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Course Directors:	Monroe Price, Center for Global Communication Studies, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania Miklos Sukosd, Department of Political Science, CEU, Budapest
Co-organizers / Faculty:	Kate Coyer, Research Fellow & Lecturer, Annenberg School; Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) Arne Hintz, Program Director, Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS)
Additional Core Faculty:	Michael Delli Carpini, Dean, Annenberg School for Communication Nicholas W. Jankowski, Associate Professor, University of Nijmegen, Netherlands; Working Group Leader, COST A30 Action Karol Jakubowicz, former Chairman of the Steering Committee on the Media and New Communication Services, Council of Europe; Working Group Leader, COST A30 Action Beata Klimkiewicz, Assistant Professor, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Working Group Leader, COST A30 Action Hakan Seckinelgin, Lecturer, London School of Economics, London, UK Kristina Irion, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Policy, Central European University, Budapest Sandor Orban, Executive Director, The South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) Sina Odugbemi, Head of CommGap, Salt Lake City, USA
Course Coordinator	Laura Ranca, Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS)

The demand for accountability, transparency and democracy resonates in many corners of the world. Media and civil society constitute core elements of societies which are grounded on such principles. However, lack of media pluralism and a dominant position by either state or private media can have adverse effects and have been criticized by civil society groups. The increasing commercialization and dominant position of global media institutions have given rise to new forms of resistance, which may take the form of grassroots media-making, transnational broadcasting, and institutional and regulatory responses. Thus, there is a complex relationship between media, democracy and civil society responses that exists across national boundaries.

Examining this interconnection between media, democratization and civil society will be the main purpose of this course. It will focus on the Central/Eastern European region, but will also be relevant in other contexts where media and civil society have played crucial roles in processes of democratization but where the deficiencies and shortcomings are also clearly visible. This course will examine the role of non-governmental organizations and individuals in the process of democracy building and sustainability, and address the complex negotiation around media privatization and liberalization. In doing so, this course will consider what kind of enabling environment is necessary for a diverse and pluralistic media, and what is the role and potential for civil society intervention in the development of such an environment. The course will provide an introduction to a range of research agendas and methodologies applicable to the study of media systems and civil society in the context of post-communist/post-conflict transformation, and political/social/economic change.

The Civil Society Yearbook 2007 will, for the first time, focus on the connections between media and civil society, while the European media research network "COST A30: East of West" is developing new approaches to understand the role of media in transitional and post-transitional contexts. The course will be embedded in these current discourses, and students will benefit from insights into current research on these issues.