Análisis Internacional-HU30-201202

Abstract

The world is becoming more complex to understand while we its inhabitants are apparently more informed about the events that happen in; however the truth is that we know less about its many conflicts. As the Venezuelan philosopher Juan Nuño observes in his article ¿El Engendro¿: ¿Never before has the human being been so informed and at the same time so empty of ideas. He is told at every moment what is happening but he never knows what it is going on with him. The over-information that we get today comes with the territory -- as it happens unavoidably with the shadow to the light -- a total lack of analysis and reflections.¿ Given this reality of excessive news coverage presented without a context especially concerning world issues social communicators face a double challenge: First how can we acquire basic knowledge that will enable us to understand complex conflicts happening in diverse parts of the world? And second how can we explain those conflicts in an easy and contextualized way to people of different cultural levels in brief informative frameworks?This course seeks to aid students¿ understanding of the difficulties dilemmas and responsibilities in learning contexts (geographical historical ethnic religious ideological cultural economic etc.) to help them approach in depth and with professional honesty any conflict that an international analyst must explain to his/her audience. What is the role of superpowers nations mass media intellectuals and other political and media players in what is happening in today¿s world? How can we cope with the influence of the mass media (including alternative media such as Twitter and Facebook) to avoid being manipulated? Are we doomed to live as automats dominated by lobbies and corporative groups that control political economic religious ideological information that provide us with information but no knowledge? Or is our age of mass communication the solution to fight these powerful interest