COURSE DESCRIPTION AND APPLICATION INFORMATION
| Course Name | Code | Semester | T+A+L (hour/week) | Type (C / O) | Local Credit | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication and Power | CS 673 | Spring | 03+00+00 | Elective | 3 | 7.5 |
| Academic Unit: | Faculty of Communication |
| Mode of Delivery: | Face to face |
| Prerequisites: | None |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Course Unit: | Doctorate |
| Course Coordinator: | - - |
| Course Objectives: | The students are expected to: • Analyze the dual nature of power as both capacity for action and force of domination. • Examine the formation and evolution of various modes of power through communication technologies. • Investigate how perception and affect shape and are shaped by power dynamics. • Engage critically with key theories of power in relation to communication. • Evaluate the potential for communication to resist and transform mechanisms of domination. |
| Course Contents: | This course delves into the dual meanings of power, its role as both a capacity to act and as a force of domination and examines how these aspects intersect with various forms of communication. Each lecture connects specific theories of power with corresponding communication technologies. In this light, communication emerges as a form of power that expands our capacity for action, yet this very power is often subsumed by mechanisms that steer it toward specific ends. In addition to exploring the formation of power, the course will investigate how different modes of power, ranging from sovereign to biopolitical, emerge and evolve through shifting technologies and social structures. We will also examine the role of perception and affect in shaping power dynamics, considering how sensory experiences, attention, and emotions influence and are influenced by power. The course is structured around three central questions: How are mechanisms of power formed? How do they relate to communication technologies? And finally, to what extent does power retain a capacity to exceed or resist its own limits of domination? Through these inquiries, we’ll critically examine the intricate relationships between communication, action, and control. |
| Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit (LO): |
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| Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods: | The course consists of 4 basic modules. These are: 1. Foundations of Modern Power 2. Visualizing the Body Politics 3. Affect and Power |
WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATIONS
| Week | Subjects | Related Preperation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orientation Week | |
| 2 | Module I: Foundation of Modern Power - Classical Power | Hobbes, T. (2008). Leviathan (J.C.A. Gaskin, Ed.). Oxford University Press. Part I, Ch. XIII: "Of the Natural Condition of Mankind" (pp. 86–90). Peters, J. D. (1999). Speaking into the air: A history of the idea of communication. University of Chicago Press. Introduction (pp. 1–18). |
| 3 | Module I: Foundation of Modern Power - Critical Theories of Power | Marx, K. (1970). The German ideology (pp. 10–22). International Publishers. Ch. 1: “Ideology in General and the German Ideology in Particular.” Hall, S. (1993). “Encoding/Decoding.” In Culture, Media, Language (pp. 128–138). Routledge. |
| 4 | Module I: Foundation of Modern Power - Contagion and Micropolitics | Sampson, T. (2012). Virality: Contagion theory in the age of networks. University of Minnesota Press. Ch. 1: “The Viral Assemblage” (pp. 1–22). Hardt, M., & Negri, A. (2004). Multitude: War and democracy in the age of empire (pp. 151–174). The Penguin Press. |
| 5 | Module II: Visualizing the Body Politics - Visual Politics: “Some Snapshots” | Sontag, S. (1977). On photography. Picador. Ch. 1: “In Plato’s Cave” (pp. 1–24). Crary, J. (2001). Suspensions of perception: Attention, spectacle, and modern culture. MIT Press. Ch. 4: "Techniques of the Observer" (pp. 95–119). |
| 6 | Module II: Visualizing the Body Politics - Spectacle, (Non)Communication, and Power | Debord, G. (1994). The Society of the Spectacle. Zone Books. Theses 1–34 (pp. 1–27). Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and Simulation. University of Michigan Press. Ch. 1: “The Precession of Simulacra” (pp. 1–10). McLuhan, M. (1994). “The Medium is the Message.” In Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (pp. 7–21). MIT Press. |
| 7 | Module II: Visualizing the Body Politics - Sovereigns, Subjects, and Spaces | Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Vintage Books. Part III, Ch. 1: “Docile Bodies” (pp. 135–169). Agamben, G. (1998). Homo Sacer: Sovereign power and bare life. Stanford University Press. Ch. 1: “The Logic of Sovereignty” (pp. 15–29). Poster, M. (1996). “Foucault and Databases.” In Computers, Surveillance, and Privacy (pp. 69–82). University of Minnesota Press. |
| 8 | Module II: Visualizing the Body Politics - Gaze and Attention | Crary, J. (1992). Techniques of the observer: On vision and modernity in the nineteenth century. MIT Press. Ch. 2: “Modernizing Vision” (pp. 45–73). Citton, Y. (2017). The Ecology of Attention. Polity. Ch. 1: “The Attention Economy” (pp. 1–23). Mulvey, L. (1975). “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Screen, 16(3), 6–18. |
| 9 | Module III: Affect and Power - Autonomy or Subjection of Affect? | Massumi, B. (1995). “The Autonomy of Affect.” Cultural Critique, 31, 83–109. Leys, R. (2011). “The Turn to Affect: A Critique.” Critical Inquiry, 37(3), 434–472. |
| 10 | Module III: Affect and Power - Perception and Sensorium | Crary, J. (2001). Suspensions of perception: Attention, spectacle, and modern culture. MIT Press. Ch. 5: “Modernizing the Sensorium” (pp. 147–176). McLuhan, M. (1994). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. MIT Press. Ch. 7: “Media as Extensions of the Sensorium” (pp. 117–136). |
| 11 | Module III: Affect and Power - Image, Body, and Power | Massumi, B. (2015). Ontopower: War, powers, and the state of perception. Duke University Press. Ch. 1: “Perception Attack” (pp. 1–28). Hansen, M. B. N. (2002). “New Media and the Embodied Mind.” Configurations, 10(2), 211–239. |
| 12 | Module III: Affect and Power - Movement, Capture, and Value | Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987). A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia (B. Massumi, Trans., pp. 424–472). University of Minnesota Press. Thrift, N. (2004). “Movement-space: The changing domain of thinking resulting from the development of new kinds of spatial awareness”. Economy and Society, 33(4), 582–604. |
| 13 | Module III: Affect and Power - Ecologies of Power | Massumi, B. (2009). “National enterprise emergency: Steps toward an ecology of powers”. Theory, Culture & Society, 26(6), 153-185. Parikka, Jussi. The Anthrobscene. University of Minnesota Press, 2014. Ch. 1: “Media Geology and the Anthropocene” (pp. 9–23) |
| 14 | Review |
At Kadir Has University, a Semester is 14 weeks; The weeks 15 and 16 are reserved for final exams.
REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED READING
| Agamben, G. (1998). Homo sacer: Sovereign power and bare life* (D. Heller-Roazen, Trans.). Stanford University Press. Ch. 1: “The Logic of Sovereignty” (pp. 15–29). Baudrillard, J. (1994). *Simulacra and simulation* (S. F. Glaser, Trans.). University of Michigan Press. Ch. 1: “The Precession of Simulacra” (pp. 1–10). Crary, J. (1992). *Techniques of the observer: On vision and modernity in the nineteenth century*. MIT Press. Ch. 2: “Modernizing Vision” (pp. 45–73). Crary, J. (2001). *Suspensions of perception: Attention, spectacle, and modern culture*. MIT Press. Ch. 4: "Techniques of the Observer" (pp. 95–119). Crary, J. (2001). *Suspensions of perception: Attention, spectacle, and modern culture*. MIT Press. Ch. 5: “Modernizing the Sensorium” (pp. 147–176). Citton, Y. (2017). *The ecology of attention*. Polity. Ch. 1: “The Attention Economy” (pp. 1–23). Debord, G. (1994). *The society of the spectacle* (D. Nicholson-Smith, Trans.). Zone Books. Theses 1–34 (pp. 1–27). Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987). *A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia* (B. Massumi, Trans., pp. 424–472). University of Minnesota Press. Foucault, M. (1995). *Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison* (A. Sheridan, Trans.). Vintage Books. Part III, Ch. 1: “Docile Bodies” (pp. 135–169). Hardt, M., & Negri, A. (2004). *Multitude: War and democracy in the age of empire* (pp. 151–174). The Penguin Press. Hansen, M. B. N. (2002). “New media and the embodied mind.” *Configurations, 10*(2), 211–239. Hobbes, T. (2008). *Leviathan* (J.C.A. Gaskin, Ed.). Oxford University Press. Part I, Ch. XIII: "Of the Natural Condition of Mankind" (pp. 86–90). Hall, S. (1993). “Encoding/Decoding.” In *Culture, media, language* (pp. 128–138). Routledge. Leys, R. (2011). “The turn to affect: A critique.” *Critical Inquiry, 37*(3), 434–472. Marx, K. (1970). *The German ideology* (pp. 10–22). International Publishers. Ch. 1: “Ideology in General and the German Ideology in Particular.” Massumi, B. (1995). “The autonomy of affect.” *Cultural Critique, 31*, 83–109. Massumi, B. (2009). “National enterprise emergency: Steps toward an ecology of powers.” *Theory, Culture & Society, 26*(6), 153–185. Massumi, B. (2015). *Ontopower: War, powers, and the state of perception*. Duke University Press. Ch. 1: “Perception Attack” (pp. 1–28). McLuhan, M. (1994). *Understanding media: The extensions of man*. MIT Press. Ch. 7: “Media as Extensions of the Sensorium” (pp. 117–136). McLuhan, M. (1994). “The medium is the message.” In *Understanding media: The extensions of man* (pp. 7–21). MIT Press. Mulvey, L. (1975). “Visual pleasure and narrative cinema.” *Screen, 16*(3), 6–18. Parikka, J. (2014). *The anthrobscene*. University of Minnesota Press. Ch. 1: “Media Geology and the Anthropocene” (pp. 9–23). Peters, J. D. (1999). *Speaking into the air: A history of the idea of communication*. University of Chicago Press. Introduction (pp. 1–18). Poster, M. (1996). “Foucault and databases.” In *Computers, surveillance, and privacy* (pp. 69–82). University of Minnesota Press. Sampson, T. (2012). *Virality: Contagion theory in the age of networks*. University of Minnesota Press. Ch. 1: “The Viral Assemblage” (pp. 1–22). Sontag, S. (1977). *On photography*. Picador. Ch. 1: “In Plato’s Cave” (pp. 1–24). Thrift, N. (2004). “Movement-space: The changing domain of thinking resulting from the development of new kinds of spatial awareness.” *Economy and Society, 33*(4), 582–604. |
OTHER COURSE RESOURCES
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA
| Semester Requirements | Number | Percentage of Grade (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance / Participation | 14 | 20 |
| Homework Assignments | 2 | 60 |
| Presentation / Jury | 2 | 20 |
| Total: | 18 | 100 |
WORKLOAD
| Events | Count | Duration (Hours) | Total Workload (hour) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course Hours | 13 | 3 | 39 |
| Homework Assigments | 2 | 10.5 | 21 |
| Preparation for Presentation / Jury | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Extra-Class Activities (reading,individiual work, etc.) | 13 | 3 | 39 |
| Feedback/Class Discussions | 13 | 2 | 26 |
| Midterms | 13 | 4 | 52 |
| In-Class Studies where Students are Active | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Total Workload (hour): | 187.5 | ||
1 ECTS = 25 Hours Workload
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO) AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS (PQ)
| # | PQ1 | PQ2 | PQ3 | PQ4 | PQ5 | PQ6 | PQ7 | PQ8 | PQ9 |
| LO1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| LO2 | 3 | 1 | |||||||
| LO3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| LO4 | 1 |
Contribution: 1 Low, 2 Average, 3 High