to introduce a news article or short video report that discusses an immigration story. Then I ask questions such as: Who is speaking? Whose perspective is missing? Which words are used to describe immigrants? How might these words influence the audience? Would another country report the story differently, or are immigrants the primary narrators?
Next, we build another visual map together. Immigration is placed at the centre of the board, and students connect it to ideas such as identity, law, culture, economy, security, human rights and representation. As students identify relationships between these concepts, they begin to understand that immigration cannot be analysed from only one perspective. I end this exercise with a discussion of the terms before providing students with theoretical explanations and topical examples.
Teaching freedom of speech
The same approach can be used when teaching students about freedom of speech. Beginning with “freedom of speech,” written on the board I ask students what happens when people can express themselves freely. Students usually respond that people share ideas, so I write “expression of views.” They then suggest terms such as “public participation,” “democratic debate” and “democratic legitimacy.” Putting these terms in context makes them more concrete and relatable.
Rather than simply presenting theory and expecting students to understand it, this activity helps students discover through discussion that democracy depends upon people being able to exchange ideas openly and participate in public life.
One of the greatest strengths of this approach is that it works especially well in international classrooms. Students compare how concepts such as immigration, democracy or freedom are discussed in different countries and discover that communication is shaped by culture, politics and history. Instead of searching for a single correct answer, they learn to explain assumptions, evaluate evidence and appreciate multiple perspectives.
Analytic philosophy does not require lecturers to become philosophers. Instead, it encourages them to slow down the learning process, clarify concepts, create visual supports, ask important questions and connect theory to contemporary media examples.
At a time when public debate is increasingly shaped by digital media and misinformation, helping students think, question and communicate responsibly is one of the most valuable contributions higher education institutions can make.
Tuğba Gülal is assistant professor and head of the undergraduate programme in radio, television and cinema at Istanbul Aydin University, Turkey.
If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.
comment