Course: Radio Studies Introduction

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Course title Radio Studies Introduction
Course code KDU/USRON
Organizational form of instruction Lecture
Level of course Bachelor
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter
Number of ECTS credits 4
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Hanáčková Andrea, doc. Mgr. Ph.D.
  • Bojda Tomáš, Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
COURSE PROGRAM What Are Radio and Sound Studies? Diversity of the auditory sphere, sound and its transmission, radio and its audiences. Audio Buffet I: The Most Attractive Examples Audiowalks, true crime podcasts, experimental audio plays. Audio Buffet II: Defining Moments in Audio History News broadcasting, reportage, journalistic podcasts. Audio Buffet III: Contemporary Podcasting Podcasting in public service media vs. the independent scene. History I: The Beginnings of Radio Origins and the first decades of broadcasting in Czechoslovakia, Europe, and the USA. History II: Radio and War The "Golden Age" of American radio, the role of radio in World War II, propaganda and the mobilization of audiences. History III: Radio as a "Second Medium" in the Television Era Czechoslovakia 1948-1956, Europe vs. the USA. History IV: Radio from the 1960s to the 1990s The golden age of Czechoslovak Radio in the 1960s, 1968 and normalization, transformation into public service after 1989. Genres and Formats in Audio Media Radio drama, documentary, feature, and journalistic programs; music formats, infotainment, podcast genres. Sound Studies: How to Think About Sound? Listening as experience, the body and space. Fiction and Nonfiction in Audio Storytelling, ethics, authenticity, aesthetics. Radio, Podcasting, and You The place of audio in today's society and how we can study it.

Learning activities and teaching methods
Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training), Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Demonstration
Learning outcomes
The aim of the lecture is to introduce students to auditory media and the nature of their organization and reception. Attention will be given to both traditional radioits history and current state in the world and in the Czech Republicand to new media, including internet and community radio, the audiobook market, hybrid forms of auditory art, and the ways radio is reflected upon by fan communities. In-person sessions combine lecture-style teaching with home preparation (reading academic texts, listening to selected podcasts, radio plays, documentaries, and audiobooks), followed by discussion. Since there are currently no textbooks available in Czech for this subject, regular in-person attendance is strongly recommended. Course evaluation includes continuous assessment through quizzes, tasks in Moodle, an oral presentation, and a final test.
Knowledge of basic terms within the range of radio medium. Students are familiar with the current structure of the public Czech Radio stations and their specialization. Students master basic concepts affecting the radio as modern media, know the historical stage of verbal radio broadcasts and can distinguish the artistic genre while listening to radio. They are able to apply basic terms on analysis of individual parts of radio artistic piece (sound composition, sound detail, assembly, audio editing, subjectivisation, focus, time and space in radio drama, etc.).
Prerequisites
Knowledge of basic terms within the range of Introduction to theatre studies.

Assessment methods and criteria
Mark, Oral exam

Credit: Completing partial exercises - continuous tasks in the moodle (3 times per semester), the listener's diary (including its partial submission in the middle of the semester), 1x short performance with the listener's own tip (last class), active participation in classes (monitored presence) Examination: Option in the 1st term: 1. Final test to verify the lecture content. Students sign up for the exam, which they take online in moodle. The test will take 60 minutes, has open questions, tests knowledge, listening experience, reading skills of technical texts. 2. Oral exam, for which students will appear in person at the department. Students will answer questions orally that test their knowledge of the material presented, ability to use professional terminology, orientation in professional texts. The examination includes a reflection on the listener's diary. The exam CANNOT be combined, you must choose EITHER a written test OR an oral exam.
Recommended literature
  • Panáček v říši mluveného slova.
  • HANÁČKOVÁ, Andrea. (2010). Český rozhlasový dokument a feature. Poetika žánrů.. Brno: JAMU.
  • HILMES,Michele- LOVIGILO, Jason (eds.). (2002). Radio Reader.Essays in the Cultural History of Radio.. Routledge.
  • JEŠUTOVÁ, Eva. (2003). Od mikrofonu k posluchačům. Praha.
  • JEŠUTOVÁ, Eva. (2008). 99 významných uměleckých osobností rozhlasu. Praha.
  • MOTAL, Jan. (2012). NOvé trendy v médiích II. Rozhlas a televize.. BRNO: Masarykova univerzita.
  • STARKEY, Guy. (2014). Radio in Context.. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • ŠTĚRBOVÁ, Alena. (1995). Rozhlasová inscenace. Olomouc.
  • WARREN, Steve. (2013). Radio. The Book.. New York and London: Focal Press.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Television and Radio Studies (2025) Category: Theory and history of arts 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Television and Radio Studies (2024) Category: Theory and history of arts 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Television and Radio Studies (2024) Category: Theory and history of arts 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter