2016/03/18 Andreas Jungherr

Syllabus: The Internet in Political Communication (Spring 2016)

This spring semester at Mannheim I am teaching an updated version of my course on the internet in the context of political communication. Here is the syllabus. In the readings you will find quite a few of the usual suspects but I also hope to have included some texts that offer interesting perspectives but are surprisingly seldom read. Still, this is very much a work in progress. Please get in touch in case you feel I have missed out on key topics or readings.

Background readings
Basbøll, T. Research as a Second Language.
Chadwick, A. 2006. Internet Politics: States, Citizens, and New Communication Technologies. Oxford, UK et al.: Oxford University Press.
Chadwick, A. & P. N. Howard (Eds.). 2009. The Routledge Handbook of Internet Politics. New York, NY et al.: Routledge.
Jungherr, A. & H. Schoen. 2013. Das Internet in Wahlkämpfen: Konzepte, Wirkungen und Kampagnenfunktionen. Wiesbaden, DE: Springer VS.
Perloff, R. M. 2014. The Dynamics of Political Communication: Media and Politics in a Digital Age. New York, NY: Routledge.
Reynolds, G. 2012. Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery. 2. ed. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.
Stromer-Galley, J. 2014. Presidential Campaigning in the Internet Age. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

What is the internet? Stages in its technological and ideological development
Mandatory readings
Jungherr, A. & H. Schoen. 2013. “Technische Entwicklung und gesellschaftliche Erwartungen: Eine kurze politische Ideengeschichte des Internets“. Das Internet in Wahlkämpfen: Konzepte, Wirkungen und Kampagnenfunktionen, 11-35. Wiesbaden, DE: Springer VS.
Optional readings
Abbate, J. 1999. Inventing the Internet. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Dreyfus, H. L. 2009. On the Internet. 2nd ed. Oxon, UK: Routledge.
Isaacson, W. 2014. “Ch 7: The Internet” & “Ch 10: Online” & “Ch 11: The Web”. The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, 217-262 & 383-404 & 405-466. New York, NY et al.: Simon & Schuster.
Turner, F. 2006. From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism. Chicago, IL et al.: The University of Chicago Press.

Political Expectations and the Internet
The internet: expectations of political change
Mandatory readings
Neuman, W. R., B. Bimber & M. Hindman. 2011. “The Internet and Four Dimensions of Citizenship“. In: The Oxford Handbook of American Public Opinion and the Media, Eds. R. Y. Shapiro & L. R. Jacobs, 22-42. Oxford, UK et al.: Oxford University Press.

Optional readings
Benkler, Y. 2006. The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. New Haven, CT et al.: Yale University Press.
Farrell, H. 2012. “The Consequences of the Internet for Politics.” Annual Review of Political Science 15: 35-52.
Wilhelm, A. G. 2000. Democracy in the Digital Age: Challenges to Political Life in Cyberspace. New York, NY et al.: Routledge.

Presentations
Freelon, D. 2010. “Analyzing online political discussion using three models of democratic communication“. New Media & Society 12(7): 1172-1190.
Karpf, D. 2011. “Open Source Political Community Development: A Five Stage Adoption Process“. Journal of Information Technology & Politics 8(3): 323-345.
Kreiss, D., M. Finn & F. Turner. 2010. “The limits of peer production: Some reminders from Max Weber for the network society“. New Media & Society 13(2): 243-259.

Political Uses of the Internet: Empirical Patterns
Mandatory readings
Vaccari, C. 2013. “Ch 9: Online Political Information in Seven Countries” & “Ch 10: Socioeconomic Inequalities and Online Political Information” & “Ch 11: Political Attitudes and Online Information” & “Ch 12: Political Engagement, Mass Media Use, and Online Information”. Digital Politics in Western Democracies: A Comparative Study, 131-137 & 138-152 & 153-175 & 176-189. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Optional readings
Anduiza, E., M. J. Jensen, & L. Jorba (Eds.). 2012. Digital Media and Political Engagement Worldwide: A Comparative Study. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

Presentations
Copeland, L. & B. Bimber. 2015. “Variation in the Relationship Between Digital Media Use and Political Participation in U.S. Elections Over Time, 1996–2012: Does Obama’s Reelection Change the Picture?” Journal of Information Technology & Politics 12(1): 74-87.
Gil de Zúñiga, H., Molyneux, L., and Zheng, P. (2014). “Social media, political expression and political participation: Panel analysis of lagged and concurrent relationships.” Journal of Communication 64(4): 612-634.
Schlozman, K. L., S. Verba, & H. E. Brady. 2010. “Weapon of the Strong? Participatory Inequality and the Internet.” Perspectives on Politics 8(2): 487-509.

The Use of Websites by Parties
Mandatory readings
Vaccari, C. 2013. “Ch 5: Structures and Features of Political Websites” & “Ch 6: Disparities in Political Websites” & “Ch 7: Party Characteristics and Their Online Presence” & “Ch 8: What Drives the Online Presence of Parties and Candidates”. Digital Politics in Western Democracies: A Comparative Study, 69-86 & 87-97 & 98-110 & 111-130. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Optional readings
Bimber, B. & R. Davis. 2003. Campaigning Online: The Internet in U.S. Elections. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Kluver, R., N. W. Jankowski, K. A. Foot, & S. M. Schneider (Eds.). 2007. The Internet and National Elections: A Comparative Study of Web Campaigning. New York, NY: Routledge.

Presentations
Kruikemeier, S., A. P. Aparaschivei, H. G. Boomgaarden, G. Van Noort, & R. Vliegenthart. 2015. “Party and Candidate Websites: A Comparative Explanatory Analysis“. Mass Communication and Society 18(6): 821-850.
Lilleker, D. G., K. Koc-Michalska, E. J. Schweitzer, M. Jacunski, N. Jackson, & T. Vedel. 2011. Informing, engaging, mobilizing or interacting: Searching for a European model of web campaigning. European Journal of Communication 26(3): 195–213.

Digital Tools as Integrated Elements of Campaign Organizations
Mandatory readings
Kreiss, D. 2012. “Ch 5: Organisation the Obama Campaign”. Taking Our Country Back: The Crafting of Networked Politics from Howard Dean to Barack Obama, 121-154. Oxford, UK et al.: Oxford University Press.

Optional readings
Earl, J. & R. Kimport. 2011. Digitally enabled social change. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Presentations
Bimber, B., A. J. Flanagin, & C. Stohl. 2012. “Ch 4: The American Legion, AARP, and MoveOn in Collective Action Space”. Collective action in organizations: Interaction and engagement in an era of technological change. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

The internet as tool for coordination and as a resource
Mandatory readings
Hindman, M. 2005. “The Real Lessons of Howard Dean: Reflections on the First Digital Campaign“. Perspectives on Politics 3(1): 121-128.

Optional readings
Bimber, B. 2003. Information and American Democracy: Technology in the Evolution of Political Power. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Nielsen, R. K. 2011. “Mundane Internet Tools, Mobilizing Practices, and the Coproduction of Citizenship in Political Campaigns.” New Media & Society 13(5): 755-771.
Nielsen, R. K. 2012. Ground Wars: Personalized Communication in Political Campaigns. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Presentations
Karpf, D. 2012. “Ch 1: The New Generation of Political Advocacy Groups” & “Ch 7: Innovation Edges, Advocacy Inflation, and Sedimentary Organizations”. The MoveOn Effect: The Unexpected Transformation of American Political Advocacy, 3-21 & 156-172. Oxford, UK, et al.: Oxford University Press.
McKenna, E. & Han, H. 2015. “Ch 4: Building Depth by Investing in Relationships” & “Ch 5: Creating a Structure to Share Responsibility: Neighborhood Teams” & “Ch 6 Using Metrics to Get to Scale”. Groundbreakers: How Obama’s 2.2 Million Volunteers Transformed Campaigning in America, 89-129 & 130-152 & 153-182. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Data driven Campaigning
Mandatory readings
Nickerson, D. W. & T. Rogers. 2014. “Political Campaigns and Big Data“. Journal of Economic Perspectives 28(2): 51–74.
Howard, P. N. 2006. New Media Campaigns and the Managed Citizen. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Optional readings
Issenberg, S. 2012. The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns. New York, NY: Broadway Books.
Sides, J. & L. Vavreck. 2014. “Obama’s Not-So-Big Data“. Pacific Standard (January 21).

Presentations
Hersh, E. D. 2015. “Ch 2: The Perceived Voter Model”. Hacking the Electorate: How Campaigns Perceive Voters, 24-44. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

Symbolic uses of the internet in campaigns
Mandatory readings
Kreiss, D. 2012. “Acting in the Public Sphere: The 2008 Obama Campaign’s Strategic Use of New Media to Shape Narratives of the Presidential Race”. Media, Movements, and Political Change 33: 195-223.

Optional readings
Alexander, J.C. 2010. The Performance of Politics: Obama’s Victory and the Democratic Struggle for Power. Oxford, UK et al.: Oxford University Press.
Chadwick, A. 2013. “Symphonic Consonance in Campaign Communication: Reinterpreting Obama for America”. The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power, 113-136. Oxford, UK et al.: Oxford University Press.
Stromer-Galley, J. 2000. “On-Line Interaction and Why Candidates Avoid it”. Journal of Communication 50(4): 111-132.

Presentations
Kreiss, D. 2011. “Open Source as Practice and Ideology: The Origin of Howard Dean’s Innovations in Electoral Politics”. Journal of Information Technology & Politics 8(3): 367-382.
Kreiss, D. 2014. “Seizing the Moment: The Presidential Campaigns’ Use of Twitter During the 2012 Electoral Cycle“. New Media & Society (Online First).
Stromer-Galley, J. & A. B. Baker. 2006. “Joy and Sorrow of Interactivity on the Campaign Trail: Blogs in the Primary Campaign of Howard Dean.” In: The Internet Election: Perspectives on the Web in Campaign 2004, Eds. A. P. Williams & J. C. Tedesco. Lanham, MD et al.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

The interaction between online communication and political media coverage
Mandatory readings
Chadwick, A. 2011. “Britain’s First Live Televised Party Leaders’ Debate: From the News Cycle to the Political Information Cycle“. Parliamentary Affairs 64(1): 24-44.

Optional readings
Chadwick, A. 2013. The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power. Oxford, UK et al.: Oxford University Press.

Presentations
Anstead, N. & B. O’Loughlin. 2014. “Social Media Analysis and Public Opinion: The 2010 UK General Election“. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20(2): 204–220.
Jungherr, A. 2014. “The logic of political coverage on Twitter: Temporal dynamics and content“. Journal of Communication 64(2): 239-259.
Neuman, W. R., L. Guggenheim, S. M. Jang, & S. Y. & Bae. 2014. “The Dynamics of Public Attention: Agenda-Setting Theory Meets Big Data“. Journal of Communication 64(2): 193–214.

Echo chamber or marketplace of ideas
Mandatory readings
Scheufele, D. A. & M. C. Nisbet. 2012. Commentary: Online News and the Demise of Political Disagreement. Communication Yearbook 36: 45-51.

Optional readings
McPherson, M., L. Smith-Lovin & J. M. Cook. 2001. “Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks“. Annual Review of Sociology 27: 415-444.
Webster, J. G. 2014. The Marketplace of Attention: How Audiences Take Shape in a Digital Age. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Presentations
Garrett, R. K. 2009. “Politically motivated reinforcement seeking: Reframing the selective exposure debate“. Journal of Communication 59(4): 676-699.
Gentzkow, M. & J. M. Shapiro. 2011. “Ideological Segregation Online and Offline“. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 126: 1799-1839.

Research on and with the internet
Mandatory readings
Karpf, D. 2012. “Social science research methods in internet time“. Information, Communication & Society 15(5): 639–661.

Optional readings
Cioffi-Revilla, C. 2014. Introduction to Computational Social Science: Principles and Applications. Heidelberg, DE et al.: Springer.
Jungherr, A. 2015. Analyzing Political Communication with Digital Trace Data: The Role of Twitter Messages in Social Science Research. Heidelberg, DE: Springer.
Rogers, R. 2013. Digital Methods. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Presentations
Cioffi-Revilla, C. 2010. “Computational social science“. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Statistics 2(3): 259–271.
Freelon, D. 2014. “On the Interpretation of Digital Trace Data in Communication and Social Computing Research“. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 58(1): 59-75.
Jungherr, A., H. Schoen, & P. Jürgens. 2015. The mediation of politics through Twitter: An analysis of messages posted during the campaign for the German federal election 2013. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 21(1): 50-68.
Rogers, R. 2010. “Internet Research: The Question of Method“. Journal of Information Technology and Politics 7(2-3): 241-260.

, , , ,