TEACHING

Briefing 1 October 2018 at 14-15, Pinni B4075

Online pre-assignments: 1 October – 23 November 2018 (40 hours)

Lectures: 26–30 November 2018 (8 hours)

Collaborative work in small groups: 26–30 November 2018 (32 hours)

Independent project work: 3 December 2018 – 31 January 2019 (55 hours)

There will be a briefing for the participants accepted onto the course on Monday 1 October 2018 at 2 pm in Pinni B4075.

Contact teaching will be organised as an intensive Master Class between 26 and 30 November 2018 at the University of Tampere. The venues will be announced at a later date. The schedule for the week:

Day 1: Mon 26 November 2018, 10 am – 5 pm

Day 2: Tue 27 November 2018, 9 am – 9 pm

Day 3: Wed 28 November 2018, 9 am – 5 pm

Day 4: Thu 29 November 2018, 9 am – 5 pm

Day 5: Fri 30 November 2018, 9 am – 3 pm

The Master Class will also include a voluntary evening programme and networking.

Enrolment

Enrolment begins on Monday 13 August 2018 at 10 am.

Enrolment ends on Friday 14 September 2018 at 4 pm.

Enrolment form: <https://elomake3.uta.fi/lomakkeet/21282/lomake.html>.

The course is intended for students of the University of Tampere, students of TaRC’s Finnish, Russian and Chinese partner universities (see <https://research.uta.fi/tarc/network/>) and media professionals, teachers, and researchers. The public events on 26 and 30 November are open to everyone.

The course is mainly targeted at students completing their master’s studies. Doctoral students can also apply for the course, as can students who are in the later stages of their bachelor’s studies and can provide sufficient evidence of their professional skills.

To apply for the course, please complete the enrolment form before 4 pm on Friday 14 September 2018. Please reserve adequate time for completing the form, and state clearly why you want to take the course. During the Master Class, the participants will work intensively on one of the three course topics:

1. Arctic Environmental Journalism
2. Global Connection of the Arctic
3. Visual Representations of the Arctic

On the enrolment form, the applicant should indicate two preferred topics.

The applicants will be informed by 28 September 2018 as to whether they have been accepted.

A maximum of 40 students will be accepted onto the course. Students who are writing their thesis on themes connected to media and the Arctic are most likely to be accepted. In addition, a maximum of 10 working media professionals will be invited via grants provided by JOKES (Journalistisen kulttuurin edistämissäätiö).

Teachers:

Teacher responsible: Mika Perkiömäki, <mika.perkiomaki@staff.uta.fi>

The principal teachers are Markku Heikkilä, Head of the Science Communication Unit of the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland (Rovaniemi); Anna Kireeva, Head of Communications at the Bellona Foundation (Murmansk); Thomas Nilsen, Editor of the Independent Barents Observer (Kirkenes); and Alexei Popogrebsky, film director, screenwriter and teacher of directing at the Moscow Film School. Contributing teachers are Malgorzata (Gosia) Smieszek, political scientist and researcher at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland; Vlad Strukov, Associate Professor in Film and Digital Culture at the University of Leeds.

Learning outcomes:

After completing the course, the participants will recognise factors influencing international debate that relate to journalistic duties and the media industry in the Arctic region. The participants will be able to analyse discussions related to the Arctic region and evaluate various journalistic means of managing conflict‑sensitive topics. The participants will have gained deeper knowledge of the chosen media environment and have developed expertise in questions of substance and working methods that relate to the media and the Arctic region.

The course provides an in-depth analysis of the way the media represents and mediates the Arctic region, and an examination of the changes and challenges taking place in the area. The participants will acquire knowledge about global media and the issues related to the Arctic region, especially in the Scandinavian and Russian Arctic regions. The participants will conduct their own media projects during the course.

General description:

The Arctic is becoming the focus of worldwide interest due to climate change and the utilisation of the region’s natural resources. It has seen the emergence of new industries, environmental pressures and geopolitical tensions. Meanwhile, academic and public discourse and the media are facing the challenge of finding adequate ways to discuss developments in the region.

The course includes an international event “Media and the Arctic: Master Class in Tampere, Finland, 26–30 November 2018”, organised by the Tampere Research Centre for Russian and Chinese Media (TaRC). Six distinguished and accomplished journalists and media professionals will join teachers from the University of Tampere to share their expertise with students and media professionals in an intensive, one-week Master Class.

The coursework will consist of pre-assignments, five contact teaching days, and a journalistic or other media-related final assignment dealing with the themes of the Master Class. Attendance on all five days and active participation in one of the workgroups is required.

Pre-assignment: Before the intensive contact teaching week, the participants are required to familiarise themselves beforehand with the course material, which includes readings, visual materials and video lectures on current research related to Arctic topics. The material will be made available via an online learning environment.

Day 1: The Master Class begins with a joint workshop for all participants to collaboratively reflect on the pre-assignment material. Day 1 also includes an open seminar, where the principal/supervising teachers will give keynote lectures based on the topical issues of the week and their experience as media professionals. The seminar functions as the opening discussion for the following three days.

Days 2–4: The participants work intensively in small workgroups. Supervised by two teachers, each group will consider one of the main topical issues of the course in greater depth. The three issues are ‘Arctic Environmental Journalism’, ‘Global Connections of the Arctic’ and ‘Visual Representations of the Arctic’. The teachers are responsible for planning the teaching methods used in the workgroups. These methods may include expert meetings, guided and independent reading and information gathering, analysis exercises, preparing journalistic articles, etc.

Day 5: At the end of the week, the students will present the materials produced by their workgroup in an open seminar. The week concludes with a panel discussion held by specialists of Arctic issues related to Russia, China and global topics. The discussion will also include comments on the students’ work and the complex field of the Arctic.

Final assignment: After the Master Class, the learning outcomes will be evaluated as agreed upon with the teachers. To successfully complete the course, the participants are expected to deliver a piece of independent written work related to their own field; this can be a journalistic article on the themes of the Arctic region along with an analysis of the knowledge obtained during the course, or some other type of written work. The final assignment should be returned via the online learning environment by the end of January 2019. The final assignment also includes giving peer feedback on other participants’ final assignments.

Evaluation

Pass/fail.

Evaluation criteria

Participation in all the contact teaching days and active participation in one of the workgroups. Completion and submission of the pre-assignment and the final assignment by the given deadlines.

Study material

The participants will be granted access to the study materials via an online learning environment by the end of September 2018.

Further information

The course will be taught with a major focus on discussion, critical thinking, and individual and collaborative work. The course will be taught in English; no knowledge of any other language is required.

The course is free for students of the University of Tampere and TaRC’s partner universities.

For more information, please contact the TaRC personnel at the Faculty of Communications, University of Tampere:

Coordinator Mika Perkiömäki <mika.perkiomaki@staff.uta.fi>

Senior Lecturer in Journalism Ari Heinonen <ari.a.heinonen@staff.uta.fi>

Researcher Dmitry Yagodin <dmitry.yagodin@staff.uta.fi>

Professor of Russian Language and Culture Arja Rosenholm <arja.rosenholm@staff.uta.fi>

Professor of Journalism Heikki Luostarinen <heikki.luostarinen@staff.uta.fi>

The course will be beneficial for students with a background in Russian studies, politics, communication, media, journalism, intercultural communication, visual studies or Eastern European studies. However, students with backgrounds in other disciplines are also welcome. 

The course home page: <https://research.uta.fi/tarc/masterclass-2018/>.

TEACHING

Briefing 1 October 2018 at 14-15, Pinni B4075

Online pre-assignments: 1 October – 23 November 2018 (40 hours)

Lectures: 26–30 November 2018 (8 hours)

Collaborative work in small groups: 26–30 November 2018 (32 hours)

Independent project work: 3 December 2018 – 31 January 2019 (55 hours)

There will be a briefing for the participants accepted onto the course on Monday 1 October 2018 at 2 pm in Pinni B4075.

Contact teaching will be organised as an intensive Master Class between 26 and 30 November 2018 at the University of Tampere. The venues will be announced at a later date. The schedule for the week:

Day 1: Mon 26 November 2018, 10 am – 5 pm

Day 2: Tue 27 November 2018, 9 am – 9 pm

Day 3: Wed 28 November 2018, 9 am – 5 pm

Day 4: Thu 29 November 2018, 9 am – 5 pm

Day 5: Fri 30 November 2018, 9 am – 3 pm

The Master Class will also include a voluntary evening programme and networking.

Enrolment

Enrolment begins on Monday 13 August 2018 at 10 am.

Enrolment ends on Friday 14 September 2018 at 4 pm.

Enrolment form: <https://elomake3.uta.fi/lomakkeet/21282/lomake.html>.

The course is intended for students of the University of Tampere, students of TaRC’s Finnish, Russian and Chinese partner universities (see <https://research.uta.fi/tarc/network/>) and media professionals, teachers, and researchers. The public events on 26 and 30 November are open to everyone.

The course is mainly targeted at students completing their master’s studies. Doctoral students can also apply for the course, as can students who are in the later stages of their bachelor’s studies and can provide sufficient evidence of their professional skills.

To apply for the course, please complete the enrolment form before 4 pm on Friday 14 September 2018. Please reserve adequate time for completing the form, and state clearly why you want to take the course. During the Master Class, the participants will work intensively on one of the three course topics:

1. Arctic Environmental Journalism
2. Global Connection of the Arctic
3. Visual Representations of the Arctic

On the enrolment form, the applicant should indicate two preferred topics.

The applicants will be informed by 28 September 2018 as to whether they have been accepted.

A maximum of 40 students will be accepted onto the course. Students who are writing their thesis on themes connected to media and the Arctic are most likely to be accepted. In addition, a maximum of 10 working media professionals will be invited via grants provided by JOKES (Journalistisen kulttuurin edistämissäätiö).

Teachers:

Teacher responsible: Mika Perkiömäki, <mika.perkiomaki@staff.uta.fi>

The principal teachers are Markku Heikkilä, Head of the Science Communication Unit of the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland (Rovaniemi); Anna Kireeva, Head of Communications at the Bellona Foundation (Murmansk); Thomas Nilsen, Editor of the Independent Barents Observer (Kirkenes); and Alexei Popogrebsky, film director, screenwriter and teacher of directing at the Moscow Film School. Contributing teachers are Malgorzata (Gosia) Smieszek, political scientist and researcher at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland; Vlad Strukov, Associate Professor in Film and Digital Culture at the University of Leeds.

Learning outcomes:

After completing the course, the participants will recognise factors influencing international debate that relate to journalistic duties and the media industry in the Arctic region. The participants will be able to analyse discussions related to the Arctic region and evaluate various journalistic means of managing conflict‑sensitive topics. The participants will have gained deeper knowledge of the chosen media environment and have developed expertise in questions of substance and working methods that relate to the media and the Arctic region.

The course provides an in-depth analysis of the way the media represents and mediates the Arctic region, and an examination of the changes and challenges taking place in the area. The participants will acquire knowledge about global media and the issues related to the Arctic region, especially in the Scandinavian and Russian Arctic regions. The participants will conduct their own media projects during the course.

General description:

The Arctic is becoming the focus of worldwide interest due to climate change and the utilisation of the region’s natural resources. It has seen the emergence of new industries, environmental pressures and geopolitical tensions. Meanwhile, academic and public discourse and the media are facing the challenge of finding adequate ways to discuss developments in the region.

The course includes an international event “Media and the Arctic: Master Class in Tampere, Finland, 26–30 November 2018”, organised by the Tampere Research Centre for Russian and Chinese Media (TaRC). Six distinguished and accomplished journalists and media professionals will join teachers from the University of Tampere to share their expertise with students and media professionals in an intensive, one-week Master Class.

The coursework will consist of pre-assignments, five contact teaching days, and a journalistic or other media-related final assignment dealing with the themes of the Master Class. Attendance on all five days and active participation in one of the workgroups is required.

Pre-assignment: Before the intensive contact teaching week, the participants are required to familiarise themselves beforehand with the course material, which includes readings, visual materials and video lectures on current research related to Arctic topics. The material will be made available via an online learning environment.

Day 1: The Master Class begins with a joint workshop for all participants to collaboratively reflect on the pre-assignment material. Day 1 also includes an open seminar, where the principal/supervising teachers will give keynote lectures based on the topical issues of the week and their experience as media professionals. The seminar functions as the opening discussion for the following three days.

Days 2–4: The participants work intensively in small workgroups. Supervised by two teachers, each group will consider one of the main topical issues of the course in greater depth. The three issues are ‘Arctic Environmental Journalism’, ‘Global Connections of the Arctic’ and ‘Visual Representations of the Arctic’. The teachers are responsible for planning the teaching methods used in the workgroups. These methods may include expert meetings, guided and independent reading and information gathering, analysis exercises, preparing journalistic articles, etc.

Day 5: At the end of the week, the students will present the materials produced by their workgroup in an open seminar. The week concludes with a panel discussion held by specialists of Arctic issues related to Russia, China and global topics. The discussion will also include comments on the students’ work and the complex field of the Arctic.

Final assignment: After the Master Class, the learning outcomes will be evaluated as agreed upon with the teachers. To successfully complete the course, the participants are expected to deliver a piece of independent written work related to their own field; this can be a journalistic article on the themes of the Arctic region along with an analysis of the knowledge obtained during the course, or some other type of written work. The final assignment should be returned via the online learning environment by the end of January 2019. The final assignment also includes giving peer feedback on other participants’ final assignments.

Evaluation

Pass/fail.

Evaluation criteria

Participation in all the contact teaching days and active participation in one of the workgroups. Completion and submission of the pre-assignment and the final assignment by the given deadlines.

Study material

The participants will be granted access to the study materials via an online learning environment by the end of September 2018.

Further information

The course will be taught with a major focus on discussion, critical thinking, and individual and collaborative work. The course will be taught in English; no knowledge of any other language is required.

The course is free for students of the University of Tampere and TaRC’s partner universities.

For more information, please contact the TaRC personnel at the Faculty of Communications, University of Tampere:

Coordinator Mika Perkiömäki <mika.perkiomaki@staff.uta.fi>

Senior Lecturer in Journalism Ari Heinonen <ari.a.heinonen@staff.uta.fi>

Researcher Dmitry Yagodin <dmitry.yagodin@staff.uta.fi>

Professor of Russian Language and Culture Arja Rosenholm <arja.rosenholm@staff.uta.fi>

Professor of Journalism Heikki Luostarinen <heikki.luostarinen@staff.uta.fi>

The course will be beneficial for students with a background in Russian studies, politics, communication, media, journalism, intercultural communication, visual studies or Eastern European studies. However, students with backgrounds in other disciplines are also welcome. 

The course home page: <https://research.uta.fi/tarc/masterclass-2018/>.

Course outline

The course offers an introduction to one of the most important periods in the history of Soviet society, which is believed to form the modern urban intelligentsia. The urgency of the course is determined by the growing interest in the phenomenon of the "thaw", which can be observed in recent years both in scholar research and in Russian mass culture (television, serials, etc.). The goal of the course is to consider changes in the historical background, everyday practices, culture, art, and through them - those changes that occurred in the minds of people of this period. The material for discussion are 1) cultural texts of the "Soviet Thaw"; 2) memoirs and documents of the era, 3) modern Russian and foreign studies, 4) original research by the author.  In the center of attention is the human of the thaw era and the circle of his/her social connections and relations, as well as literature, cinema and travel as spheres, reflecting the basic anthropological shifts of the "thaw". The circle of topics may be interesting to Slavists, historians, journalists.

Classes - 16 hours, incl. 12 lecture hours

1. The «Soviet Thaw" as an amount of significant historical and anthropological shifts. Inside the country, changes have affected both political attitudes and the everyday life of Soviet citizens: the family, education, movement around the country. De-Stalinization and liberalization of ideology have become decisive trends. Ideological shifts were widely reflected in the cultural practices of the era. This is noticeable at the level of life, art, mass culture. Along with the traditional sources of sociological and historical research (documents, memoirs, statistics), cultural practices and the art of the "thaw" period give a vivid picture of the processes taking place in the public consciousness, important changes in optics that build a new axiology of Soviet citizens in the 1950-70s.

2. Privat life. The liberalization of ideology partly rehabilitated the "private man" and the topic of private life in the minds of Soviet citizens, including questions of the relationship between men and women and gender in general. Soviet culture of the "thaw" period fixes a new system of relations in the family and society, a new formation of young heroes. An important place is occupied by the theme of love (see «Ljubit'», directed by Mikhail Kalik, «Eshhjo raz pro ljubov'», directed by G. Natanson, etc.). The pronounced didacticism of the Stalin period is replaced by ambivalent or ambiguous coding systems posing complex questions, which can not always be answered unequivocally. This reflected the new complex relationships established between Soviet ideology and everyday life.

3. Shifts in art. Liberalization gives impetus to the development of neoromantic tendencies, including a change in the role and function of art and design in society. On the example of literature, this is best seen in poetry, which receives additional incentives for development in conditions, on the one hand, the preservation of Soviet censorship, on the other - the tendency to weaken public control in the field of private life. The mouthpiece of art at this time is the lyrics, most closely associated with personal experience. Simultaneously, the lyre loses chamber character and acquires a mass, stadium.

4. Transformation of the space and place. The literature of the "thaw" fixes the sharp growth of the stories connected with the movement of the heroes, in which the feelings of "openness" and "liberation" typical of the epoch (E. Galimova) were embodied. In cultural texts (cinematography, literature, songs, etc.) a topography is formed, the poles of which are "city" and "wild" places (mountains, islands of the Russian North, taiga, Arctic, etc.), where the heroes carry out a journey or a flight. Features of this topography can be explained through the concept of an "out-of-control" man of the late Soviet era (A.Yurchak). The geographic romance of the epoch can be illustrated by the history of the formation of the images of the Russian North and, in particular, of the Kizhi Island as a symbolic place of Russia in the 1960-70s.

As an illustrative material, photographs, fine arts, fragments of films from the 1950s to the 1970s are used. The course assumes three seminar classes with the analysis of the chapter of the book by A. Yurchak and the story of Yu. Kazakov "Adam and Eve" (in English translation) with elements of slow reading and analysis of thematic cases. As a test paper, a written essay with an analysis of  one  issue (journies, family, love, art) or one text /film sub specie of axiology or changes in daily practice in the era of the "thaw" is planned.

There will be seven lectures. The first is an introductory lecture to the course and the field of Environmental Humanities. After the introduction, there will be two series of three lectures each: the first three will concentrate on environmental history of Russia in the 19th–20th centuries. These lectures take a historical, geographical and ecological perspective on environmental issues in the country during the late imperial and Soviet periods. The other series of three lectures is devoted to cultural issues: the role of ecology in Russian culture in the 19th–20th centuries with a specific emphasis on water. The last lecture peeks at contemporary Russia and environmental issues in the 21st century Russia, especially from a cultural point of view. The students will be given reading tasks before the lectures, and the lectures will include class discussions on these topics.

After each of the two three-lecture series, there will be a seminar, where each student gives a presentation on a topic that relates to the previous lecture series. These presentations delve deeper in a particular environmental topic or a case study. Every student gives only one presentation, on either history or culture. If the student wants credits for RST3, s/he will choose a presentation on a historical topic, if RST1, then a cultural one. The teacher will offer sample topics, but the students can also suggest their own.

Teaching methods

Teaching methods include lectures with class discussions and students’ presentations in seminars. There will be an introductory lecture and three lectures on both environmental history and cultural ecology. Students will be required to write a critically reflective learning diary of the lectures.

Students can choose either a historical or a cultural topic for their presentations. Depending on the number of participants and students’ preferences, the presentations are given in groups of 1–3 people. After the seminar presentation, the students will do a written work on the same topic. They can choose whether to write an essay to the teacher, a public Wikipedia article, or some other form of written work.

Schedule week by week:

1. Lecture, 31.1.: Introduction to the course and Environmental Humanities
2. Lecture, 7.2.: Environmental history of pre-Soviet Russia
3. Lecture, 14.2.: Ecocide and environmental destruction in the Soviet Union
4. Lecture, 21.2.: Environmentalism and protection of nature in the Soviet Union
5. –
6. Seminar, 7.3.: students’ presentations on historical topics
7. Lecture, 14.3.: Russian cultural ecology
8. Lecture, 21.3.: Water and Russian culture
9. Lecture, 28.3.: Culture and environment in post-socialist Russia
10. –
11. Seminar, 11.4: students’ presentations on cultural topics

mika.perkiomaki@uta.fi

There will be seven lectures. The first is an introductory lecture to the course and the field of Environmental Humanities. After the introduction, there will be two series of three lectures each: the first three will concentrate on environmental history of Russia in the 19th–20th centuries. These lectures take a historical, geographical and ecological perspective on environmental issues in the country during the late imperial and Soviet periods. The other series of three lectures is devoted to cultural issues: the role of ecology in Russian culture in the 19th–20th centuries with a specific emphasis on water. The last lecture peeks at contemporary Russia and environmental issues in the 21st century Russia, especially from a cultural point of view. The students will be given reading tasks before the lectures, and the lectures will include class discussions on these topics.

After each of the two three-lecture series, there will be a seminar, where each student gives a presentation on a topic that relates to the previous lecture series. These presentations delve deeper in a particular environmental topic or a case study. Every student gives only one presentation, on either history or culture. If the student wants credits for RST3, s/he will choose a presentation on a historical topic, if RST1, then a cultural one. The teacher will offer sample topics, but the students can also suggest their own.

Teaching methods

Teaching methods include lectures with class discussions and students’ presentations in seminars. There will be an introductory lecture and three lectures on both environmental history and cultural ecology. Students will be required to write a critically reflective learning diary of the lectures.

Students can choose either a historical or a cultural topic for their presentations. Depending on the number of participants and students’ preferences, the presentations are given in groups of 1–3 people. After the seminar presentation, the students will do a written work on the same topic. They can choose whether to write an essay to the teacher, a public Wikipedia article, or some other form of written work.

Schedule week by week:

1. Lecture, 31.1.: Introduction to the course and Environmental Humanities
2. Lecture, 7.2.: Environmental history of pre-Soviet Russia
3. Lecture, 14.2.: Ecocide and environmental destruction in the Soviet Union
4. Lecture, 21.2.: Environmentalism and protection of nature in the Soviet Union
5. –
6. Seminar, 7.3.: students’ presentations on historical topics
7. Lecture, 14.3.: Russian cultural ecology
8. Lecture, 21.3.: Water and Russian culture
9. Lecture, 28.3.: Culture and environment in post-socialist Russia
10. –
11. Seminar, 11.4: students’ presentations on cultural topics

mika.perkiomaki@uta.fi

Course outline
The following course entitled Media landscape in Russia: regional perspective  is aimed at developing a wide range of skills among the students majoring in Communication, Foreign Media and Political Science. The main goal of the course  is to  introduce the students  to the main concepts and key objectives of media functioning in Russia.  Significant role will be paid to the political traditions, role of the Soviet heritage and the impact of the social and economic changes on the  system of mass media. The course suggests a combination of class discussions (12 hours), workshops (5 hours) and  one home assignment (5 hours). The students will be also expected to complete two home assignments (in the form of an essay).  

Assignments
Each student is expected to complete one individual assignment in the form of an essay. Detailed topics of the assignments are presented in the discipline description. The assignments will be graded by the instructor with each student receiving appropriate notification, where a detailed feedback will be included as well as the final grade.