Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (winter/

summer)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

И676

Multiculturalism, Minorities and Media

English

BA/BS

Summer

4

45

0

Svetlozar Kirilov

skivanov@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction): The course discusses major processes related to contemporary multicultural societies, the state of minorities (racial, ethnic, religious, etc.) and the role of the media. Some of the topics are listed below:

Multicultural society: its structure and problems. What is multiculturalism? What is culture? The understanding of minorities: racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic and others. Multiculturalism vs. nationalism and ethnocentrism. Prejudices. Clash over resources. “Cultural wars”: fundamental differences in values and norms.

Muslim communities. Religion and religious differences. Debates whether Islam encourages violence and terrorism or not. Comparison between the Bible and the Quran. Theories of civilizations. International migration. The European debate.

 Roma (Gypsy) communities. The explanations of the plight of the Roma: discrimination or Romani culture? Culture of poverty and the underclass. The image of the Roma in East European cinema.

Hate speech. The problem: Avoidance of hate speech vs. Freedom of Expression. Hate speech vs. political correctness.

The model of multicultural society in the United States. Native Americans; the image of Native Americans in westerns. The conflicts with Mexicans and their media presentation. Historical waves of migration to the United States: Irish, Asian, Italian, East European, Latino. African Americans in the United States; USA: “Melting pot” or “bowl of salad”?

Race, racism, and media. African Americans in the United States; the image of blacks in US media. The influence of the American Blacks in music; hip-hop.

Multicultural society in Europe. The European Union. Traditional minorities and immigrants. Case studies: Spain; Belgium; the United Kingdom; Soviet Union; Yugoslavia; Bulgaria.

Jews and antisemitism. Persecution of Jews in Europe. The re-establishment of Jewish state (1948) and the conflict between Israel and Arabs.

Minority media. The policy of the Council of Europe to support community media.

Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (winter/

summer)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

C013

Intercultural Communication

English

MA

winter

4

60

0

60

Diana Petkova

dijanapp@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction): This course dwells on the theoretical and practical aspects of communication in intercultural environment. It introduces the most important theories and research models of intercultural communication. The emphasis is on both verbal and non-verbal intercultural communication. Along with the theoretical basis, the course also presents concrete cases of intercultural clashes, negotiations and conflict resolutions. Thus, students are expected to be successful communicators on culturally diverse communication scenes.

Requirements for enrollment:  YES/NO

If any, please describe the specific requirements: No

Programme: Advertisement and Public Communication

Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (winter/

summer)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

З159

Intercultural communication

English

MA

Summer

3

20

5

65

Diana Petkova

dijanapp@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction):

This course dwells on the theoretical and practical aspects of communication in intercultural environment. It introduces the most important theories and research models of intercultural communication. The emphasis is on both verbal and non-verbal intercultural communication. Along with the theoretical basis, the course also presents concrete cases of intercultural clashes, negotiations and conflict resolutions. Thus, students are expected to be successful communicators on culturally diverse communication scenes.

Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (summer)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

З585

Strategic communication

English

BA

1st

6

45

15

-

Prof. Teodora Petrova , Ph.D.

petrovaiva@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction):

The course is aimed at most important Strategy theories of strategy thinking, management and the role of strategic managers. It overlooks over  the use of most effective instruments for content management in digital platforms.

Requirements for enrollment:  NO

If any, please describe the specific requirements:                                                                                                                  

Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (winter)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

З554

Content Marketing

English

BA

4th

5

45

15

-

Prof. Teodora Petrova, Ph.D

petrovaiva@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction):

The course is focused on digital content marketing. How to create and what we call quality content. Which are the effective ways to reach different groups of  users.

Requirements for enrollment:  NO

If any, please describe the specific requirements:

Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (summer)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

И543

Creating Communication Effects

English

BA

II

6

45

15

-

Assoc. Prof. Svetlana Stankova, Ph.D.

svetlanais@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction):

The course introduces the eight-step pyramid of communication effects from awareness to values, the consistency and diversity of communication elements, as well as the approaches to creating effective messages. There are also topics related to communication goals and communication strategies. It helps to identify and to use persuasive techniques in the desired communication register.

Requirements for enrollment:  NO

If any, please describe the specific requirements:

Programme: Public Relations

Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (winter)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

И444

Enemy Image in Media

English

BA

V

2

30

-

-

Assoc. Prof. Svetlana Stankova, Ph.D.

svetlanais@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction):

The course points out the psychological, historical, economic and ideological prerequisites for inventing enemy images in media. The discipline examines the social functions of the enemy image and provokes a discussion on the subject of hostility, which up to now has contradictory views and perceptions. The consequences of exaggeration (demonization), of the enemy images in media, are presented also as well.

Requirements for enrollment:  NO

If any, please describe the specific requirements:

Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (winter/

summer)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

З329

Investigative Journalism

English

BA/BS

Summer

4

30

15

Teodora Georgieva

teodoramg@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction):

The course discusses main definitions and principles of investigative journalism. It highlights its history in Europe, in America and in Bulgaria. It keeps the students informed about the principles of investigative journalism, it makes them aware how to collect and access information from multiple data sources, including administrative data, statistical registers, etc. The course will address some understanding of functions and characteristics of investigative journalism like ethical issues and risks of criminal responsibility. Some examples of top picks for investigative journalism in Bulgarian (168 chasa, Sega, Capital, etc) and foreign media (Zeit, Guardian, Monde, Boston Globe, ProPublica, The New York Times, etc ) will be given.

The course also discusses new phenomena and features of investigative journalism during the democratic and economic transitions, taking into account all the challenges related to funding and the emergence of another type of journalism in social networks.

Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (winter/

summer)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

C011

Fake News and Online Disinformation

English

MA

W

3

30

15

Assoc. Prof. Ralitsa Kovacheva

rckovachev@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction): The course aims at providing students with knowledge and skills needed to find, verify and analyze information in a digital environment. The course combines theoretical knowledge (concepts, classifications, research approaches and regulatory models) with practical skills and tools. Students will be introduced to various fact-checking tools and will perform different practical tasks, in order to develop skills needed to independently check different types of information.

Requirements for enrollment:  YES/NO

If any, please describe the specific requirements:                                

Programme: Digital Media and Communication

Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (winter/

summer)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

Е014

International Journalism and Digital Media

English

MA

S

3

45

Assoc. Prof. Ralitsa Kovacheva

rckovachev@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction): The course aims to provide students with knowledge and skills needed to asses information and create international news stories in digital environment. A good knowledge of the current state of international relations is a prerequisite for a skillful selection of sources of information and a balanced assessment of events. Issues related to bias and balance in international journalism, the influence of ideologies and political polarisation will be discussed, as well. Practical tasks are included to help students develop skills in creating international news stories.

Requirements for enrollment:  YES/NO

If any, please describe the specific requirements:

Programme: Journalism

Course code

Course

title

(in English)

Language of instruction

Course offered to BA/BS, MA/MS, PhD

Semester (winter/

summer)

ECTS

Workload (hours)

Lecturer/s’s name

Lecturer/s’s

E-mail

Lectures

Seminars

Practical work

И342

Global Politics and Media

English

BA

S

4

30

15

Assoc. Prof. Ralitsa Kovacheva

rckovachev@uni-sofia.bg

Short description of the course (in the language of instruction):

Requirements for enrollment:  YES/NO

If any, please describe the specific requirements:

The course gives students the opportunity to analyze the mutual influences between the media and global politics. Special attention is paid to factors such as ideologies, political polarization, post-truth, disinformation and propaganda. Students can develop students` skills in analyzing media content, as well as in writing, reporting and editing international news stories.  

Course

(in the foreign language)

BA/MA

Language

Semester

(winter/summer)

ECTS

(credits)

Number of hours

Professor

(name and e-mail)

Lectures

Exercises/Seminars

Practical work

Theory of Advertising

BA/MA

English

winter/summer

Christo Kaftandjiev

christokaftandjiev@yahoo.com

Theory of Advertising

Here are analyzed different:

• consumer groups;
• types of ads (product ads, image ads, cooperative, comparative, depending on media – radio advertising, commercials, outdoors, ambient, etc.);
• communicative strategies in advertising (drama, narrative, endorsement, testimonials, etc.);
• ad appeals and arguments;
• measurement procedures of ad efficiency, etc.