Information Package / Course Catalogue
Communication Theories II
Course Code: İLT218
Course Type: Required
Couse Group: First Cycle (Bachelor's Degree)
Education Language: Turkish
Work Placement: N/A
Theory: 3
Prt.: 0
Credit: 3
Lab: 0
ECTS: 5
Objectives of the Course

The aim of this course is to provide students with a critical theoretical perspective by examining classical and modern communication theories along with their historical development. Communication Theories II explores critical, cultural, and postmodern paradigms. The course aims to enable students to apply theoretical frameworks to the analysis of media, cinema, and television texts and to evaluate mass communication processes through diverse theoretical lenses.

Course Content

This course aims to examine communication theories within structuralist, semiotic, poststructuralist, and critical frameworks. It begins with technology-centered approaches such as technological determinism and diffusion of innovations. Then, structuralist and semiotic approaches developed by scholars like Ferdinand de Saussure, Levi-Strauss, Charles Sanders Peirce, and Roman Jakobson are introduced. The course continues with poststructuralist readings of media texts starting with Roland Barthes. Active audience theories are analyzed through the works of Stuart Hall, David Morley, and John Fiske. Feminist audience studies are also included to discuss representation, ideology, and identity. By the end of the course, students will gain the ability to critically interpret contemporary media content using multi-layered theoretical perspectives.

Name of Lecturer(s)
Lec. Taner KIZILHAN
Prof. Hatice Hale BOZKURT
Prof. Hüseyin ÇELİK
Res. Assist. Sumru YILDIRIM
Learning Outcomes
1.The student explains the basic theoretical approaches related to communication technologies.
2.Identifies structuralist, semiotic, and post-structuralist communication theories and relates them to media texts.
3.Analyzes audience-centered theories; compares active audience, polysemy, and feminist audience approaches.
4.Critically evaluates and compares information society, knowledge gap, and technological determinism theories.
5.Applies media theories to current digital media environments and conducts analytical evaluations.
Recommended or Required Reading
1.Severin, W. J. & Tankard, J. W. (2012). İletişim Kuramları: Kökenleri, Süreçleri ve Etkileri. (Çev. K. T. Erol). İstanbul: Nobel Yayıncılık.
2.McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory. London: Sage.
3.Baran, S. J., & Davis, D. K. (2015). Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future. Boston: Cengage.
4.Alemdar, K. & Erdoğan, İ. (2013). İletişim ve Toplum. İstanbul: Der Yayınları.
5.Özçetin, B. (2022). Kitle iletişim kuramları: Kavramlar, okullar, modeller (6. bs.). İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları.
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
Week 1 - Theoretical
Technology-Centered Approaches
Week 2 - Theoretical
Modernization and Mass Communication Technology
Week 3 - Theoretical
Technological Determinism: Harold Innis’ Core Assumptions
Week 4 - Theoretical
Technological Determinism: Marshall McLuhan’s Media Theories
Week 5 - Theoretical
Diffusion of Innovations Theory
Week 6 - Theoretical
Information Society and Communication Technologies
Week 7 - Theoretical
Knowledge Gap Approach
Week 8 - Theoretical
Midterm-Structural Linguistics and Semiotics: Saussure and Levi-Strauss
Week 9 - Theoretical
Semiotics: Peirce and Jakobson
Week 10 - Theoretical
Poststructuralism and Media Texts: Roland Barthes
Week 11 - Theoretical
Audience Theories: Stuart Hall and Polysemy
Week 12 - Theoretical
Active Audience Approaches: David Morley and John Fiske
Week 13 - Theoretical
Feminist Audience Studies
Week 14 - Theoretical
Critical Theory and Media: From the Frankfurt School to the Present -Applicability of Media Theories in Today’s Digital Media Environment
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Type of AssessmentCountPercent
Midterm Examination1%40
Final Examination1%60
Workload Calculation
ActivitiesCountPreparationTimeTotal Work Load (hours)
Lecture - Theory140342
Midterm Examination130131
Final Examination150151
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours)124
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
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2
5
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5
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3
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4
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Adnan Menderes University - Information Package / Course Catalogue
2026