Mediatization of Social Space - Opportunities and Challenges SzD-DNKSM>Medprz

The course “Mediatization of Social Space – Opportunities and Challenges” is devoted to an in-depth analysis of the processes of mediatization in contemporary society, understood as the growing significance of media and media logic in the functioning of individuals, social groups, institutions, and entire social systems. The course takes as its point of departure the assumption that media no longer serve merely as instruments for transmitting information but have become one of the fundamental environments in which social relations, knowledge of the world, individual and collective identities, public opinion, and modes of participation in culture, politics, and public life are shaped. The course examines mediatization from both historical and contemporary perspectives, with particular emphasis on the technological, social, and cultural transformations accompanying successive stages in the development of media systems. It discusses the role of traditional analogue media, including the printed press, radio, and television, which for much of the twentieth century defined the dominant models of mass communication. Particular attention is paid to the significance of the press as an institution that structures public debate, selects and prioritises information, and contributes to establishing the social hierarchy of issues and events. The course also explores the sender–receiver relationships characteristic of traditional media, the professionalisation of journalism, and the role of editorial institutions and journalists as “gatekeepers” regulating access to the public sphere. Against this background, the course considers the consequences of digitalisation, media convergence, and the development of networked communication. The transition from the dominance of analogue media to a digital environment involves not merely a change in the technologies used for content distribution, but a profound transformation of the entire model of social communication. The boundaries between producers and recipients of media content are becoming increasingly blurred, communication is becoming multidirectional and instantaneous, and the traditional model of the mass audience is being replaced by networks of users who simultaneously consume, comment on, modify, and produce content. This process is also transforming traditional journalism and the printed press, which now operate in an environment characterised by competition from online news services, content aggregators, digital platforms, and social media. An important area of reflection concerns the mediatization processes associated with the expansion of social media. Social media platforms have fundamentally transformed the ways in which information is produced and disseminated, social relationships are established and maintained, and individuals participate in public debate. The course examines phenomena such as content personalisation, algorithmic communication, the attention economy, participatory culture, influencers and new opinion leaders, as well as the increasingly blurred boundaries between the private and public spheres. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of algorithms and digital platforms in the selection, prioritisation, and visibility of particular forms of content, topics, viewpoints, and social actors. The course approaches mediatization as a process that creates both new opportunities and significant challenges. Its potential benefits include the democratisation of access to information, greater opportunities for participation in public communication, the development of new forms of education and social and civic activism, the emergence of communities transcending geographical boundaries, and broader access to knowledge and cultural resources. The digital environment enables individuals and groups that previously had limited access to traditional media to produce and disseminate their own content and to make their voices heard in the public sphere. At the same time, the course addresses challenges associated with disinformation, fake news, manipulation, social polarisation, information bubbles, hate speech, cyberviolence, and digital exclusion. It also examines the concentration of communicative power in the hands of global technology platforms, the commercialisation of user data, infringements of privacy, and the impact of algorithmic mechanisms on individual autonomy and the quality of public debate. These developments raise fundamental questions concerning the distribution of communicative power, responsibility for the circulation of information, and the conditions necessary for meaningful participation in contemporary public life. The course is designed to foster critical reflection on the role of media in contemporary society and on the directions in which social communication is likely to evolve. A media studies perspective is combined with sociological, cultural, and communication studies approaches, enabling doctoral students to analyse mediatization as a multidimensional process that transforms institutions, social practices, and everyday human experience. Particular attention is devoted to the question of how the transition from a world dominated by the printed press and analogue media to an increasingly platform-based, algorithmically mediated, and networked reality is redefining fundamental concepts such as information, communication, participation, authority, credibility, and the public sphere.