Description:

a lecture series presented as part of Seattle Art and Lectures' Wednesday University

For the Good of the Nation? Media Politics in America
David Domke (University of Washington Dept. of Communication)

September 10, September 24, October 8, October 22, November 5, 2008
each lecture begins at 7:30pm, at the Henry Art Gallery Auditorium on the University of Washington campus

Scholars and pundits chart a decades-long decline in Americans’ common values and shared civic purpose. Others contend that the very norms of citizenship and political engagement are undergoing profound transformation.. At the center of these developments is the recent emergence of a political system in which leaders and organizations are stunningly adept at using mass media for strategic purposes. Today political campaigns skillfully spin news coverage, embrace popular culture and advertising, and build and leverage internet networks. In the new media politics, the style and speed of messages trump substantive and sober political debate, with considerable implications. On the negative side, these developments can explain polarization and disenchantment within the U.S. electorate. On the positive side, many Americans—in particular younger citizens—are developing new forms of political involvement that deploy media in innovative ways. This Wednesday University course will examine the rise of media politics in the United States and assess what it portends for the American experiment in democracy.

David Domke is Professor of Communication and Head of Journalism at the University of Washington. His research and teaching focus on the relationships among U.S. politics, journalism, and public opinion. He is the author of God Willing?: Political Fundamentalism in the White House, the “War on Terror,” and the Echoing Press (2004) and The God Strategy: How Religion Became A Political Weapon in America (2008, with Kevin Coe). He received the 2002 University of Washington’s Distinguished Teaching Award and was named the 2006 Washington State Professor of the Year.

Description:

a lecture series presented as part of Seattle Art and Lectures' Wednesday University

For the Good of the Nation? Media Politics in America
David Domke (University of Washington Dept. of Communication)

September 10, September 24, October 8, October 22, November 5, 2008
each lecture begins at 7:30pm, at the Henry Art Gallery Auditorium on the University of Washington campus

Scholars and pundits chart a decades-long decline in Americans’ common values and shared civic purpose. Others contend that the very norms of citizenship and political engagement are undergoing profound transformation.. At the center of these developments is the recent emergence of a political system in which leaders and organizations are stunningly adept at using mass media for strategic purposes. Today political campaigns skillfully spin news coverage, embrace popular culture and advertising, and build and leverage internet networks. In the new media politics, the style and speed of messages trump substantive and sober political debate, with considerable implications. On the negative side, these developments can explain polarization and disenchantment within the U.S. electorate. On the positive side, many Americans—in particular younger citizens—are developing new forms of political involvement that deploy media in innovative ways. This Wednesday University course will examine the rise of media politics in the United States and assess what it portends for the American experiment in democracy.

David Domke is Professor of Communication and Head of Journalism at the University of Washington. His research and teaching focus on the relationships among U.S. politics, journalism, and public opinion. He is the author of God Willing?: Political Fundamentalism in the White House, the “War on Terror,” and the Echoing Press (2004) and The God Strategy: How Religion Became A Political Weapon in America (2008, with Kevin Coe). He received the 2002 University of Washington’s Distinguished Teaching Award and was named the 2006 Washington State Professor of the Year.